He was a little ball of hiss. A stray kitten plucked from inside a work truck engine. Long haired with an attitude like a lion. He was confident and comfortable in his own skin, er, gray fur. He became our toddler’s companion, the terror of dogs, and the insistent snuggler. He was slowing down so he got a checkup last month. His body began to fail suddenly yesterday. The vet suspects it was organ failure and/or kidney infection. We stopped when we realized the outcome wouldn’t change. Rocky was 14.
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RIP ~ beloved Rocky ~ knowing you will always be loved and remembered ~
((Hugs)) laced with strength and comfort ~ and wonderful “Little Lion” Memories ~ for Rocky’s family ~
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I am so sorry to hear about your mightly lion Rocky. It sounded like quite the character.
I hope you and your family heal quickly from his loss and relish the memories of Rocky.
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Thanks guys.
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I know how you feel. I lost my “cat of a lifetime” a few months ago. An aortic clot, the vet said. Not operable here. He was only 8 years old. He was a male calico, called Prickle. He was here, sitting on my chest, with his arms around my neck and his nose buried under my jaw, purring. As usual. He got down, and went downstairs… for either a drink, a bite of cat food, or to use the facilities. But he only got to the bottom of the stairs, and he started to cry in pain. I went to him, and he was down on the floor. He could not move, his hind end was disfunctional. I put the emergency call into the vet, an hour away, with the highway covered in snow. I took him there, he cried in pain the whole way. I told him to “hang on, lil’ buddy”. The vet couldn’t save him. I cried the whole way home. My friend gave me a painting of him last week… I can hardly even look at it without breaking into tears.
A cat’s love is so pure, and so unwavering. It’s been a few months now, and I’m still a mess. I have another cat, Perry, an old fella who helped to raise Prickle, who is a lovely cat too. He sleeps in my arms and talks to me. He also loved Prickle, they were buddies. Prickle trusted me to look after him, and I lost him, far too young. The pain won’t go away. You are not alone in your grief. Sorry.
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@NancyM Oh how awful for you both 
Prickle was a lucky boy to be loved by you and Perry. When you feel stronger maybe you could share a picture of him.
RIP Prickle 
RIP Rocky the lionhearted
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{{{moonlitoaksranch}}}
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So sorry about Rocky. My parents lost their grey Rocky at about the same age last year. It’s so sad to say goodbye. Hugs
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I’m sorry. That sounds very difficult. Our vet talked about how quickly these things happen. Cats often hide pain until it’s too late.
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I certainly feel for you. I lost my cat of a lifetime a few years ago and to be honest it is still hard. I have other cats, but none like him. Then I lost his brother about 2 years ago. I used to call him my little monkey because he like to climb on my shoulder and hug me.
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So sorry that you lost your beautiful boy.
Rest easy Rocky, you were well loved.
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So sorry that you lost your Prickle. Your bond with him must have been amazing.
I’m sorry you lost your boy.
My Rotten Ralph is my soul mate. I am trying to prepare myself for when he may go but I cannot fathom life without him. I almost lost him when he was 5 years old to bladder stone obstruction but he beat the odds. He turned 15 in March.
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I’m so sorry! Sleep well, Rocky the Lion.
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A lovely tribute to a handsome guy (I’ve always been partial to Tabbys 
).
Rocky had a great life with you& can now swap stories with all the COTH “lions” who have gone before & are gathered there 
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I’m so sorry💔.
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I am so sorry. So hard to lose them. Rocky was very lucky to have had you in his life.
“Cats aren’t our whole life, but they make our lives whole”
RIP.
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Losing these littles is so hard. I’m so sorry about your losses, they really are so painful to endure.
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Sorry. Cats are so special --Rocky seemed even more special!
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Rocky beat the odds as a kitten. A terrible story happened on the other side of the county (back when we lived in Florida). A man was mutilating kittens and putting them on display behind an apartment complex. After the police finished their investigation, a city truck went to the scene to clean up. That’s when poor little Rocky, a completely terrified surviving kitten, crawled into the truck engine. This is also why he startled and hissed continuously when people looked at him. We were having lunch in the park when the city truck returned to city hall next door. We saw a worker using a come along to extract something from the truck. We thought it was a snake but then the worker pulled out a tiny kitten. My husband joked that if he knew it was a kitten rather than a snake, he would’ve been much more afraid. Holding the tiny kitten, the worker looked at us and asked if we wanted the little hiss ball. Of course we took him.
That night, after I bathed all the fleas off of the poor kitten and examined his dinged whiskers, I set up an extra large dog crate. I placed the tiny kitten on my chest. He clutched my shirt with his tiny claws and hissed. I petted him until he stopped hissing. I’ll never forget how he looked at me with those big green eyes as if seeing humans for the first time. Then, he purred. A big purr for a scared kitten. He knew he was safe. He became our sweet, mellow kitty. He snuggled with our son or tucked in next to my chest every night. He wanted to be close to us regardless of where we were in the house. He found safe spots to hide when others came over. He had “nap radar” that detected every time I laid down for a quick nap. Eventually, he decided other humans could be safe, too. He trusted frequent visitors enough to emerge from his hiding spots.
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So sorry to hear of your loss of Rocky. He was a handsome boy. RIP little one.
Warm hugs. 
Pam
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