Mary and Sally When I first got my two cats Mary and Sally, I couldn’t tell them apart. Now they have grown into their own unique personalities. They are the same age, about nine years old, and they both have black fur. Like most cats, they crave attention and love to get a good scratch behind the ears. Over the years I’ve owned them, they have grown fatter and lazier. When the warm sun streaks in from our window and shines on the carpet, Mary and Sally fight over the sunbathing spot. Mary usually wins. They both love to climb onto the couch and stare out the window at the birds, sometimes meowing or batting uselessly at the glass. Their predator instinct are still in both of them! Besides these common cat antics, they are very different, especially their personalities. First their appearances: Mary has short hair, and Sally has long hair that sheds all over the house. Mary is extremely dumb. For a long time I wondered why she would stand over her full food bowl and whine as if I starved her. Then I figured it out; she has to see me putting the food into her bowl and hear the food clinking against the plastic to actually believe it’s there! Sally has no such problems. Unlike most cats, she can perform tricks, and she responds to her name and the shaking of the treat can. I always show this off to guests. The guests who come over never get to see Mary, because she runs into a far-off corner of the house and hides. Sally, on the other hand, comes immediately to the doorbell as if she were a maid responding to room service. She lathers over guests, but the story is different when she goes to the vet. In their records the veterinarians have a big X by Sally’s name. A visit for shots or medication requires them to fetch heavy gloves, the lead veterinarian, and a first aid kit. Sally’s bawling can usually be heard outside in the waiting room. On the other hand, the vet called Mary a little sweetheart and kissed her. When Monica and I were little, we often played cat school. Mary would always get good grades, because she stayed sitting there docilely staring off into space. Sally usually got F’s since her tendency was to run away from us when we tried to bring her to our classroom. At home, Mary lets me pick her up and rock her like a baby. I don’t know if she enjoys it, or just doesn’t care. Sally loves to be scratched behind the ears, but she won’t let anyone pick her up. The final difference between my two cats is their views on my other cat, Misty. Mary often growls at Misty and glares at her from across the room. Sally gets annoyed with Misty at times, but she has accepted Misty and often plays with her or licks her. My two cats Mary and Sally are sisters, but their personalities are unique.