RIP Rocky Bhe - 6/17/2009 

Rocky entered our lives in September 2000.  He was found at the animal shelter in Sierra Vista, Arizona.  I remember that Nancy and I were looking for another cat and I, in particular, wanted a cat I could name Tigger!  During our visit I found such a cat but Nancy had found something also.  She kept telling me to come over and check this guy out.  I kept arguing that I found an orange cat!  So as I made my way over I was quite stunned!  Rocky had to be the most beautiful cat I had ever seen.  And on top of all that, he had flipped upside down and was playing with Nancy.  Quickly, there was no more debate on which cat was going to be adopted.  Of course, the animal shelter didn't make things quite easy though.  Nancy had to go back to the shelter the next Monday and be the first in line in order to adopt (first come, first served).  That morning I was calling Nancy from work asking if she was there to adopt him.  She was! 

Before we could even bring him home, he had to go to a vet clinic and be neutered.  We also decided at this time to have his front claws removed since he would be an indoor cat only.  When I picked Rocky up from the vet and brought him home... it all started from there!  I put his carrier on a chair and opened the door.  He jumped out and took off while I was wondering if they even took the claws out because landing on his front paws didn't phase him and he immediately took over as the Alpha male!  That is why we named him Rocky BTW!    He was estimated to be about a year old when we adopted him...

And what a ham-bone.  He was the most friendly of cats.  Everyone that ever came to the house ALWAYS commented on how good looking of a cat he was and he never had an enemy.  He would approach everyone with kindness and all he wanted was a pat/rub on the head in return.  Unfortunately, Rocky's "Alpha" personality drove two other cats out of the house over time.

Earlier this year we noticed a change in Rocky in that he was drinking an enormous amount of water.  We took him to the vet and he was diagnosed with diabetes.  We had a decision to make for his future from this examination.  The vet was recommending 2 shots a day of insulin.  Every time he ever visited the vet for his annual shots it took 3-4 adults to hold him down - yeah, he wasn't exactly what you would call a fan of a shot!  There was just really no way that we would be able to give him 2 shots a day!  So we decided to love him until he died.

Rocky went through several stages where he was worse but would then get much better.  Two days ago his health dropped dramatically.  He started not drinking any more water and this morning he wouldn't even eat.  We knew this time was coming but boy did it happen so fast.  When I took him to the vet he was weighed in at just under 5 pounds.  At his most healthy he was up to 15 pounds!  A quick look by the vet and he knew that his liver had failed as his mouth was all yellow.  The vet let me know that we had picked the right time to bring him in and end the pain before it got worse.  Somehow that doesn't really make you feel any better.  As my friends and family know, I'm a big man.  If you ever wanted to see a big man ball like a baby then rest assured that happened this day!!!  LOL!

Take care my friend - Rocky Bhe!  And don't forget what I told you.  Make sure you find Papa, Barkley and Chester and we'll join up with all of you again when we get there!

Rocky Vignettes

1.  Nancy and the metal pot:  Early on when we first adopted Rocky, as with all cats, he was curious and started exploring.  He found one of Nancy's gems from Germany.  A metal pot... Hmmmmmmm, he wondered what it would be like to look into the pot.  And thus he did.  The problem was that he could push his head in but his head wasn't coming out!  Rocky lost his cool!  He started meowing and jumping with that pot stuck on his head!  Nancy could barely catch him from his chaotic frenzy.  She worked on him for quite some time (all the while thinking of how she was going to explain to me that she killed my cat when she cracked his neck in order to get it out of the pot) and eventually she got him free.  Nancy has never seen the humor in this but when she called me at work to explain... I don't care who you are, that was some funny crap!

2.  Karen J. and Rocky:  So even though I mentioned that Rocky was kind to everyone, there happens to be one single person that Rocky would bite every time she came to the house.  That would be our friend Karen J.  We never could figure out what was up with that but he would always bite her.  I wonder what he knew that no one else did! 

3.  Rocky and Tux:  This one is a sore spot with Nancy as Tux was her cat.  To put it plainly, Rocky gave Tux pure hell!  Every time we would turn around he was either chasing Tux or would have him pinned down and wouldn't let him up until he said so.  As I witnessed this over time, I decided that I would teach Rocky who the real Alpha male is in the family.  So when I would catch him doing this to Tux, I would chase Rocky down and pin him down with MY mouth.  About all that ever came of this was me having a friggin' mouthful of white cat hair...   BTW, Rocky never could catch our other cat, Sierra - she was just too dang fast!

4.  Rocky and the outdoor neighbor cats:  The neighboorhood cats notoriously come prancing up to the back door from time to time.  Mr. "Alpha-male" Rocky never did have an appreciation for these visits!  Over time, he developed a new attitude that shocked us one evening.  We were all sleeping and out of nowhere we heard the most awful sound so of course it woke us up.  When I traced it to the living room I found Rocky hissing and yelling at a cat outside the back door.  I swear to this day that it sounded as if he were saying, "Iiiii'mmmm gooonnnna kick yooouuur AAAASSSSSS!"  "Leave myyyyy hoooooouuuuse nooooooooowwwwwww!"  You simply had to be there to hear this sound.  Amazing!!

5.  Rocky on a leash:  Not long after we adopted Rocky I noticed that he was so kind to humans (not other cats!) that I was going to take on the challenge of training him (see outcome of 3. above).  So for this round of training, I was going to teach him to walk on a leash so we could mosey around the neighborhood.  I had gotten one of those nice leashes that go around the body so as not to choke him.  I got Rocky in my lap and started putting on the leash.  Of course he resisted at first but as I started getting it buckled in place he went limp.  I thought, great... piece of cake!  So I took Rocky out the front door and off we went.  We made it about the length of 3 feet total and guess what?  He went COMPLETELY limp and laid on the concrete walkway in total submission.  The only thing I ever got accomplished with this task was to use him as a dust mop because every time I put on that leash he would do the same thing - GO LIMP!  Yeah, I eventually gave up on this idea!

6.  Rocky meets Eric:  They always say a picture is worth a thousands words, right?!

7.  Rocky and closed doors:  On occasion, we would need a break from Rocky.  Like when you are sleeping or when you go to the bathroom.  If you EVER did not close the door completely you could be assured of one thing.  Rocky was coming in to find out what was going on.  What we quickly found out is that if you did close a door, Rocky could fit his big fat paw under the door and then rock that thing like he was at a concert!  Yep, the doors throughout the house were always open since that time!

8.  Rocky and feeding time:  Every morning for the past 9 years, I have not needed an alarm clock!  Rocky would announce himself every morning and let you know in his best voice... "Feeeed meeee.... NOOOOOWWWWW!"  "Meow!"  I'll have to admit that I'm not really going to miss this...

9.  Rocky's back claws:  So although I've mentioned that we had Rocky's front claws removed, he definitely let you know that his back claws were indeed intact!  I still have the scars on my back from when the fathead came into the bathroom, jumped up on the back of the toilet and then fell off and used my back to catch himself.  I still wince up when I think of this incident.  Whenever you would play with Rocky and he had had enough, he would first lay teeth on you (not bite you - except for Karen J.) and as long as you stopped he would just as quickly let you go; if you continued rough-housing with him then the back claws would flair out!  WATCH OUT!

10.  Rocky the Baby:  See picture at the top of this article!  Rocky absolutely loved being held like a big baby.  I remember holding him this way many times during his life.  I will certainly miss this!

One last thought:  Rocky greeted me at the front door every day when I got home from work.  I will miss this greatly! That's all I have to say about that...