Moving back to the UK

My husband and children all know that my cat is the love of my life. 

Same, except I have four loves of my life.  I was just in the US for 6 weeks dealing with a family emergency. I would Skype with DH and say “I can’t wait to come home and see the cats.” And he would always respond, “and me, right.” Eh....sure. 

I just noticed you are in wokingham. Some of my in laws are there too!

There are plenty of cat lovers in this group!  Watch out for Jimbo, though... rumor has it he uses traps to collect them all for himself.

KissofDeath is going to Japan on holiday soon.  It'll be her second trip and I think she has a pretty full itinerary already, but I bet she'd love suggestions.

What career direction do you think you want to move in?  UK/US tax experts are pretty sought after on this forum, as I'm sure you know.

Ooooh, I hope KissofDeath pokes her head in here. Don’t want to be caught stalking people on my first day!

I remember you; welcome back!! 

I remember you; welcome back!! 

And you!  Nice to see you!

Ooooh, I hope KissofDeath pokes her head in here. Don’t want to be caught stalking people on my first day!

Kiss of death is also Wokingham.  Shout when you are at the in-laws sometime and we can talk cats and  Japan - and get you away from the in-laws.  😂

- and get you away from the in-laws.  😂

You don't know how needed that will be.    There have been .... benefits .... of living 6,500 miles away for the last few years.   

Welcome back Sara Smile! 

Same, except I have four loves of my life. 

Awesome! .  Please tell us about your kitties. Do you have a type? 

Awesome! .  Please tell us about your kitties. Do you have a type? 

I don’t have a type as far as breed goes. All of ours are rescue kitties that have medical issues and had a bit of a rough go at life. 

We have had two for nearly 6 years and were rescued by our cat vet when we were in the US (we had previously had two other cats who passed away).  Our oldest, a domestic shorthair, was abandoned when his family moved house and they left him locked in the empty house. He wasn’t found for weeks, until the new family moved in, and they don’t really know how he survived. He has a lot of stress issues and chronic cystitis now. He is totally the grumpy old man of the group and pretty much just likes naps, cuddles and throwing a side eye to the others.

Our next one is a Nebelung and was found abandoned in a parking lot. He then lived for about 6 months in a cage and had a lot of biting and scratching issues due to the lack of socialization. His little brain is just a bit off now and he doesn’t always act like you would expect a cat to do but he is totally a sweet mummy’s boy who is my shadow... and who still occasionally just can’t help himself and will bite you then look really guilty for it as he literally has his teeth in your arm.

Our next two are newer to us and we have only had them about a year. Their family moved country and were planning on abandoning them to the streets and our cat sitter rescued them. Turns out they both have pretty serious medical issues and were pretty neglected by their previous owners. One is an American shorthair and she has mega colon. The other is a Ragdoll/Persian mix with chronic kidney disease. They have ginormous personalities and are a great addition to our pack. The ASH is genuinely the sweetest cat I have ever know and even our vet says the same! She never slept in a bed before coming to ours and it’s her life’s mission to make sure no other kitties sneak on the bed. It’s all hers! Our Ragdoll is like having our own long haired toddler. He is always in everything - literally. You open a cabinet, the fridge, the washing machine - anything - and he climbs in it. Otherwise, he is stealing your pens, chewing on your phone cable, biting your calves, eating through the plastic of a treat packet, climbing in a wet sink... just creating chaos. He is really good fun though!

So that’s my group. I love them all to bits!

Welcome back Sara Smile! 

Hello old timer! Nice to see you here!

Never a dull moment then! 

Awww, love hearing about your kitties personalities!

I lost my Copper cat two years ago.  She was 16.  A red Abyssinian who spent the first 10 years of her life literally bouncing off the walls.  If she was caught napping, I’d wake her in an attempt to sleep at night.  She ADORED my now husband and literally worshiped him the last 6 years of her life.  Worshiped him.  Seriously. 

My old boy, Sobe, is my everything.  Old style blue point Siamese.  He will be 19 on Halloween.  He also has kidney disease and we’ve been battling constant UTI’s this past year.  He follows me everywhere.  Sleeps in my “nook” (my arms, using my shoulder as a pillow), wakes me if one of my kids is crying at night, and is *always* on my lap. 

I’m so pleased Jimbo hasn’t crashed our cat-love-fest yet!  He’s just jealous. 

Sleeps in my “nook”

Understood! We have nooks too! 

I've got nothing against cats!  It's such a shame that the picture function is currently broken for cat pictures.  I really wish we could have a few more but it looks like the disc is full or something.  Even worse, some people have said that any cat picture you try to post gets deleted from your own computer as well, so be careful.

Awww, love hearing about your kitties personalities!

I lost my Copper cat two years ago.  She was 16.  A red Abyssinian who spent the first 10 years of her life literally bouncing off the walls.  If she was caught napping, I’d wake her in an attempt to sleep at night.  She ADORED my now husband and literally worshiped him the last 6 years of her life.  Worshiped him.  Seriously. 

My old boy, Sobe, is my everything.  Old style blue point Siamese.  He will be 19 on Halloween.  He also has kidney disease and we’ve been battling constant UTI’s this past year.  He follows me everywhere.  Sleeps in my “nook” (my arms, using my shoulder as a pillow), wakes me if one of my kids is crying at night, and is *always* on my lap. 

I’m so pleased Jimbo hasn’t crashed our cat-love-fest yet!  He’s just jealous.

Ugh, I am so sorry to hear Sobe has kidney disease and UTIs. I knew nothing about kidney disease prior to a year ago and I feel like I am constantly tweaking things and trying eek out every ounce of better health. Our CKD cat came to us and in 24 hours had a kidney crash. He was also anorexic but it was hidden by his 6 inch long hair. Since then I have tried all sorts, supplements, vitamins, medicines, new foods, etc, etc.  He is very young for CKD so it is important to get him as healthy as possible now so that he may have a chance at longevity. It is very stressful.  And our old man cat has had a cluster of UTIs this year, after not having an for 2.5 years. Because he has chronic cystitis they don’t respond to treatment like normal UTIs and they can take months to clear up. I am most worried how these two are going to adjust to the move since stress exacerbates both conditions.

But seriously, if you ever want to talk kidney disease, I am here. Are you familiar with this website? https://www.felinecrf.org/