I've always asked my parents for a cat, but they wouldn't let me because of allergies and bobcats in the forest behind our house. My dad jokes about getting a small dog instead of a cat. My family thought he was actually suggesting that.
We went to a shelter to look at the dogs. We ended up getting a really cute chihuahua mix though. My dad didn't actually want another dog so he was mad. The dog's shelter cage said he was 9 so my dad agreed, but it turns out he was actually about 2. During my dad's work trip (that he left on a few days after we got the dog) we trained the dog to be well behaved.
I still wanted a cat so a few years later I wrote an essay to convince my mom to let me have a cat. My mom loved my essay but she said was really sorry but no. I was very sad. My mom got food and litter for a cat in Mexico, and she shows me pictures of her instead of getting a real cat.