Thank you all for your kind words

Mom here. I wanted to thank each and everyone for their kind words about Bandit. He was a very gentle cat and was always a bit shy around strangers. The only time he would willingly let me hold him was at the vet's office. Then he would try to stick his head under my arm or into my arm pit to hide. It was his "if I can't see them then they can't see me" routine.

Bandit came to our house in a round about way. A shelter from Frankfort, KY brought some adoptable animals up to Louisville. They set up a booth in the foyer at the K-Mart where my brother was working. My brother struck up a conversation with one of the volunteers and was telling her about our Fiona. Like Fiona, Bandit was missing one eye.

Later in the day my brother found out that the shelter's donation jar had been stolen from their table! My brother felt bad for them and he donated $20. When he was leaving one of the volunteers asked if he would be interested in adopting Bandit. His adoption fee would be waived. After discussing it with me it was decided that Bandit would be coming home to us. The shelter held Bandit for a week as I was leaving town and my brother didn't want to contend with a new kitty plus the 6 we already had.

When we did bring Bandit home he fit right in with our cat family. There was very little hissing and growling. Over the years he and Jazzpurr became buddies and would groom each others ears and faces. Occasionally he would allow Daisy to groom him.

Bandit was not a lap cat, but if he was laying on top of the cat tree he would get all silly and roll around demand to be petted! And almost every morning he would greet me in the bathroom and jump on the side of the tub.

He spent a lot of time sleeping on the floor vents as the temperature got colder this year. I don't remember him doing that so much in the past winters. Maybe it was indication that something wasn't right. Or maybe, like a heat seeking missle, he just wanted to have a warm place to sleep. I'm not going to second guess why he decided it was time to go.

Much to my surprise, and relief, the vet's office called today. Bandit's ashes were back and I could pick them up. My boy is home now where he belongs. He is resting next to Panda's ashes. I want to add a plaque to his box with his name. The top of the box is carved, so it would be difficult to put his picture on it (like Panda's box has).  But I don't need to have his picture there. I will never forget his face.

Thank you all again for your condolences. It means the world to me.

Love,
Malinda and Clarissa & Co.

Bandit is now an angel

It is with heavy hearts that we must tell you that our brofur, Bandit Bigtoes, crossed the Bridge on Friday morning. He seemed to be perfectly fine on Thursday and when mom went to bed that night Bandit was sleeping on the foot of her bed.  This was about 1:00am. Bandit jumped off the bed before mom ever got in it, but that wasn't unusual. Bandit rarely slept with mom, although he loved to sleep on her bed when she wasn't in it.

When mom got up on Friday morning, she found Bandit laying in the hallway, exactly between her bedroom and our uncle's bedroom. Mom knew as soon as she saw him that he was gone. She gently picked him up and wrapped him in a towel. She let us say our goodbyes to him before she contacted our vet's office. Mom took his body there and they will make arrangements for his cremation. Mom should be able to pick up his ashes at the end of next week.

None of us expected this at all. It is a shock for the entire family. Bandit was only 8 years old, which seems young to us. We will never know for sure what took our brofur, but mom suspects that he went into cardiac arrest. Whatever happened, it was very quick.

Fly free, sweet Bandit. You will be in our hearts forever.

Bandit Bigtoes

February 2005 - December 27, 2013

They're Dreaming of a White Wednesday

We have more pics of kitties to share today.  These two white kittens live with one of our mom's co-workers. They are siblings, a brother and sister. Unfortunately we can't tell you which one is Roma (the sister) and which one is Raffa (the brother) in these pictures.  There was one more sibling in the litter. That one was solid black! He went to the granddaughter of their foster mom.

They sure look comfortable.

Their dad decided they needed more room:

We hope they were having sweet dreams!

Tabby Tuesday

Hello everyone! It's Tabby Tuesday and we have a few pictures to share with our friends. Johnny and Cash think these pics should be of them since they are tabbies, but they are going to have to be patient. You see, we have a new cousin in North Carolina!

This little girl is named Sophia Zelda, of Sofie, and she recently got a forever home with our Aunt Torchy. Sofie and her three siblings were pulled from a kill shelter in South Carolina. That's the best news! The second best news is all four of the babies found forever homes!

According to Sofie's vet, she is barely four months old and weighs a whopping 2.8 pounds! Aunt Torchy said Sofie is a little ball of energy and gets into everything (Aunt Torchy had to disconnect her dishwasher on Saturday night to rescue Sofie from behind it!)

So without further ado, here is Miss Sofie!

As you can see, Sofie already as the makings of a model! She can strike a pose!

This is Sofie with her big brother, Wick. Aunt Torchy said they get along just fine. Big sister Gracie Ninja-Vader is still suspicious of the little one.

We think little Sofie is pretty darned cute!

We are back...again!

It has been a whole month since mom wrote about Johnny & Cash joining our family.  For the most part the boys have settled in nicely.  There is still some hissing that goes on, especially between Fiona, Puff, and the boys.  Both Johnny & Cash adore their lap time with our mom and our uncle. A couple of times Johnny has gotten under the blanket and slept against mom's legs.

We've complained about having the hots here in the summer, and now we have the colds.  Although it is very sunny, today's high temperature won't rise above freezing.  There is a little snow on the ground, but the roads are dry so that is good.

Mom and our uncle were in Phoenix, AZ for a few days. Mom goes every December. This was the first time our uncle went with her. She got to visit with her friends who live all over the USA and England. They went to Alice Cooper's Christmas Pudding show on Saturday night. Performers, other than Alice Cooper, included Joan Jett, Vince Neil (of Motley Crue), Stephen Pearcy (of Ratt), Tom Keifer (of Cinderella), Kip Winger (of Winger), and KISS (without their make-up).  Comedian Bill Engvall entertained and actor John O'Hurley was the host.

Mom got home late Sunday night. Unfortunately, our uncle was flying home through Philadelphia, PA and was having a problem getting home. His flight was suppose to leave Phoenix at 1:15pm (AZ time) and he was suppose to get home by 10:30pm (KY time).  He didn't get to Philly until 12:30am because of their weather woes. That left him stuck overnight in the airport. It was 2:00pm on Monday before he arrived in Louisville!  He was tired, but otherwise all right.

Mom said she is done traveling until the spring. That means more time home with us!!!

We hope all of our friends are healthy and happy and warm!

Purrs to all,
Clarissa