Back on September 12, 2020, Bandit (the runt of the litter) and his brother Ghost, were brought from the Ontario Rescue to the Flores home. Originally given the name "Bear" he was big puffy and bright eyed at the rescue while his brother appeared to be more shorthaired and timid. Bandit was first to exit the carrier when he got home, and always the loudest in the room (whether is was with noise or his actions). Brave and strong headed, he was always asking questions by either reaching with his paws or by sticking his nose where you were at. Then at night sleeping by you with the sweetest snuggles and hugs. ---------- When he was really young, he had a small round of sickness when he was first at home, where he has a stomach issue and it snowballed into a skin issue, and then finally he was able to recover and the first time Aldo and Sandi saw him play was about one month since he got home. When they saw that paw go out and his little body bounce in excitement, and Aldo and Sandi cried in joy. He was going to make it! ------- Once he got a little more grown, he and his brother would get into the routine of serious "zoomies" in the morning. Bandit would make little trills that Sandi would call the Bandit car, and she would say, "I can hear Bandit driving"! After, at breakfast he would always try to stick his paws into Sandi's morning cereal. It was a daily ritual of "No, Bandit~! This is mommy's food- no, Bandit Bear~no! heeeeeey!" She could easily have stopped him but he was always so curious. Sometimes he would win getting his paw in the bowl. ------ He was not much of a jumper, but always admired his brothers ability to reach new heights. He loved to sleep on his back or against his mom and dad in the silliest positions. It was theorized that he sometimes did it on purpose to make his parents laugh. ------ Later in December, he was going in for his final set of vaccinations and rabies shots, when the pet hospital offered to do a SNAP test for him for free since his results were not up to date on their file. That was we learned that he was positive for the Feline Leukemia(FELV). Aldo was handed a printout with no real explanation and sent home with a downplayed understanding of what this meant. He told Sandi about what he was told, and quickly they learned that this was not as simple. ----- We got IFA tests done and snap test redone for both Bandit and his brother and we learned that they were positive for the IFA tests as well. The short way of explaining this is, their case of FELV was present and within their bone Marrow and Blood. ----- The medical issues aside, Sandi and Aldo agreed that they would celebrate these two boys and never cry in front of them no matter how sick they might get. And we were going to give them the best lives that we could. We showered them with even more toys and we continued to take pictures of them everyday. It is a true fact that Sandi has a picture of Bandit on everyday of his life within the Flores household. ----- Sandi then turned her attention to finding a better vet that would care about her boys and discovered the location, SunnyCrest Animal Care Center in Fullerton. It was the first time she brought them in, and met a doctor that not only cared about not just blaming everything on FELV but actually researched and improved his understanding of this rare sickness while helping treat any issues they had. Dr. James, was a godsend after a few rounds of other vets that seemed to either not know what they were doing or were just blaming everything on FELV. ----- Under Dr James's supervision, Bandit and Ghost started to really grow into their bodies. Ghost handsomely adapted into his body, while Bandit liked to grown different parts at different times. It was hilarious at times to see his body grow while his head stayed so tiny! And then suddenly the runt of the litter was bigger than his brother Ghost! ----- Bandit would always tattle on his brother Ghost when he got into trouble. You could hear his trills going off as if he was either telling his brother, "Hey, you're not supposed to do that!" or "Hey tell me how you did that!". Whichever it was, it would always get Ghost in trouble. ----- When he wasn't bothering his brother of sleeping on his parents, he was laying in the hall staring at where his favorite feather toy is. He would dramatically lay around the room staring, and at times meow at his dad like, "Father... I want to play...." He rarely asked his mother. It was obvious that Dad was the fun one and mom was the snuggly one. ----- Aldo and Bandit would always take funny pictures where they would match each other's faces, and it would be the highlight of Sandi's day when she was away. ----- It was only a little over 8 months we were together, but they were some of the best months of our lives. ------ In early April, 2021, Bandit was showing signs of a respiratory infection. Immediately, Sandi got on the phone with Dr James, and got Clavamox prescribed for him. Then after not improving, in an emergency visit, Bandit was given Amoxicillin by Banfield Per Hospital, and feeling that this was more than just a small cold, Sandi brought him to a specialist for cats in Tustin. He seemed to improve, and was playing around and having a blast with his brother on Friday, April 23rd. April 24th, Sandi and Aldo notices a slight drop in behavior and it seemed that he was a lot more lethargic then normal. It was thought that since he just finished his medication, it might have been a slight side effect and called it into an emergency 24 hour help line, where they were told it should be OK and to watch him. April 25th, he was still eating and playing a little, but at night, he ate 70% of his food. Sandi started growing more concerned and called another 24 hour hotline, and they advised to watch him but since it was not an emergency to wait until the morning. Sandi couldn't sleep and stayed with him most of the night to make sure he was OK, and not alone. April 26th, Sandi called SunnyCrest and they took Bandit in right away. ---- It was discovered that a mass had formed in his chest that was pressing on his Lung, Heart, and trachea and was rapidly growing still. Dr. Rosenburg told Sandi, I can call an ambulance rush him to an emergency center for a second option, and when Sandi came in, Dr. Rosenburg brought Bandit to her and saw Bandit relax being around someone he knew. It was there she commented, "He looks so much better in your arms. I was going to call the ambulance, but I think he'll be better with you. He loves you." She didn't know how much that would mean to Sandi that day. ---- Sandi thanked Dr Rosenberg for her kind and honest explanation of options and opted for a second option at the emergency hospital in Tustin. She and Aldo drove to the hospital where they were told two options. ----- 1) They can try to do a CT scan and see if it was able to be removed surgically. However since the mass was growing so fast, the Dr refused to let Sandi and Aldo consider moving him to another location for fear of him suffocating on the way. She also honestly shared that since he was so young and also weak composition wise, it was unlikely he would survive the surgery and chemotherapy and possibly the stress alone might be too much. He wouldn't be home for days (or more) and would not be able to see his family. It was insinuated that it was highly likely he would pass in the process.----- 2) Let him rest within the arms of someone who loves him dearly. ----- Bandit was able to finally sleep within the arms of his mother and with the loving kisses and hugs from his father. ----- He will always be remembered for his amazing contribution to the lives of the people close to the Flores family, and with the gracious gift that Sunnycrest has provided with this donation in his name, he is also able to help others. What an amazing kitty, who lived less than 1 year but inspired kindness in others. ----- His brother Ghost, misses him and is doing a great job keeping their mother and father going. We learned with Bandit that life with an FELV positive kitty can change so soon, but every moment is so so worth it. For now, Ghost will be traveling around in a Cat backpack soon and will get to see more of the world outside our home, so when he sees his brother, he can tell Bandit all about his adventures, and maybe Bandit can be like "I know brother, I was there too." ----- Thank you for reading this long message about Bandit-bear.----- We miss you Bandit Bear. We have your favorite Bat-toy and will keep him safe for you. We love you very much.