cats

I don't have experience with taking care of multiple pets concurrently and don't really feel comfortable doing so. I've never taken care of a single cat, so immediately jumping into two sounds incredibly daunting and I am quite frankly just not interested in doing so considering I have zero experience in that.

I get what you're saying, for a responsible pet owner, it's always nerve wracking going into pet ownership and taking on a dependent.

But my point is that jumping into cat ownership is jumping into cat ownership. You're going to have to keep their water full, pour some food in their bowls a couple times a day, clean their litter, and then play and cuddle with them every day. Once a year you have to put them in a carrier and bring them to the vet.

Adding a second cat to that situation means that you pour a second bowl of food, fill up a second bowl of water, clean a second litter box when you clean the first, and once a year put two cats in carriers rather than just one. At the same time the amount you need to play with them and cuddle them every day decreases substantially.

With one cat, going away on vacation means that you basically need to find a cat sitter, or you leave them just sitting at the door waiting for you all day getting depressed. With two cats, they get sad but then play and cuddle and bond with each other.

You keep saying stuff like 'im just not interested' which isn't an explanation, it's a thought terminating phrase. Take it from us experienced cat owners when we say that in your situation, it's would be great to adopt two cats, and cruel to adopt just one.

Edit: it is different if you adopt an elderly isolated cat that would otherwise be put down. In that situation, you'll still be providing them with a life, but if you do get through to them, they will bond to you, and it will still make leaving for trips difficult, even if they're used to your daily absence. A support network is inherently more flexible and robust then a support pair.