Would you recognize your sister?

Do you believe that animals who are related by blood, even if they've never met each other, recognize the familial connection if they do finally meet?

I'm asking this because I am becoming increasingly convinced that Roxie and Annabelle are related. I believe this for several reasons. First, both felines were dumped on my "driveway" - Annabelle in 2004 and Roxie about 7 weeks ago. Annabelle appears to be a Ragdoll, while Roxie appears to be Persian. Both are uncommon breeds in my area; in fact I know of no one who has either. Since Ragdolls were originally bred from Persians, and since the breeds do have some similarities, my guess is that these two girls were dumped by the same person who perhaps breeds and/or collects Persians and Ragdolls somewhere nearby.

More important, though, is the relationship these girls seem to be developing. Annabelle has always been the most aloof of all of my cats, neither terribly social with me nor with any of the other animals with the occasional exception of Feather. She's always made quite the point of being a loner. But now she is starting to play with Roxie, and this afternoon I found them napping together in the master bathroom. They've even chosen the same boyfriend. Feather is the only other cat I've ever seen Annabelle play with, and sure enough, Feather is the one Roxie recruited as her favorite playmate, as well.

Roxie and Annabelle seem to have this underlying connection, so I am left wondering if there is a family tie to which they are responding. Could Annabelle be Roxie's older sister? Perhaps there's a Persian queen out there who hooked up with a handsome Siamese tom to produce Annabelle, then several years later became enamored with a Persian tom to produce Roxie. But how would Annabelle and Roxie know that?

I'm pretty sure I wouldn't recognize a sister I'd never met if I passed her on the street. Would you?

Laurie