We lost our beloved mog to cancer in November. I'm more than ready to start looking for another cat - they won't replace him but I can't be without a cat and I'm worried about DS's mental health. He and our old cat were very bonded and loved one another. He says he can't imagine bonding with/loving another cat but I know that's how it feels right now. He's in GCSE year and I really feel he needs a non-human, non-stressy 'friend' at home who won't be bitchy (as his peers at school often are) or make demands on him. And I just really, really miss having a lovely cat! 
Our last cat came from a local, very small cat sanctuary. They're a bit weird there. We did pass the house check but they were concerned about the road (outskirts of a village, open countryside out the back door, house set back a house and garden width from the 'main' road which is 30 mph... they are absurdly fussy). Last time we adopted, our autistic younger child was young enough to be of concern to them (about 4?) but not crazy enough to worry them! Now he's much older but much more obviously a handful. He isn't bothered about cats per se and old cat and he tended to leave one another alone. But I can imagine the stonewalling from one of the crazy cat ladies at a local cat sanctuary once they realise that DS2 is a bit different... I know so many people locally who have a really hard ride to get a sanctuary to allow them to adopt, and we're talking perfectly normal home circs here.
So there's that. I also think that a lot of animals who wind up at sanctuaries can be problematic because, sadly, of what they've recently been through.
But what's the alternative? None of my cat-owning friends are irresponsible enough likely to have un-neutered cats they're expecting kittens from. I loathe sites like Pets4Homes etc, it's so horrible, people deliberately getting their animals pregnant and putting the babies up for sale for £200 a pop. But as long as people pay silly prices for kittens this will continue (we're not talking pedigree breeds here - I understand there's a market there that will always be there, even if I don't agree with overbreeding cats). Short of a homeless cat falling into my lap unexpectedly (this only happens on MN and not to me!) where should we be looking for our next lovely cat (or cats...)? And please share with me your optimistic stories of finding another cat to love after losing your lovely friend.