What advice would you give a first time cat owner?
If you've never had a cat before, don't start with a kitten.
It sounds kind of counterintuitive, but kittens are taught how to be well-mannered cats by other cats--and if you're adopting a kitten into a household without adult cats, you become the one they learn manners from. Which is totally doable...if you're pretty good at cats. If you're new to cat ownership, that's a tall order. And by manners, in this context, I mean things like not biting and clawing and behaving too territorially. You can teach a kitten to not do those things, sure, but...I would not recommend a kitten to a first-time cat owner if you have any choice about it.
Get an adult cat, ideally at least five years old--even a "senior" cat is fine (and note that cats are usually classed as seniors at around 10 years, but it's also common for them to live to be 15-20+ years old, so you may still have quite a lot of time.) So many incredibly well-behaved adult cats need homes, and they are so, so, SO much easier than kittens. Mal and Vice, at five, are settled into their adult personalities but are still tons of fun--they still play and cuddle and do all the fun things kittens do, but they're not hellbent on destroying my life in the way that kittens are. (The cuteness of a kitten is directly linked to its destructive capabilities.) Go to a shelter or a cat rescue, find someone there who's more interested in the cats than the dogs, and tell them you're a first time cat owner and you want an easy, affectionate, adult cat. They are not hard to come by and their needs are so easy to meet.
And, for your cat's sake, keep them indoors. If you eventually want to take them out on a harness, or make a catio, or find some other safe way for them to go out, that's great, but from a health and longevity standpoint, indoor life is safer for cats by far.
