We have a relatively new cat - about 3 months now. about 2 years old. "Havana Brown" breed as far as we can tell. Indoors only, still has all claws, and only weighs about 6½ lbs. (breed weight 6-8 lbs.) Got her as a stray from County Animal Control.
She follows us from room to room, sleeps all night at the end of the bed, never needs to be let outdoors to "do her business", only claws at the scratch post and scratch pad, comes when called (!), and was easily trained not to chew on the house plants and jump on the counters/dressers. We engage in active play with her about an hour a day (better than watching prime-time TV! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif )
I grew up with dogs but didn't get one since I feel that it would be unfair to the animal to not be let outside to "do it's business" for 9-10 hours while I'm at work. My mom would come home from work at 12 each day to let the dogs out and that's just not possible for us.
Every cat is different, but after this cat I don't see myself getting a dog until after I retire and have more time to spend caring for the animal. The only "work" related to our cat is: feed once a day, keep fresh water out, clean litter box twice a day, play for about an hour a day.
Useless Trivia:
Each year for a dog or cat is NOT equal to about 7 human years. Actually veterinarians estimate that it's more like this for both:
Year one: 15-18 years
Year two: add 7-9 years
Year 3 on: add about 4 years each