Meet the cats: Bandit
How we got him
So this is Bandit, our second cat child. He’s a real sweet boy!
We got Bandit when Ember was almost 1. He’s a rescue cat from a shelter in Blackpool so we don’t know his birthday or even how old he really is as the shelter didn’t have any accurate records for him but we guessed he was about 6 months old when we got him.
Apparently when he’d been brought in to the shelter he was covered in fleas! We think he wasn’t very well looked after and was basically abandoned. Piecing together bits and pieces from what the shelter told us and the behaviour we observed in him we think we have some idea of what probably happened to him:
- He was a ‘present’, probably for small children who, when they got bored of him, abandoned him at the shelter.
- He had to fight off children and dogs for his food (He’s always scared of small children and is still protective of his food even now).
- He wasn’t neutered, de-flead or anything like that until he got to the shelter
Our poor little boy had a bit of a hard start to life really.
Finding a family
However all that changed when we walked in!
We’d gone to the shelter very much with the idea of letting the cat choose us not us choosing a cat as we believe there needs to be a connection there, you don’t just pick one you like the look of. And with Bandit that was certainly what happened: he chose us!
As soon as we stepped into his little room he came running over to us and nuzzled my face (one of the only times he’s done it to me though it’s a normal hello he gives his cat dad now). He mewed and purred and let us pet him straight away. He was adorable and we knew instantly he was our future cat.
We signed the papers there and then and soon after we went to collect him (once he’d been neutered as he was already booked in for the operation the following day!).
Meeting the sister
He settled into our home very quickly and was quickly climbing on our laps and being super affectionate.
We kept him separate from Ember for as long as we could but she really wanted to know what was behind the door (as we’d kept him in a separate room) and a break in from her lead to them meeting a bit sooner than we’d planned!
Lucky, though he was scared, she wasn’t and they soon worked it out.
I won’t say they’re the sort of cats to sleep curled up together but on the whole they get on… well they get on like siblings. Meaning that sometimes they’re lovely to each other and other times they’re dickheads! She’ll try and get him in trouble, he’ll pester her etc. On the whole though they get on and they’re not trouble, we think they like each other well enough and will sometimes sleep close to each other if not with each other.
Bandit is much more affectionate and has remained our ‘kitten’ in our mind because of the way he behaves (we often call him “baby boy”), he always wants to be around us, always wants to be involved, he’s so funny and loving.
He still has some insecurities but he’s grown in confidence, especially since moving to Scotland (which was an adventure for both our cats in and of itself!).
This was my little introduction to Bandit, much like with Ember’s introduction I’ve tried to keep it short but I I’ll be sure to share more of his antics (and that of his sister) either here, on YouTube or on Instagram so you’re bound to see more about both of them soon.
Hope you enjoyed this little introduction.
Bye for now,
Robin
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