If you live in an apartment, just don’t get one
Reasoning edit: pets, especially cats, will leave a smell all over furniture. Cleaning becomes an even worse chore due to the fur. They also require “house training” in order to not chew/claw/destroy most stuff that’s lying around the house.
Absolutely. Plenty of evidence for that.
Though I’m not a fan of the collective responsibility for choices which happened outside of the time and space you and I exist in.
I’ll take responsibility for my cat.