To want DH to say yes to a cat!

No, don't just get one. As per username I love cats and find them generally very easy pets - except for the period of introducing 2 cats to each other, but that wouldn't apply in your case - but all animals take work and care and its not fair to the animal to have them in a house where someone doesn't want them. Plus you can't guarantee they won't have some needs that take up extra time/expense. I've got a girl with skin allergies. Its very manageable, and I can keep her symptoms very minimal, but it takes a special diet, brushing, ensuring she doesn't pick up and eat anything she shouldn't, a coat supplement and a gel for her feet. I got her from the shelter because her owners decided they didn't want a cat anymore. That's it, no other reason. She just didn't want a cat anymore.

I actually think there's a strong chance that non-cat lovers will come to love a cat once it lives with them. I've seen it happen 3 times now. But they do have to agree to live with the cat, at a minimum.

Please tell me that is not a genuine suggestion from an adult?

I think its ok for an adult to not wish to share their home or lives with, or have to take responsibility for an animal they dont want so I do think the "not wanter' should get the final say.

I have been round houses where the cat can get in every room, on kitchen work surfaces, on people's knees, meowing for food or attention...I love cats so all this wouldnt bother me but for someone who doesn't want one, its a lot to deal with day in day out. The cat fur on furniture and clothes, a potentially smelly litter tray, walking on food prep areas, meowing in the night/early mornings, vet bills, pet insurance, holiday care, potentially bringing little creatures into the house that are either dead or alive ...for someone who doesn't want a cat, I can see a list of negatives, even if one intends to do all of the work, there is times it will fall to the other.

Sorry op, but I do think for a pet both you and dh have to be on board and want it

Just get a cat

Obviously not a popular opinion… but cats destroy all the furniture, you can’t keep food away from them (like dogs) by putting on a high surface, they’re also a bit ‘nothing’. They don’t do a lot. I wouldn’t get cats again.

Bringing emotional blackmail into a marriage rarely ends well.

I strongly disagree with everything you've said.

See I think forcing someone to NOT have a pet when they really badly want one, its a suitable pet for the home, budget etc etc and the 'not wanter' hasn't got a strong reason like 'i hate them/scared of them/allergic to them' simply 'I can't see the point'... is also not OK.

This sounds like you have a deeper seated DP/DH problem though OP. If you think he is saying no simply because it wasn't his idea/its a way to control you...

Not wanting a cat does not make somebody a misery.

It does not make somebody a bad husband.

It does not make somebody a bad father.

Forcing someone to have a cat when they don't want to does make someone a bad partner.

What a misery. To my mind cats are the perfect amount of pet. Cuddly & furry but happy for you to go out all day if you need to. I'm definitely #teamMog

Sit down with him and tell him that it will make you and the kids happy. Does the happiness of yourself and the kids matter to him? Can he let go of his idea that there’s no point because he loves you and the children and wants them to be happy?
My dh was all “absolutely not, here’s all the reasons we shouldn’t have a cat” so we had the conversation above, and the kitten is coming Nov 10th.

My husband doesn't like cats;he didn't want any:we have 3;he adores them;the girl cat is daddy's little princess;he would fight me for her in a divorce (he told me that)

MY DH was very reluctant to have a cat but agreed because our DDs were desperate for one. He never had pets as a child so at first was vey wary and never went near the kitten. Now 12 years later he has grown to be fascinated by DCat, talks to him and is as amused/delighted by his antics as the rest of us.
Do you think your DH could be a Cat Convert too?

I've got two cats. One of them loves playing fetch.

We got a cat and I regret it. Had it 4 years now. I don't like the hair everywhere, smell of the food, responsibility, fleas, extra cost, being disturbed in the night. I hate the mice, rats, birds etc
Honestly, he could really resent it. I was on board, too, but would really rather not have a cat.

Exactly. I’m fine with DS missing out on having a dog because it’s more important to me that I don’t want to look after one and have my life restricted by it. I’m fine with him missing out on having a sibling because it’s more important that I didn’t want a second child.

Could you foster short term for a charity and see where that leads
I’m lucky that we are all agreed cats rock

I’m ok with my kids “losing out” on having a pet because I don’t want to live with one. Other kids “lose out” on the experience of having a sibling because their parents only want one child, or on travel abroad because their parents prefer UK caravan holidays, or on football training because their parents don’t want to spend every Saturday morning ferrying them about, or on spontaneous family days out because they can’t leave the dog their parents wanted by itself for more than an hour.

And that’s all fine. Nobody can have every thing or every experience and usually there’s more than one way for a child to learn things or grow as a person.

@thursdaymurderclub he loves it!
He's very much..
Oh you want to pet me all day? Cool
You're going out? Cool
You're sick? Cool, I'll just have a nap with you
The neighbours child wants to carry me like a handbag? Cool
Easy going cat

I was always adamant I didn’t like cats and my DH wanted one. A neighbours cat latched onto us and I fell in love with it, and we ended up getting a cat ourselves. I loved that cat.
Cats are relatively easy. If it’s an outdoor cat your DH won’t have to do much, and if it’s an indoor cat they are often quite independent creatures. As long as they are fed and cleaned.
I would try and borrow one from someone and see if he can be swayed.

My son didn't want a cat DIL bought home a ragdoll kitten. It was love at first sight of those big blue eyes. They're very dog like. She likes to play fetch. My son is her favourite human. They curl up together at night.

He won't actively need to do anything for the cat if he doesn't want to. If you and the kids are the ones who feed it and let it in and out then it will gravitate towards you and probably ignore him.
But I bet once it's there he will end up loving it just as much as everyone else.
Tell him he needn't make any changes or investment in it and you're going to go ahead and do it. There's just no way he'll end up regretting having a cat around the place.
I hope you've plenty of safe outdoor space though? For your husband, when the cat takes over his place on the couch! 🤣

I get to an extent that everyone has to be on board with a pet and it's not nice to force a pet on anyone that doesn't want one. However...with this I feel kids end up losing out on the childhood experience and benefits of what a pet can bring. Kids shouldn't lose out because of our likes and dislikes as adults. Cats are probably the easiest pets to have, I have had them all my life. Having a pet teaches kids a lot, mine have learnt to respect boundaries and behaviours of our cat and it's been a great learning curve for them.