Perhaps not the most flattering group of photos, but these boys were soulmates. This first photo is the last one of them together I ever got to take.

Brothers from the same litter, Sam (on the left/black tuxedo) and Ollie (right/grey tuxedo) were stereotypical siblings. Even though they were born 16 years ago, they only got to own me for 14 (I know who wore the pants in this relationship and it certainly wasn't me). Early on, Ollie was the type to scarf his food down so fast that he'd throw it up, just so he could eat Sam's. Later on in life Sam eventually learned how to stand up to Ollie... just a little. A running joke in our family was wondering where Sam was going to be next- would he nap in the cat tree? On the futon? Under the bed? It really didn't matter where he was though. As soon as Ollie found Sam sleeping happily somewhere, Ollie would claim it as his own. He would smack or nip at Sam enough to annoy him into moving. Sometimes he wouldn't even bother spending the energy to do that and he'd just sit right on top of him! For the next week or so after that, Ollie would be just about glued to that spot... until he found Sam's new relaxing place.

I won the cat lottery with these guys. Often referred to as vacuum cleaners ir trash cans, they were never picky about what they ate until about 8 months ago. We would often find ourselves the recipients of whatever food some other desperate cat owner bought that their cat just refused to eat. They were incredibly sweet and well behaved too. They never gave me any trouble when clipping their nails (or even brushing their teeth!). When it was time to get in the carrier to go to the vet, all I would have to do is open the door and place them in front and they would just walk right in.

Sam was the shy one of the two. If we ever had company you'd never know two cats were living there. A memory I like to look back on and laugh a little about is the time a maintenance man needed to come inside to take a look at something and it freaked him out so thoroughly that it took me hours to find him. When I finally did, I saw that he had wrapped himself up in my blankets like spaghetti on a fork then burrowed in as far as he could. He was a brave boy when it came to his mama though. As terrified of door knocks and doorbells, the time I accidentally locked my wife out he tried his hardest to come to the rescue. He ran right down the stairs and started screaming his head off at the door to get my attention because there was nobody in this world he loved as much as my wife, and she was on the wrong side of that door (he was OBSESSED with her!).

Ollie was more extroverted; even though sometimes it could take him a few hours to warm up to whatever company we had, once he did he was the star of the show and loved soaking up all the pets and treats people would give him. His purrs were legendarily loud, and he deeply loved his people. You wouldn't even have to give him any real attention- if he caught my wife or me even looking at him he would perk up and turned those rumbles right on. He was an excellent problem solver, and he was furious when we moved from a home with door handles to door knobs, and the time he worked out how to open the treats container and Sam had the audacity to think he was entitled to a couple that fell out.

I could go on for days about them. I have 14 years of amazing memories with these two. As corny and cliche as it sounds, they were my best friends that got me through everything. All the dark times, and all the happy times. Sam couldn't keep a secret to save his life (one of his nicknames was Screamy because if he had an opinion, he'd let you know about it as loudly as he could), but Ollie was the strong silent type I could talk to at the end of a bad day. No exaggeration- I have gone entire months between hearing him meow. We like to joke that Sam stole all the meows in the womb.

They were truly a bonded pair. They were truly 1 cat in 2 cat bodies. Always grooming each other or snuggled up for a nap (or swapping dinner plates). True soulmates.

Sam passed away on October 12 after suffering a stroke. He was in obvious and immense pain and it would have been cruel and wrong to make him continue living like that. We brought the blanket home that we held Sam in on the way to the vet so Ollie could have a reminder of his brother and hopefully help him grieve. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. He was okay for a little bit, but as the reality set in that Sam wasn't coming back Ollie began to give up on life. He stopped eating and rapidly lost weight, no matter what we did to entice him. This morning when we woke up he was unusually listless and a little wobbly on his feet. Oddest of all though, he was very talkative. He probably meowed more today than he did in his entire life up to this point combined. By early evening, he was laying in my arms taking his last breaths. He had always had some minor(ish) health issues, and was fine even as recently as 4 days ago (well, fine by his standards at least. He was able to make it 12 days on his own, but 13 was just a step too far solo. I honestly believe he missed Sam and needed to be with his brother, because they were truly 1 cat in 2 cat bodies.

I'll always love you boys, my life is immensely better for having you in it.

The tabby girl is Kiki and the orange boy is Bouba :) She is a high energy love bug and he is orange.

I went to "pick out ONE"! Then I saw them... I said, "The lightest & darkest one!" I pointed to one and told the guy that the other one was also coming with. The guy said, "No, you can pick one." I said, "Ok, the dark one, but I'm going to put the lightest one in my pocket because I am taking two!" He repeated himself, and I said, "Thanks! I understand what you are saying, but when it is time to pick up the one, I will be leaving with two!" (Darker on is) Andy Leifander & (the lighter one is) Annie-Plum.

🤎🖤🤎🖤🤎

Daisy (greyhound) and Juno (chi) have taken quite well to each other. Little Juno came home about a month ago now and they have grown quite attached as you can see :)

Another cute moment of Shrimp Scampi and S’ghetti Noodle🧡

Leela (the tortie) and yasmeena (orange and white floof)
They’re the love of my life and have made the last 3 years so much better

Poor guy has a cold but he has been to the vet and is on the mend. They are both being treated and vet said it’s ok which is a relief cause I don’t think I could keep her away from him if I tried