I'd like a cat, please.

Yesterday we took a quick trip to Budapest to visit an INSTE church there. I (Nancy) had been diligently studying Hungarian by reading a children's book about a mouse who was in an amusement part where the scary rides featured images of big cats (macskák). We pulled into a gas station to buy a tollway pass (matrica). As we parked, I rehearsed in my mind, as I always do, what I needed to say. Then I walked up to the counter and said, "Szeretnénk egy macskát." The clerked looked at me kind of funny and I realized I had said, "I would like a cat, please." I quickly rephrased my question asking for a pass, not a cat, but the damage was done. The clerk couldn't help but laugh. She said, "That was a good one." I had to laugh, too. How often do you ask for a cat at a gas station?