tl;dr I'm thinking about getting a cat for companionship. Would anyone recommend this, and any tips?

For some background, I was recently very badly fucked over in a divorce. I pretty much lost everything I had, except for the apartment I'm currently in, and some personal possessions. I'm trying to put my life back together, and slowly but surely I am.

I have been on and off of dating sites without much luck. I've had a few dates, some good, some not so good. I met one woman who I kinda liked, but she seemed a bit over-enthusiastic about planning our futures together, even though we hadn't really been dating that long. All of the sudden I felt really scared and disliked the idea of bringing another woman into my life. I finally have my life back together, and in a strange way, I don't want a new woman coming into my apartment, in my space, etc. So I decided to disengage with this lady. I feel bad because she is really smoking hot, but I think if being hot is what I liked most about her, then it was probably just hormones driving me to chase her... so maybe not pursuing romance was the best decision anyway.

I've been reading this sub for a while, and reading up on MGTOW. I like the philosophy of not needing approval from women, not needing women to be happy, spending my time, energy and money on myself, and especially not caring what women think of me. That's one great thing, that I can be myself and not care what people's opinion of me is. People like me or they don't, I'm not going to change.

I'm not gonna lie, I was strongly contemplating suicide until I found this community, and then I realized that I need to change my mindset and philosophy (so thank you guys!)

I don't have a whole lot of friends where I live. I only see my kids every other week, and I live in a different state from my parents and most of my friends and family. Occasionally I have a beer with my coworkers, but it seems most of them have their own social circles, relationships, or families.

I feel pretty lonely at times. I have thought about going back on dating sites to try to find companionship, but I think my feelings about the woman I recently met indicate that it's not the right answer for me.

I had dogs growing up, and I love them. They are very loyal and great for companionship. The problem is I live in a small 6th floor apartment, work 8-10 hours a day and commute about half an hour each way. I wish I could get a dog, but I just don't think I'm in a place in life for one.

I'm thinking of adopting a cat for companionship. I've heard mixed things about cats. They can be aloof but they can also be therapeutic, etc. The cost seems to be something I can afford in my budget (even after child support and alimony), so that's not a problem... and frankly I'm sure a cat is much cheaper than a woman 😆
But I have no experience with cats. So I'd like to ask this community a few things:

  • Would a cat help with companionship and loneliness?
  • What should I look for (e.g. personality traits) when picking out a cat for myself?
  • I'm thinking of adopting a grown cat rather than a kitten, would this be a good idea?
  • Are there any major downsides to a cat, notably as a single man in a small apartment?

Any other tips would be great, too! 🙂