Ribbon Dance!

Milford's favorite toy is technically a wedding favor, but what else can you do with a bunch of ribbons.  I wish I had a better caption for this.  

Pin-up Cat

I wasn't aware when I bought Milford his cat food (Blue Buffalo) that it came with sweet cat trading cards.  Obviously I hung up Milford's card in his little corner so he can admire his collection.  This kitty's name is Rupert Bandit and the card has his stats on the back.

  

Looking Out

Sorry the blog has been running slow everyone.  Since I started my job I have become pretty lazy about updating but I promise to try and be better going forward!  This is Milford's favorite spot, staring out the window on my bookshelf.  Go Community!  

America's Next Top Model

Little did I know when I adopted him, Milford had a modeling past.  Obviously this is his "magnum."  

First Vet Appointment!

Milford's expression after I shared the news that he was going to have his first vet appointment tomorrow morning!  Wish him (or should it be me?) luck!

Chores

I usually like to fold clothes on my bed while I watch a tv show or movie.  Milford has other ideas.  He takes playful to entirely new heights.  This is typically what happens with I try to fold clothes.  

And yes, I'm watching Persuasion.   

Happy Birthday!

It's a double happy day here at The Daily Bandito/Milford Academy as two of the blog's favorite and most faithful readers have birthdays today!  A very happy birthday to Katie and Justine!!  Milford loves you! 

 

Collar time!

I put Milford's new collar on him and it has a bell on it.  The bell really freaked him out and he spent a good long time trying to figure out where the sound was coming from until I took it off.  

Guest Feature: Lola Sun Arnold!

This cute girl is the new fur-daughter of Eveline and Grant.  She is a recently adopted lab/pitbull mix who came from the Arlington Shelter, yay rescue animals.  Eveline has replaced Christina and I as her running buddies with this new four legged friend.  Lola is very good at destroying stuffed animals and eating grass and enjoys belly rubs, long walks on the beach and pina coladas.  She also is very energetic, Eveline said this twice in her description so she must be VERY energetic!  Good luck to the Arnolds and congrats on their newest edition!

Home Again

Happily Sushi has returned home and is enjoying his new wet food diet.  Poor guy suffered but now he's on the other side and on the mend.  Yay for Sushi, he's a brave little guy! 

Get Better Sushi!

I am sad to say that poor Sushi had a urinary blockage and is currently at the vet recuperating.  He's been acting strange for roughly a week (though it was hard to tell because he usually acts strange) so my parents took him in and the poor guy had a urinary blockage.  Luckily the vet unblocked him and now he's resting at the vets getting ready to come home on Wednesday.  The Daily Bandito wishes Sushi a speedy recovery and hope that he isn't in pain anymore!  Poor baby!   

Don't Question His Commitment to Sparkle Motion

In an effort to keep Milford from reeking too much damage on the carpet, I put soft paws on his nails.  The humane alternative to declawing a cat and they come in fun colors too!  I put blue sparkle on him.  He loves them!  Well, at least I pretend he does.  

Milford's first Week

You can always tell a Milford man

For his first week at the house Milford stuck to his roots and camped out in the cubby of my roommates bookshelf.  She luckily was okay with this arrangement and Milford ventured out cautiously for food, water and pats.  However, any sudden movements would send him sprinting back towards his cubby and back into being strictly a Milford Man.

 Milford's corner.  Obviously not quite unpacked yet.

Peeking his head out to say hello

Modest

Sometimes you just don't feel like coming out to play.  You can always tell a Milford man.  

Guest Feature: Cats the Nine Lives Foundation

I know it isn't a Monday but I figured since I'm getting back into the blog I don't have to stick strictly to that schedule.

Walking into the shelter at first was very overwhelming; there are cats EVERYWHERE. They have a tons of cages filled with cats and little cages with bunches of kitten (squeeee!).  Every time I went to visit Milford before I could pick him up, I held a kitten.  So cute but I could not take on the work.  They have a cage for FIV+ kitties because this is a no-kill shelter (yay!).  I almost got this HUGE FIV+ six-toed siamese instead, but I knew in my heart that Milford was the boy for me.

Being the great cat mom that I am, I accidentally thought this was my kitty on my second visit to the shelter.  I was a little sad cause this cat wasn't that sweet and I was a little disappointed with his personality.  Then i realized I was taking pictures of the wrong cat, whoops!

Cute, but not as cute as Milford.

 
Satan kitty who screamed at me every time I accidentally got close.

Super playful kitty in Milford's cage, if anyone wants a cat that LOVES to play and jump around she is amazing!

