We got Twix and Pacer when they were 8 to 10 weeks old. They are litter mates and even though they look similar, they are strikingly different.
Outgoing, confident and equipped with a freakishly long tail, Twix quickly demonstrated excellent ability to jump, spin, and maneuver in mid-air. 
I’ve got some amazing video of Twix in action!
He excelled at climbing and anything athletic. Twix would start things, and Pacer watch and eventually follow (even into the paper shredder!).
Pacer was unbearably shy and lacked confidence. He also has a goofy little tail, bent, broken, crooked and curved at both ends. Pacer’s tail simply isn’t the same kind of tool that Twix’s is.
Twix has this incredible rudder and balancing device.
Pacer has this fuzzy thing that generally looks comical or lewd.
I spent a lot of time with Pacer as a kitten, using toys to encourage him to climb, jump and follow his brother around. These exercises seemed to help him to build his skills and confidence.
Twix learned how to get over our chain link fence by jumping to the top rail, balancing for a moment, and then dropping to the other side.
Pacer’s climbing strategy had not involved precise jumps like this. Instead he’d make a loose jump and hang by his front legs and pull himself up. His strategy just didn’t involve his tail.
One day I watched Pacer watching Twix jump the fence, and Pacer worked to copy him. Pacer seemed to be learning by observation. Pacer can now jump the fence in the same sort of manner that Twix does, and his action is fast and skilled.
In most situations, Twix is the dominant cat. He’s always been bigger, and of course more agile and athletic.
Isn't his tail freakishly long?
His tail is really cute, though!
I’ve been noticing for a while that Twix always seems to locate Pacer when the little guy is quietly snuggled with me. Because he’s so shy, it feels really special to have Pacer search me out and crawl under the covers for a snuggle. But it seems that every time he does this Twix eventually shows up and either walks around on top of Pacer (this action seems deliberate) or gets under the covers and disturbs Pacer. Of course Pacer leaves, and I’m really annoyed with Twix.
Fast forward to two o’clock this morning. I feel a poke at the side of the bed and open my eyes to see Pacer’s ears: he’s peeking at me like an adorable little bedside troll! He wants under the covers! I let him in, and he comes right down to my knees for a wonderful, purring snuggle. OK, keep in mind that he entered my bed from a very specific point of entry. I had dragged the two-story cat bed he was sleeping in up there so it was near my head, and he used this thing to stair step into my bed. Pacer and I sleep that way for a while and then I hear Twix, who has jumped from the bed to the bedroom window. Eventually Twix exits the window and ends up on my side of the bed, and he’s poking around. He’s poking the blankets by my head, and he’s sniffing around the two-story cat bed that Pacer had slept in earlier. Twix keeps poking and I realize he wants to get under the covers- and I realize that he must have been sniffing the cat bed, the covers, the bedding and he knows where Pacer is. Twix has used his superior olfactory senses to find his brother (and to wake me up).
I know that I can’t know for sure. This was merely an observation and a conjecture, but I am absolutely certain that Twix locates his brother’s prime cuddle sleeping spots largely with his sense of smell. and then he takes over these sleeping spots.I suspect the reason he takes the sleeping spot it to demonstrate his dominance.
Like this:
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This Cat Canoe uses a more delicate fabric than I normally use, so washing instructions are a bit different. I recommend:
