We talk quite a bit on this blog about how two are (often) better than one when it comes to adoption. We long to see bonded pairs find homes together, and there are few sights sweeter than smitten felines in a happy heap.

So what do we do when we have a set of brothers who show all – and I mean all – the symptoms of sibling rivalry?

The first thing you notice about Boots and Pause is the family resemblance. From those big, round, neutered-later-in-life heads to their tuxedo markings, these brothers were blessed with the same good looks.

Then there’s the fact that they are inseparable…but not always in the way you might think.

Until a few days ago, I’d only ever seen the boys side by side in peaceful reverie, taking in Suite B from the comfort of one another’s company. I loved their bondedness and naturally assumed that we’d push to have them adopted as a matched set. You’d never buy one salt or pepper shaker without picking up its perfectly symmetrical match – so how could we un-bond the boys of B?

Funny I should ask.

It turns out Boots is eager to get un-bonded from Pause in one major way.

Just when the boys had almost convinced me that they were brothers and BFFs at once, the secret came out: Pause has been watching ultimate fighting on cable, and he finds it more than a little inspiring.

Don’t let those daytime, side-by-side catnaps lull you: Pause means business, and poor Boots is…well, all too often on the business end of Pause. This is no ordinary, looks-like-savagery-but-is-actually-fun playtime; Pause becomes a wild savage beast, and it’s all his lookalike brother can do to escape.

Ginny tells me that, earlier this week, the two were wrestling so ferociously that they rolled right off the ramp in Suite B, bouncing off the cubbies and landing on the floor – all while in a combat clinch.

So what to do? Are the boisterous brothers destined for a home together (as befits their many mellow moments of togetherness), or is it Boots’ dream to get away from Pause the pummeler?

Maybe a glance at human behavior will provide a clue. As an only child, I have my own issues (for which there’s not enough space on all the blogs in the world :-)), but I’ve been spared the scars and bruises of sibling rivalry. Yet most of my (human) dear ones hold no resentment for the siblings who brought them grievous bodily harm during childhood. In fact, it seems almost a right of passage to have almost killed/been almost killed by your siblings before age 8 – and then to talk about it amidst gales of laughter when you’re 28.

So, for now, we’re keeping a close eye on this tumultuous brotherhood. As intense as Boots and Pause can be with one another, they’re each so mushy-sweet with people that I know their meant-to-be human beans will find them in the near future. The only question: will it be one home, or two different destinations, for these boys? Stay tuned.

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