My Kids Want A Pet And I Don't! What Should I Do?!

My teenage daughter couldn't even remember to feed her animals on Farmville and now she wants a cat! Are you kidding me?! She needs to be reminded every day just to put on deodorant. She can't keep up with even the most basic of responsibilities like: putting her dirty panties in the hamper; or not falling asleep with her expensive glasses on; and keeping track of her phone...forget being responsible for another living thing!!!

You know, in the end a cat is just another mouth to feed and another thing for me to take care of. They'll be all excited about it for about 2 days and then...dum dum dum....scary theme music....it'll suddenly be my responsibility to feed and I'll be the one cleaning the litterbox. Yuck! I'm a single mother, I don't even like when people give me plants for Mother's Day - yet again another thing for us mothers to take care of - and like we have the time?? Try giving me a manny/peddy or a bottle of wine....those I can easily take care of.

I say they because my tweenage daughter is totally in on the cat campaign that is going on around here too. What kills me is that she has asthma and that's why we got rid of the cats we had years ago in the first place. To add insult to injury, I've got asthma too. Neither one of them cares if mommy dies whilst they're playing with Mittens or Tabby or whatever the heck its name is. Maybe that would be the ultimate revenge: I die while taking care of the cat leaving them to ultimately clean out the litterbox. Maybe that would teach them.

I've even suggested my older daughter volunteer at a shelter this summer so she can get her cat fix. The problem is, the minute these people realize she's just there to play not actually work, they're going to release her back in to the wild. Both my daughters are not ready for the responsibility of a cat or dog or any pet for that matter. My younger girl didn't remember to feed her Hermit Crab, Ted, for 5 weeks. Today, his shell is a decoration in my living room. And not because I put him there, that's where he died after breaking out of his tank in search of food.

What do you do when your kids want a pet and you don't?! How do you make them see that they're just going to lose interest? Can they see that or do you just let it go and change the subject every time they bring it up?