I love my husband, but oh you cats!

This is an ode to My Boys. The soul mate's been out of town a lot lately on business and will continue to be in and out for most of the fall. But that's okay, cuz I've got work to keep me busy and my cats to keep me entertained. Those of you with pets don't need me to tell you how much company they provide.

What keeps me endlessly fascinated about Boo Radley and Mojo is how much contrast is packed into each cat's personality. The Boys are litter mates and the couple who fostered them from infancy really, really wanted to keep Mojo, but they found Boo too wild. That they elected to have the kittens stay together above their own desire to keep one of them is a testament to their love of animals. I will forever bless and admire them for it.

And Boo can be wild--especially if he thinks he's in trouble. As a kitten he would literally bounce sideways off the furniture, but if you could snag him and throw him over your shoulder, then stroke and talk softly to him, he usually settled down. He never seemed quite sure of his welcome and to this day the boy's got nursing issues. He kneads and sucks on blankets, pillows and the odd fleece jacket. He's also way more methodical and cautious about acquainting himself with new surroundings than his brother. When we first introduced the Boys to the outdoors, Mojo would tear across the back yard and up the lilac tree without a thought. Boo had to sniff out every square inch around him before he could move on to the next patch.

He's a huge cat and you'd think he'd be out kicking butt and taking names. Instead, he regularly gets the crap kicked out of him by the neighborhood Toms. So, guy-like, he comes home and takes it out on his brother, because he can pounce on Mojo and know blood (his own) won't flow. But he's sweet and affectionate and has a purr like a big rig in idle. And see that tail? About the only time it isn't up in the air like that is when I take him to the vet.

Mojo has never doubted his welcome for a minute. He just assumes everyone is delirious to see him and if you're not quick enough to pet him, he'll poke his nose under your hand and toss his head back, making it slide in the motion he's going for. But, boy, if he's not in the mood to be stroked, no one can slink out from beneath your touch faster than that cat. It's like his bones dissolve and he just disappears like smoke on the wind .

He's more delicately built and a good five pounds lighter than his brother, but he's got a cocky, emphatic walk you can hear all over the house. He never gets his butt kicked--he's honed his flight reflex to a razor sharpness and is faster than a Japanese bullet train.

Smoky Joe (a nickname) loves sleeping on laps or pillows and at first wasn't as interested as Boo in spending long hours outside. He looks and often behaves like a prince, but the boy is not afraid of wet work. Once he discovered hunting, he never looked back. As a direct result of the trophies he started dragging home we had to call a moratorium on installing the cat door we bought. Those carcasses are not a pretty sight and I don't intend to find them on my rug or bed.

So these a just a few of the contradictions within each of my cats. What are some in your own pets, or what are some of the things they do that tickles you?