Roxie and Remmy are originally from Ohio, born January 12, 2006. They were the only two in their litter. The area they came from is one with big rolling thunderstorms, and after spending just 10 weeks there as kittens, the girls have remained unfazed by thunder and lightening their entire lives. Even firework shows are barely worthy of a glance.
They have always been like two halves of the same cat, splitting the “work” between them. Roxie is the greeter for guests. She says hello and allows herself to be petted. Remmy hangs back and is shyer. But once she knows you, Remmy is more affectionate, while Roxie prefers to watch from a distance.
Remmy is my alarm clock, always on the dot of 5:10 am (and without a snooze button!). She even handles time changes flawlessly if I tell her the night before that we are to be either an hour earlier or later. Roxie takes care of me when I’m sick. She’s the one who won’t leave my side.
Roxie likes cuddles and kisses. Remmy loves nose to nose rubs and to be petted over the head.
Roxie sits on my left. Remmy on my right. Always. They sleep and eat this way too.
When we move and they enter a strange room, Roxie goes left along the perimeter and Remmy goes right. They meet in the middle.
Remmy is usually the one who “talks” to me, meowing and trilling for playtime or dinner. But when Roxie talks, it’s important. Someone really needs something.
They have a great vocabulary and are so smart. Roxie learned the command “sit” after I said it only 5 times. I got Remmy one of those complex feeder where they have to bat food through levels to get to it. She studied it for maybe 30 seconds. Then she pushed it over and rolled it on the floor. The food fell out. Problem solved.
I generally feed Roxie first because she’s a slow, dainty eater. Everyone knows they eat only out of their own dish. Remmy watches to see if I look away. If I do, she takes as much of Roxie’s food as she can grab in her mouth, then drops it into her dish. “Look mom, I’m eating out of my own dish.”
They both love the leather sofa and ottoman, which was a surprise. The ottoman arrived before the sofa, and Remmy immediately claimed it. She sat in sphinx pose on it. Roxie walked across the carpet and lifted her head to sniff Remmy. Then she balanced on her hind legs and wrapped her front paws around Remmy in the sweetest hug. And then…Roxie gripped Remmy tighter, and gave her a quick twist to the left, torquing Remmy in a twisted somersault off the ottoman. Roxie jumped up and claimed her spot. After a while, they decided to share it.
They often groom one another’s head and face. Now that they both aren’t feeling well, they are often curled up together. I can usually tell which one is comforting the other.
Other than a few nights when we moved across country and they traveled separately and a couple of days when Remmy was hospitalized about 3 years ago, the girls have spent every day and night together.
That’s why it is heart-breaking to know I am going to lose them both soon, but I feel like they want to stay together and cross the Rainbow Bridge, if not together, then not too far apart.
For however long they have left, I’m glad they got to live this life together and I’m glad they shared it with me.
– SE