Jail cat!

Kittens!

Hammock of kittens!

You Can Always Tell a Milford Man

Please welcome Milford, the new resident cat of the Daily Bandito!  I picked him up from the Nine Lives Rescue in Redwood City, CA.  It's a wonderful no kill shelter that takes in Bay Area kitties after their times are up at city shelters.  Poor Milford had been in the shelter since December after his time was up at the San Jose shelter.  He is quiet and enjoys hiding himself into corners and watching the world.  But if you approach him and give his head a scratch, he's more than happy to come out for more affection.  So far Milford has been very cautious of his surroundings but that stop him from coming into my room in the middle of the night and jumping on my bed totally waking me up and freaking me out.  Thanks buddy.  I hope he settles in soon, but the house is a little chaotic since we're still moving in!  These photos are all taken when I was visiting him in the shelter before I could take him home.  

Missing Bandito

It's difficult for me to look at this blog still and not cry a little.  Even though I'm happy so many videos and pictures of Bandito exist, currently they seem to just emphasize to me how much I've lost.  However I am very happy that I got to be Bandito's caretaker during his last year and I hope that he found happiness and peace with me.  Moving to a new city feels a little strange because I had planned to do it for so long with Bandito and now the process feels a little hollow.

My grandmother sent me a very nice note after Bandito passed, advising me that the best way to mourn a beloved pet, was to welcome a new one into your life.  Although I still miss and love Bandito, I did think it would be a nice way to honor his memory, and I decided to adopt another shelter cat.  With the help of Daily Bandito reader Eveline I settled on a very nice Russian Blue Mix at the Nine Lives Rescue in Redwood City, CA.  I'm picking him up tomorrow and will be introducing him to the blog as the new main resident cat so you guys can look forward to following our adventures together.  I decided against adopting Bandito's clone, I seriously considered it, because I knew in the end, it's better to enjoy an entirely new cat on his own rather than try to impose the shadow of Bandito on top of him.

I miss you and love you Bandito!  You will always be the original fancy cat!    

Rest in Peace

For those of you who don't know, Bandito passed away yesterday, most likely from cancer.  He died at the vet but luckily the kind vet was there with him during his last moments.  I arrived a few minutes afterwards so I could say good bye to him and pet him one last time.

He was a wonderful loving and very unique cat who I miss terribly.  I'll update more at a later date.  

Sad News

Sadly today when I woke up Bandito was very listless and still refused to eat.  He has become increasingly thin through the months and now his energy was very low.  I called his vet and she said to bring him in to make sure he didn't have a urinary blockage.  I brought him in and the vet said he was clear from a blockage and I made an appointment for him to be seen at 4pm.  Through the day he cried and could barely seem to move.  Finally at the vet appointment I learned that he is extremely dehydrated and has very low glucose, he's at 35 when he should be at 70.  His temperature is also very low, around 97 when he should be around 100. He's now been hospitalized for the next two days and been given fluids and dextrose through an IV.  The vet isn't sure what is causing his declining health, she suggests maybe a kidney infection or a tumor in his pancreas.  I'll find out more when his blood work is done tomorrow.  Hopefully it is a treatable infection and Bandito can rebound!  I love him so much and wish him a speedy recovery.  

Niphead

Bandito generally doesn't play with toys (as evidence by the background picture of this blog).  But, when he arrived at my parent's house he discovered their catnip toy (that Sushi completely ignores) and went nuts.  He wrestles with it less, but still will sit possessively on it or near it to make sure everyone knows that this toy is his; he loves his catnip!

Meowbook

I think it's time for Bandito get his own meowbook page.  I base this blog on the simple motto that "anything that has to do with cats and the internet works."  The founder may or may not be Justine's future husband since they share a vision of sailing around the world on a catamaran with two cats from each cat race; sorry Ross.

No More Water

Oh look, there's a little water left

You really had to drink all the water?  Greedy....

Guest Feature: Ari, Bear and Bruin

During my funemployment which will soon end (mixed feelings) I relived my high school days with Mica, playing hours of Mario Kart and Mario Party (2 and 3).  I also got to enjoy many hours of trying to play while animals inserted themselves on to your lap and into your face in a bid for attention.

This is Ari, he's 14 years old and the friendliest cutest guy ever.  Yay chocolate labs.

Bear cleans himself

Bear steals Ari's bed

Bear (short hair) and Bruin (long hair) are brothers; they don't always get along.  Bruin likes to pick fights with Bear, who just likes to sit on your lap while you're trying to play video games.  I just finished East of Eden so I feel like I understand their struggles a lot more now.