A New Family Member

I've always loved having pets and they've been a part of my family since I was a small child. My last two cats, Snowball and July, were very much family members as they lived to be 22 and 18 years old. I lost them both last year and it was really hard on me and also difficult adjusting to life without them. I knew eventually I'd like to adopt another kitty but wasn't ready for quite some time. I'd admire all the adorable cats up for adoption at PetsMart and other places yet still hadn't felt that I'd found the right one or that it was the right time. Until last week...

Meet Bandit! He's a one and a half year old mackerel tabby cat that I adopted through Texas Cares (texascares.org) via our local PetsMart. I walked by while at the store last week to get dog food and noticed the little guy. Something about him captivated me. Now he has found a new home with us and is fitting in so well. He's already convinced the husband to let him sleep on the bed! He curls up by our feet every night and has taken to his new surroundings with very little issue. He comes out and about when it's on the quieter side in the house, and takes to hiding a bit more when the kids are running wild. He'll tolerate hanging out with them and let them pet him as long as they don't scream or yell in his face—which naturally they always tend to do right in his face two seconds after I remind them not to. Toddlers!

Whoever had him before the adoption center cut his whiskers off, which is a very cruel thing to do to a cat. They're growing back, but sometimes you can tell his balance is a bit wonky and he misjudged a jump or something the other day because I noticed a big scrape on his nose. It hasn't slowed him down a bit, though, as he's back to scaling all our tables, counters, the top of the piano and bounds up and down the stairs while chasing invisible prey. It feels so good to have a cat running around the house again, especially one who's personality fits right in!