Bandit is a 10-year-old Domestic long hair in Chicago, IL, who needs $2,165 for mammary cancer surgery or cat mastectomy.

On June 16, 2010 my daughter found a kitten smaller than a video game controller crying by a fence. She asked the man who owned the house if she was his cat, and the man said yes. He was going to use her as bait to train his fighting dogs! That evening, we had a new member of our household - Bandit. She was so tiny and so loud. She was just learning how to meow and hiss and was so adorable.

Bandit is very social and snuggly. We always say she's not a normal cat. She loves to be near us, and if she can't, she gets as close as possible. Her favorite place to sleep, other than next to our heads, is on our computer chair. She actually is the queen of the chair, and we have to get creative in order to be able to sit on the chair. She's very sassy.

This was definitely unexpected! We do not qualify for loans or other types of credit and do not have savings to fall back on. We have a special needs child who we also care for - and losing Bandit will be detrimental to our household.

Bandit was just diagnosed with mammary cancer. She has a lump on her underside, and her vet is very concerned about it spreading due to the size and shape of it. He recommends surgery followed by radiation treatment. Without medical intervention, her vet says it will metastasize to her lungs and gives her about 4 months after that.

Bandit likes to get very close to your face and just stare at you. She has piercing eyes that make it hard to look away. She'll even stare at you while she's kneading. Before she was named, she was caught stealing a $1 bill from our room, and ran with it when she realized she was caught. She also took a slipper! When it's bedtime, she yells at you until you lay down so she can go to bed too.