Guest post by Madolline Gourley, traveling cat sitter from Brisbane, Australia.

On an extended cat-sitting stay in Canada, I had quite a few cats lined up to care for. I didn’t expect to find two doppelgängers… in the same city… within a few neighbourhoods of each other in Montreal… who allegedly aren’t related. Allegedly.

Introducing Tango and Marlon. Two cats I cared for, on separate occasions, during my stay in Canada. While it’s unlikely they are biological brothers, they do look very similar. The cat universe works in mysterious ways.

Tango is the first ‘brother’ I cared for. He’s the younger of the two. Tango is aged somewhere between one and two years old and was adopted here in Montreal by a friend’s sister. He’s grey and white with long white socks. He has a pink nose and toe beans and a fluffy, almost feather duster-like tail.

Marlon, on the other hand, is black and white. He has fluffy white paws, a fluffy-but-not-quite-as-fluffy-as-Tango tail and several black toe beans. His nose isn’t as pink, and it has a distinctive black spot on it. Several of my friends commented that Marlon was a real-life Sylvester the Cat.

Marlon was adopted in Edmonton and brought over to Montreal earlier this year when his owner relocated from Calgary. Marlon has never set foot on the streets of Montreal whereas Tango is well-known around his neighbourhood. To ensure Tango doesn’t get lost, he is microchipped and his whereabouts can be found using the AirTag attached to his collar.

If you look at their faces, you’ll notice Tango and Marlon have very similar markings. The only difference is the colour of the surrounding fur. Maybe the same cat in different flavours?

Another quirky trait they share is both cats prefer to drink their water from a glass. Marlon has own water glass, while Tango alternates between drinking from a vase, his water glass and any glass I left unattended. And even though Tango does, in fact, have a bowl of water in the bathroom, I was told he would rather drink from the toilet given the chance. Note to self: Always close the toilet seat to prevent this from happening again.

Both cats enjoyed loafing on—or in—cardboard boxes and would always remind me when it was time to be fed. Another coincidence: Tango and Marlon both eat an ACANA® diet and require regular brushing to keep their coats knot-free. Tango doesn’t mind being brushed, but Marlon isn’t a fan. He’ll get shaved for the summer when his owner returns home at the end of June. It’ll also make life easier for Marlon in what’s bound to be another humid summer in Montreal.

If you’re ever in Montreal, be on the lookout for unrelated cat twins.

Learn more about Madolline’s house and cat sitting adventures on her blog, One cat at a time, or over on Instagram.