An odd question

[post-patriarchy.livejournal.com]

Hi All,
I am new to this community and really enjoy all of the resources it provides.  Around a year ago I discovered a family secret, that my father was mostly Russian.  Finding out this was very interesting, considering that I had wanted to learn Russian and also loved Russian Realism.  This leads me to a more serious translation question..

Growing up I knew my family had past involvement in the Irish mafia.  This was decades ago, of course.  As a child we had a distant family relative who would visit and he had a tattoo of two cats that looks similar to this:
 
This was long before I knew part of my family was Russian, but I remembered this specific tattoo because I loved cats.  I know these tattoos have a hidden meaning and are associated with criminals?  It was on his arm, amoung other tattoos.  Does anyone have an idea of what this means?  I saw this picture randomly and was seriously shocked.  I've been trying to research information about these tattoos, but just know it's a thieves tatto of husband and wife...which doesn't help much.  I'm not sure if the text was the same, but ANY help would be greatly appreciated.  I apologize, though, if this is offensive in any way..I do not know the meaning of the image if it is indeed so.  I am also sorry if this is off topic or inappropriate, but I am desperately seeking information.  THANKS MUCH!