Intro! Living abroad with wonderful cats, life challenges and depression - TCS rocks.

misstruffles

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Aug 28, 2014
Messages
18
Purraise
6
Hi all, 

So, I've posted a couple of times already - I suddenly found myself in the situation of having taken in a stray some weeks ago and needed the advice of some pro cat people - and this is one of the most positive forums I've ever been a part of! So thank you all! 

I'm 27, and me (and my boyfriend) are the proud parents of Truffles, a 2-year old black beauty that we adopted when she was 4 months. She chirps, loves to play fetch, and she's my first cat (grew up with dogs) and she is an amazing little creature. Finishing tasks can be a challenge for me, so she has really been an awesome life-guru for me, being the shy, skittish kitten that she was. It took almost a year for her to really feel comfortable with us, so it was frustrating at times, but I was in love with her and that made me keep going. Today she sleeps in our bed with us, loves kisses and cuddles and is just so loving.

After helping out a stray cat (it turned out he wasn't a stray as we luckily tracked down his family) we saw how Truffles loved his presence while he was recovering in our apartment from a surgery (found him with a large wound, took him to the vet) and decided that we needed to give her a baby brother and also give another cat a chance for a good life - so enter Nugget, a semi feral 12 week old. So now we're really a little family :-)

I'm scandinavian and my boyfriend is swiss. We have been together for 4 years and have lived in Switzerland for 2.8 years by now, and moving here has been a challenge for me and us. I've suffered from depression periodically for most of my adult life and have found having a kitty to be extremely soothing on bad days! I've always loved animals but haven't been able to commit to one until we got Truffles. 

Thanks for reading and thanks for helping out with your posts - this forum is a great resource for cat owners. 

 

ritz

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Apr 2, 2010
Messages
4,656
Purraise
282
Location
Annapolis, MD
Welcome to The Cat Site.
Ritz is my first cat ever; grew up with dogs but never bonded with them.
Then Ritz entered my life. She and her litter mates and the mother cat were dumped/abandoned in November 2009 and finally rescued by a friend of mine in late December, having survived a 20" snow storm. I helped socialize them a little.
Adopting Ritz totally changed me in many ways. Got me out of my own isolationist self.
And, what an interesting looking cat! I've heard that black cats are hard to adopt out, so more 'props' to you. How are the two cats getting along. There are some articles and many threads about introducing cats to cats. (Unfortunately, Ritz has made it clear she is and shall remain an only child.)
 
Last edited:

caralian

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Apr 8, 2014
Messages
197
Purraise
35
Location
Finland
Oh hai, welcome!

Your cat is beautiful.
 Do you have a picture of the kitten as well? I would love to see how cute he is. 


Currently I am also in Scandinavia. Well actually, I don't think Finland officially counts. But oh well. My boyfriend and I moved here and we got our two beautiful tabby red-heads just after we moved into our new appartment (when they were 12 weeks old; they are now 8 months!). I cannot say I know what you're going through exactly, since I have never suffered from depression, but I do know that cats can absolutely be soothing. Being away from family and friends is hard sometimes and having furry friends to keep you company makes it 99% easier, in my experience! :) Hard to even think back to the times they weren't here..

Anyway, welcome here. I am fairly new as well, but I've already learned more about cats here than any other site. So you're in the right place. 
 
Last edited:

jaosf

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Aug 23, 2014
Messages
58
Purraise
10
Location
USA
Hello, misstruffles! 
I love the photo, a great pose you captured her in!  All that and she fetches, too?  How adorable!  She has come so far, with your love and care.

I too have recurrent major depression, and my kitties have been a life-line at times.  I take care of them, and they take care of me.  I am glad you have Nugget and Truffles to look after you.
 
Top