I recommend fish, cats, or maybe a lizard (I've only had a bearded dragon). With fish, you get a bowl of water, feed them, and change their water occasionally. For lizards, you need a heat source and food. For cats, they are pretty independent, just teach them how to use a litter box and feed them. I recommend declawing, but some cats are well-behaved and that won't be needed. To be fair, both of my cats were strays, so they're a little wilder. I don't recommend dogs because they are a lot of work (rewarding work, however!)
