Dear cat experts, is it a wise choice for me to buy a cat for my retired mother?

1. Recommended type of cat? Or just kidnap a young'un from the streets mafia style.

2. How hard is it to potty train a cat? Is it just buy litterbox, plug & play? Is it something that's already hardwired in the cat's brain litterbox = shit & pee there.

3. Is it safe? ie. will cat suddenly go batshit insane and be a wolverine wannabe?, because i won't be at her house every single day, anything i need to be aware of leaving a cat alone with my mom?

4. Is a cat a good companion?

5. The house is a semi-d with a large plot of land and very empty 3story interior since only my mother/maid is living there, will the large area be a benefit to the cat?

Asking before I go and get any cats since i think it's a responsibility where i need to know more about it first.

This post has been edited by Spitzer: Feb 27 2015, 01:19 AM

Thanks, that answered most of my concern (duh i never thought to bring my mom to choose, should have thought of that... and also the cat/animal shelter part)

What do you mean cat needs alot of height? I dont think you mean 1st floor and 2nd floor indoor right, but more towards buying those fancy cat furniture from pet store? Since those are quite tall.

Cats prefer a higher "spot"? As of right now the house only is occupied in the ground floor with no plan to use any other floor for my elderly convenience's sake. There is only basic furniture(sofa,dining,tv,chair etc) with a whole lot of empty non-carpeted floor showing, so to welcome a new cat, i need to get 3-4 of those tall cat furniture and place them around?