The Story

Bandit was born on May 28, 2002. She had 2 sisters and 2 brothers. Her mother is our orange and grey striped female cat, Blinky, and I think her father is a stray long-haired black and white cat that keeps hanging around our house. She is obviously calico, one of her sisters is calico, but striped, her other sister is grey and orange striped like her mother, one of her brothers was orange striped, and her other brother was orange and white.

Once again, we weren't planning on keeping any kittens, but while I was in Stockton for a week and half, Bandit kept my husband company. He really fell in love with her. He origianlly was originally calling her Goat T for her black spot on her chin, but he thought that it was to maculine of a name for her and settled on Bandit, for her mask-like face. Of course Bandit is kind of a masculine name too, but Bandit is kind of a tom-boy. She was the biggest of the 5 and was always, and still is, quite a bully. Everytime we gave the cats some sort of treat, she would growl and spat the ground with her foot to try to keep the others away. She is quite a character.

Care Sheet

Origin

It is believed that cats originated from Egypt.

Feeding

Cats are nibblers and they would prefer to have food available to them 24 hours a day. The best way to feed your cat is to provide dry food 24 hrs a day by way of a self feeder (a large covered container that holds a lot of food) or by keeping dry food in a dish. It's best to put the fresher food on the bottom. If your cat does not like or had a hard time eating dry food, you can moisten the food by adding a little water. You probably shouldn't leave moistened food for more then a day because it can get hard and sometimes even moldy. You can supplement this feeding by giving your cat a small can of wet food once or twice a day or even once in a while as a treat. Do not give your cat only wet food because wet food is mostly meat and is not a complete balanced diet for your cat. DO NOT give your cat milk. Milk has lactose in it and can cause your cat to have diarrhea. If you really want to give your cat "milk" as a treat, give your cat a milk substitute or formula instead. You can find various healthy milk substitutes for cats in the pet aisle of your local grocery store. Also, always provide a fresh bowl of water for your cat every day.

Environment

A cat would probably prefer to sleep with you. Other places they would like to sleep is in your window sill, on your couches or chairs, or an in our case, on top of snake tanks. If you want to designate a specific area for your cat to sleep, you can try offering them a bed made of a box and an old pillow or you can purchase a cat bed from your local pet store.
If your cat will be an indoor cat, you should provide a litter box for him/her. The litter box should be scooped daily and the litter should be changed about once a week. Maybe more if it starts to smell bad or if you have more then one cat. You don't need to purchase a real expensive litter. We use Johnny Cat for multiple cats, which is very reasonably priced, and we have found that it works very well.
Cats are very active and very courious. You should provide your cat with a variety of toys. I have found that cats prefer toys with cat nip in them, toys made of animal fur, or toys with bells. The smaller the toy the better. But don't get a toy that is so small that your cat may swallow it. You will find that cats will play with just about anything though. One favorite with our cats is the little plastic piece that you peel off of milk jug lids. They just love those!
Also, cats love to sharpen their claws. They will use about anything to do it with to, especially your furniture, drapes, etc. It's probably best to provide your cat with a scratching post made of wood and carpet, or of some other kind of material. Something for them to scratch on rather then your furniture. We have provided our cats with a multiple level scratching post. They love this because cats also love to climb.

If you would like to read more about cats. I have found that "Cat's In The House!" is a very fun and informative site to explore.