Where would the cat stay? In your dorm room all the time? Is that a good life for a cat? And with people going in and out (your roomie and her friends) how likely is it the cat would get out? I think a rodent is a much better idea. Not a hamster, they are nocturnal and the wheel spinning all night gets annoying. Maybe a gerbil. Any rodent needs to be female, I know guinea pig boars STINK no matter how many times a day you clean their cages! I would have loved to have had a lovely white mouse ....What If I got a cat? A different cat. "my" cat is actually the families cat that is staying here.