US

We are six.

• Starting with the youngest, The Ginge is one year old, is full of energy, is a great hunter, friendly, affectionate, adventurous and is just one gorgeous moggy.

• Monocat is ten, a bit of a matron, mostly lazy but can be very energetic if she spots other cats on her patch. Possessive of 'her' people, her favourite position is on a lap, curled up as tight as she can get.

• Tigs is five, he is hyperactive and all boy, but a sensitive little soul under all the energy and sillyness. We adopted him at 14 months old from foster care. He has been called a smart cookie - not academic, but bright enough and already much more streetwise than his big bro, who he loves to bits.

• Pup is eight, and has had a lot to contend with already. He has Cystic Fibrosis, was born prematurely, and was fostered for the first twenty months of his life (when he wasn't in hospital). Those sort of scars don't leave you, and he's got some emotional baggage to live with. We are his 4th set of parents. He is a gentle, lovely natured boy who drives everyone batty with his restlessness and inability to stop talking.

• Himself is a bit older than that, is a scientist, a quiet type, who loves science, cycling, astronomy, amateur dramatics, mountains and his family. We met late, but have been married 15 years now, and I can't imagine life without him.

• I am 3 years older than Himself. I wanted to be an Archaeologist since I was about 14, did a degree in Archaeology, but discovered when I qualified that jobs in that field were hard to come by, so took up voluntary work with disabled teenagers as a stopgap. Ended up as a residential social worker for a few years then decided to do my nursing training, and have been a nurse ever since. Currently working in an Endosocpy department one day a week. Love photography, cats, gardening, mountains, the sea and doing outdoor stuff..