Millie, left, and Polly are shown at about 4 months old, having been born in mid-May. They spend a great deal of time together in mock fights, pursuing each other around the Stanger residence in Boardman, and, of course, just sleeping.

“We’ve never had cats that acted like this before,” remarks my wife Judith in perhaps an understatement as she watches our latest feline acquisitions chase each other around the house and engage in spirited tussles. She also notes that over the years we’ve had about nine other cats.

But the antics of “Millie” and “Polly” … (named for relatives fond of felines that both of us had) are probably just the result of being young healthy, well-fed and residing in the spacious, warm environment that our home provides.

However, the scope of their activity is certainly trying. No area is off limits to them. Prompted hunger and just the desire to explore, they will jump onto counters and then climb into cupboards. One let out a screech recently when it stepped onto a hot burner on our electric stove.

I almost brought one of the two down onto my head when I opened the door of our over six-foot “fridge,” as it had been lying on top of the appliance and had been partly on the thick door

An open cellar door offers an avenue for a long spell of exploration.

I am often awakened in the morning by “Millie,” as she will usually head for our upstairs bedroom as soon as Judith opens the door below that leads to the area where we confine the cats for the night.

Due to the presence of the purring and pawing cat, it is only with some difficulty that I am able to make the bed after arising.

We usually have to confine the cats to another room when we are eating as otherwise they will wander all over the dining table in quest of tidbits and have to be constantly repulsed.

We don’t let the cats out of the house out of fear that they would stray and be difficult to retrieve.

But one evening, our son, Jamie inadvertently let “Polly” out, and very shortly found that she was on the roof of our garage. He had to get a ladder out to bring her down.

In contrast with dogs, house training cats is not a problem. Judith just cleans out the litter box ours use as needed.

(The constant putdowns of “Odie” by “Garfield” do have merit.)

The two cats were born in mid-May in a rural setting southwest of Youngstown. Their feral mother had been taken in by a woman who tends horses that the owners of the Schwebel Baking Company have.

There were five in the litter, and our two felines were distinctive for their black-and-white markings. Such animals, we learned, are known as “tuxedo cats.”

The two cats’ markings are so close to being identical that for a good while we had trouble in deciding which one was “Polly” and which one was “Millie.”

But the latter has now grown a little larger, and carries more black on one leg than does the other. But you still have to look closely to decide which one you are observing.

We do hope that the scope of their activity slows down as they become mature animals, and even now they do wear themselves out rather quickly and take long snoozes, usually together.

They often can be found on a padded bench beneath a large French window that looks out onto our front yard. They are seldom apart, and the companionship they provide each other is touching.

They can often be seen staring out into the night from that window and others, as cats do have impressive night vision.

The intrusion of the two rambunctious cats into what had been a fairly serene household has proven trying for both of us, and Judith at one point had almost decided to ask the woman previously owned the cats if she would take them back, as she had previously indicated that she would, if necessary.

But I demurred, saying that it would be “cruel” to oust the cats from a place where they had found a real “home” and manifested such affection toward their new owners.

So, we seem to be stuck with the two cats, for better or worse.

It had been perhaps unwise for a couple of our respective advanced ages to have adopted the two young animals, as it is quite possible, or even likely, that they will outlive us … or our ability to care for them.

We do have a son who could possibly take over their care as he has become fond of our “tuxedoed duo,” but neither he or his wife seem to spend much time at home, and leaving animals alone for long periods of time is unwise.

So we will probably just keep the two cats for as long as we can … until fate intervenes.

Robert Stanger has lived seasonally for over 40 years along the Allegheny River and has the stories to tell about it.