I'm going to talk about my cat.
My cat was bought as a cute ickle cuddly kitten by a now ex-neighbour. She had two dogs and decided to get a cute ickle kitten because they are cute and small and cuddly. The dogs were well trained but she never liked the dogs, she was scared of them, they would do dog type things, like bark, and jump around and other canine activities that come naturally to dogs. Then a third dog was added to the mix. My cat spent most of her time outside away from the dogs.
She ended up being too nervous to go inside to eat so another neighbour would leave food in a safe sheltered part outside of her house so our cat could have food and shelter.
Neighbour then got another kitten, same thing happened again.. They moved and left my cat behind. She suffers from a couple of health conditions, chances of her being adopted if taken to a shelter are virtually nil.
She really is the best cat and we are very lucky to have her, she has a few personality quirks which can be attributed to her previous experiences.
My children desperately want us to get a kitten, as do I. However, it's not about us, it's about what is best for the cat we already have and she needs to be the only animal in the house, so that is how it's going to be. We have a lot of love to give more animals, but our cat comes first and always will.
Rescue centres have dealt with many cats coming in because they don't get on with dogs either already in the house or who are brought into the house, hence why they are so careful not to adopt out to homes where there is a chance the cat will be coming back to them.
It's not about you, it's all about the animal and what is best for them.