My feline black twins

The late Oliver, and sister, Sadie, 2009

I love them, my 'twins'. Born March 31st, 2011, they are about 10 months old.
We adopted them from a post on OVFreecycle.

 They play and sleep well together, but don't eat together. Between the three cats fighting for food- we have to throw out the food in 3 dishes, and put them strategically on floor and counter.

We have to feed them apart. Felix weighs less, Buster weighs more but lets Felix push him out of the way. Sadie, their big sister, nudges them both out of the dishes!
We feed Felix on the counter, which is crazy, but we have to. They love being up high.
Our spray bottle of water is still effective. When they jump up on the counter, hunting for leftovers, we spray
them with water. They learned quickly and now we just lift the bottle and they'll jump off the counters. Sigh.

Me, too?

I read an article in our EMC paper from our Lanark Animal Welfare Society (LAWS), our visit and photos are here, that spoke of black cats having different personalities than cats of different colours. I began to research it.

I popped him up!

Stubborn, independent, willful, but also friendly, outgoing, affectionate with us. Buster is the one who teases sister, Sadie. He'll give her a whack on the way by. She'll sit on top of the chair, he'll jump up and playfully whack at her. Felix isn't so brave!
Buster herds the turkeys in the backyard, as they look for scraps under the feeder. He herds them, splitting the flock, and driving them away from HIS tree, where he hunts for the red squirrel.

In 1973, the following traits were linked to colours in a book called "Your Guide to Cats & Kittens" by Pedigree Petfoods. Short-haired black cats: Clown-like delight in "entertaining its owner with gymnastic tricks and enthusiastic affection".

Can we play? Poor wee Batman!

They play fight, stop to clean a paw,
not necessarily their own, and fall asleep.

(Cats and Cat Care Retrospective - 1960s & 1970s)

Felix atop the new caterpillar!

The black coat was likely the first colour mutation of the wild tabby-patterned that were the ancestors of today's domestic cats. I've found our black cats easy to spot on the snow, but likely, indoors, to sit on my black purse, or other dark objects on the floor. Once they close their eyes, they disappear!

They like cuddling, but only after playful games. We have a lot of toys to wear them out!

Buster watches Reddy

In an article that appeared in the March, 2003 issue of NewScientist, “Black cats may be the more fortunate felines.” Research showed that ebony felines may have a health advantage over other cats. The gene for melanism, which makes their fur black, may be able to prevent certain viruses or bacteria from entering their cells, making them more resistant to disease than cats with lighter-colored coats.

Buster on top of the china cabinet

Genetics are interesting! "Blotched tabby and black are both caused by recessive genes. Two black cats will beget more black cats." Buster has an underlying dark brown tabby colouring in the sun. Felix, with longer fur, seems more black! He's also the one who likes to cross the highway to look for mice friends.

Also, I've read, Black cats less likely to be adopted at shelters! 

I've made videos of my boys:
 Kittens in castle, shows their playfulness; KITTENS in the swamp, as my boys liked to play in the wetland, and didn't realize that the floating water lily leaves weren't able to hold their weight! I had to wash them off in the bathtub, as they smelled pretty swampy!

Cat and mouse standoff

Buster caught a mouse out in our backyard. Sadie was watching carefully, non-pussed. 

The brothers argued about a mouse one of them caught. They don't hesitate to steal one another's captures! 
I made a collage of their antics:

CLick here for more camera critters! #200

How to tenderize a shrew!