I have always had pets around me, and I can't imagine life any other way. When I was living at home, we had dogs. When I bought my townhouse I decided on cats, because I don't have a yard for dogs to run and play in.

Sidney is a Russian Blue, and he has the most beautiful pale green eyes. He was a stray that was found by a colleague's sister who couldn't keep him and didn't want to take him to the pound when she couldn't find his owner. He's a "talker." I was out of town this past weekend, and when I came home he spent a great deal of time "chastising me" for going away, in between cuddles and nuzzles, of course.

Murphy is a tuxedo cat, and he also has beautiful pale green eyes. He was a stray that an ex-boyfriend of mine found in his friend's barn. He was so tiny when I got him, and he's always been one to cuddle. His response to me going away is to not let me out of his sight once I'm home--and if he catches me packing before I actually leave, he tries to burrow under everything in my luggage so he can come along. He actually almost succeeded once, too, until I realized my clothes had taken on a life of their own and were suspiciously mewing like Murphy does. Murphy also "tucks me in" every night, too. I can't go to sleep until he hops into bed and cuddles with me for a bit--that's his routine and he sticks with it, no matter what. Then he licks my forehead, meows, and leaves.

They both love to chase the laser light key chain I have, and they will tumble over each other to be the one to get to the light first. They definitely have their own personalities: Sidney is more stand-offish, though he's afraid of his own shadow, while Murphy kind of reminds me of a bulldog sometimes--he just plows through anyone or anything to get to me if he wants to see me with this very single-minded, determined look on his face.

Sometimes they drive me nuts, but they're "my boys," and I couldn't imagine not having them in my life.