First things first, my eldest cat; yes, my eldest (human children are somewhere on the horizon as of yet), had visited Nanjing long before I did, albeit sat waiting on the tarmac of Lukou International Airport in the hold of the diverted 747.
首先，我的大猫；是的，我的大猫（人类的孩子还在某处），在我之前很久就访问了南京，尽管坐在鹿口国际机场的停机坪上，在改道的747的车位上等待。
This was 2 years before I was able to call this city home; my sole feline child at the time was in Nanjing without me due to the horrendous thunder, lightning and torrential rain that plagues this part of the Middle Kingdom every summer. Meanwhile, I was sat waiting in Nantong, somewhat full of worry; the cat and my partner diverted further up the Yangtze to wait out the typhoon wreaking havoc above me.
这是我能够把这座城市称为家的2年；当时我唯一的猫科动物孩子在南京，没有我，因为每年夏天都会遭受可怕的雷声、闪电和暴雨，困扰着中王国的这一地区。 与此同时，我坐在南通等待，有些担心；猫和我的伙伴进一步绕到长江上，等待台风在我上方肆虐。
Slipper, named so as the tiny and adorable rescue kitten used to crawl into my slippers and sleep there (apologies for the smell), has been with us for over 6 years now.
拖鞋，以小而可爱的救援小猫命名，曾经爬进我的拖鞋里睡在那里（对气味表示歉意），已经和我们在一起6年多了。
Much like my original plan of staying in China for no more than a year, we never planned on taking on a pet, but she entered our lives in Chengdu and melted our hearts instantly.
就像我最初在中国停留不超过一年的计划一样，我们从未打算养宠物，但她走进了我们在成都的生活，瞬间融化了我们的心。
We practically hand raised her, waking up every other hour to bottle feed her and clean her (she couldn’t even climb into her litter box; she was that small and precious). So, when I refer to her as my eldest, she really is. She even still sleeps with the same pink blanket that we used when we rescued her; it has been washed, I promise.
我们几乎用手把她抬起来，每隔一小时就醒来用奶瓶喂她并清洗她（她甚至不能爬进她的猫砂盒；她又小又珍贵）。 所以，当我称她为我的长子时，她真的是。 她甚至仍然睡在我们救她时用的那条粉红色毯子；它已经洗过了，我保证。
It hasn’t always been such a positive and romanticised experience as a “cat dad”; when we took Slipper to get spayed, I mean it when I say that it was like something out of a horror film. After being given a general anaesthetic, the cuteness of having her tongue peeking out of her mouth soon dissipated when we were given the option of watching the surgery through clear Perspex glass.
作为“猫爸爸”，这并不总是如此积极和浪漫的经历；当我们带着拖鞋去绝育时，我说这就像恐怖电影里的东西，我是认真的。 在接受全身麻醉后，当我们可以选择通过透明的有形玻璃观看手术时，她的舌头从嘴里探出头来的可爱很快就消散了。
The vet even proudly showed off Slipper’s removed ovaries and uterus to us through the glass; needless to say, there was no liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti for a while after that.
兽医甚至通过玻璃自豪地向我们展示了拖鞋切除的卵巢和子宫；不用说，在那之后有一段时间，没有肝脏和一些蚕豆和美味的基安蒂。
Vet trips are still a nightmare for me, so it’s been a blessing that some offer home visits for cats’ annual vaccinations.
兽医之旅对我来说仍然是一场噩梦，所以有些人为猫的年度疫苗接种提供家访，真是一件好事。
When we decided to leave Chengdu in 2021 and relocate to Nantong, it was obvious Slipper would join us in the move. As we packed up our belongings, she was oblivious to what was going on, but she did seem to enjoy hiding in every single box we packed. If she could have hidden away in a box of books or cutlery, she would have. Despite being diverted to Nanjing (and adding on at least another 4 hours of waiting and travel time), Slipper was proudly the first passenger off the plane, going around the carousal while all others stood waiting gloomily and restless for their luggage to arrive.
当我们决定在2021年离开成都搬到南通时，很明显，Slipper会和我们一起搬家。 当我们收拾东西时，她忘记了发生了什么，但她似乎确实喜欢躲在我们打包的每个箱子里。 如果她能藏在书盒或餐具里，她会的。 尽管被改道前往南京（并增加了至少4个小时的等待和旅行时间），但Slipper自豪地是第一个下飞机的乘客，绕着旋转木车行驶，而其他人则忧郁不安地站着等待他们的行李到达。
My youngest, Mickey, was once again an unexpected and “unplanned” addition.
我最小的孩子Mickey再次是一个意想不到的“计划外”的补充。
He joined our little family only a mere month in to our tenure in Nantong, meaning that our UK-Sichuan clan was completed by a Jiangsunese. He was on death’s door when we found him, or he found us, as his poorly and starving cries stopped us dead in our tracks as we carried home our latest online shopping purchases. His overly large ears and sharp, thin face (no longer thin anymore; he’s a real chonk now) reminded us a certain cartoon mouse; hey presto, Mickey!
他在南通任职仅一个月就加入了我们的小家庭，这意味着我们的英国-四川氏族是由一个江苏人完成的。 当我们找到他时，他正处于死亡的门口，或者他找到了我们，因为当我们把最新的网上购物物品带回家时，他可怜和饥饿的哭声让我们停在了脚步。 他过大的耳朵和锋利、瘦弱的脸（不再瘦了；他现在是一个真正的小人物）让我们想起了某个卡通老鼠；嘿，Presto，Mickey！
When we first brought him home, and after giving him a quick wipe down wash, we realised he wasn’t in the best of shape. Stick thin and barely able to walk, our local vet warned us that he might not survive the week. Mickey became quite the regular in that vet’s clinic; costing us a small fortune with his innumerous tests, check ups and medicine galore. But we, and Mickey himself, persevered and he finally started to work his way up to a healthy weight.
当我们第一次把他带回家，快速给他擦洗后，我们意识到他的状态不是很好。 我们当地的兽医警告我们，他可能活不了这一周，他瘦弱，几乎不能走路。 米奇成为那家兽医诊所的常客；他做了无数的检查、检查和大量的药物，花费了我们一笔小钱。 但我们和米奇本人坚持不懈，他终于开始努力提高到健康的体重。
He didn’t stop there… He’s now a healthy, chubby and incredibly needy cat, living, and annoying his elder sister, in Nanjing.
他并没有止步于此……他现在是一只健康、胖乎乎的、非常需要的猫，住在南京，惹恼他的姐姐。
When the time came for Mickey to get neutered, flashbacks plagued me of being shown removed organs, and I really felt sorry for the little lad.
当米奇被绝育的时候，闪回困扰着我被展示切除器官，我真的为这个小男孩感到难过。
I opted out of that particular excursion to the vets but made sure that his Elizabethan collar was ready at hand when he returned home.
我选择不去看兽医，但确保当他回家时，他的伊丽莎白式项圈已经准备好。
Having two cats hasn’t always been hunky dory living in China. Being on the other side of the country from my in laws, and not wanting to bother my colleagues, has meant that travelling for more than a long weekend away; hiking around Hunan last summer and then finally back to the U.K. this past summer, has meant that we’ve had to find “cat hotels”.
在中国，养两只猫并不总是大亨多利的生活。 与我岳父岳母在国外，不想打扰我的同事，这意味着旅行超过一个长周末；去年夏天在湖南徒步旅行，然后去年夏天最后回到英国，这意味着我们必须找到“猫酒店”。
This entailed visiting the pussycat pads beforehand, almost going through an interview-like process with the would-be carers.
这需要事先参观猫咪垫，几乎要经历一个类似面试的过程。
Fresh and clean water daily? Check. Litter cleaning when needed? Check. Lots of fuss and bothering the cats? Check check.
每天新鲜干净的水？ 检查。 必要时清理垃圾？ 检查。 很多大惊小怪和打扰猫？ 检查检查。
Food provided? No! Predominantly, most of the cat hotels we’ve visited (and booked our pampered pusses into) have required that bags of cat biscuits, meat and other treats we brought in with the cats; and they can be very picky with what actual brands are being eaten. One specific cat hotel back in Nantong refused to house Slipper as at the time she ate Whiskas cat biscuits; Mickey was on a special gastroenteritis specific diet at the time on vet’s orders! That all meant that if we had chosen that particular cattery, the “sick” cat would have been allowed to stay, but the healthy” cat not… all because of the brand of biscuits!
提供食物了吗？ 不！ 主要是，我们去过的大多数猫酒店（并预订了我们被宠爱的猫）都要求我们和猫一起带的猫饼干、肉和其他零食；他们可能对实际吃什么品牌非常挑剔。 南通的一家特定猫酒店拒绝容纳Slipper，因为她当时吃Whiskas猫饼干；Mickey当时根据兽医的命令，正在吃特殊的胃肠炎饮食！ 这一切都意味着，如果我们选择了那个特定的猫科，“生病”的猫会被允许留下来，但健康的“猫不会……都是因为饼干的品牌！
We quickly went onto the next “interview” and all’s well that ends well; we enjoyed our couple of weeks sweating away in Hunan in the middle of July, while Slipper and Mickey lapped up 2 weeks of luxury, with all the mods cons included.
我们迅速进入下一次“面试”，一切都很好，结局很好；7月中旬，我们享受了在湖南汗流浃背的几周，而Slipper和Mickey享受了2周的奢华，包括所有模组缺点。
We’ve made promises to ourselves that we won’t let another ball of fur sway us over and “trick” us into rescuing them; but for the time being we’re happy to be the shit shovelers (chǎn shǐ guān; 铲屎官) in our own house, or the cats’ house if we would believe them, as well as living the fat cat lifestyle (māo féi jiā rùn; 猫肥家润) for the foreseeable future.
我们向自己承诺，我们不会让另一团毛皮摇晃我们，并“欺骗”我们拯救它们；但就目前而言，我们很高兴成为自己家里的铲屎人（chǎn shǐ guān；铲屎官），或者如果我们相信它们的话，猫的话，以及在可预见的将来过着肥猫的生活方式（māo féi jiā rùn；猫肥家润）的生活。