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Thanks everyone, and a tribute to Rocky (Actually a repost of Rocky's looong Story from last month)



 
 
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  #1  
Old October 28th 04, 02:51 AM
Steve Touchstone
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Thanks everyone, and a tribute to Rocky (Actually a repost of Rocky's looong Story from last month)

Many thanks to all who were pulling for Rocky, sending purrs to all of
us here. Some may consider swapping purrs a little strange, even
silly, but when you need them they really do help the recipient. I
know I collected those sent for Rocky, and they helped (may have
gotten teary reading them, but sometimes crying is a good thing).

I want to offer a special thanks to those who offered to help with the
cost. I didn't reply earlier, both because I wasn't sure how much the
final cost would be, and didn't feel like looking up Dr Haney's
address. When I went to pick up the carrier (sadly empty, rather them
full of a loudly complaining Rocky) I was surprised, and more than a
little touched, to learn that a couple of you had gone through the
trouble to look up the information and already made contrinutions. I
learned today that it will be hard to personally thank all who
contribute, screen names just don't match the receipts. I guess I'll
just send a sort of blanket thanks, since some may not wish their
names listed on the NG.

Anyway, here's the vet's info:

Dr Haney
Midtown Animal Hospital
1101 SW Park Ave
Lawton, OK 73501
ph: 580-353-3438

While on the subject of cost, I should say that the bill is much less
than I feared. When I went in this afternoon, Dr Haney had already
left for the day, but I'm pretty certain he gave me a big discount on
the charges.

I started to write a Rocky Tribute, then remembered his story (in what
I thought would have been his words) posted last month. I think that
post tells his story well, so am including it here. I've re-edited it,
but haven't really changed it here. All I want to add is to emphasize
that he was truly loved, and that his death seemed painless, both to
me and to his doctor. I would rather he hadn't spent his last day in a
clinic surrounded by strangers, but feel that it was necessary to give
him a fighting chance. I know I don't need to tell you all that he'll
be sorely missed. He was a great cat who lived too short a time after
leaving his life as a feral and becoming my cat.

==========
Repost of Rocky's Story (in his own words)
(originally posted in early September)
==========

Part One - I Become the King

It's been a while now since I joined this here family, so I figured it
was time to sit down and tell my story. I probably wouldn't bother,
but the one the hoomin calls Sammy tells me both she and her momma,
called Little Bit, have told their stories and that I should tell
mine.

I can't tell you much about my early years. Really have no idea how
old I am. I know that the cold and hot times came several times. Momma
taught me how to hunt for food, how to find cool spots when it was
hot, and warm spots during the cold times. Momma taught me from an
early age that hoomins weren't to be trusted. I figure she was right
about most stuff, but lately I've found that at least SOME hoomins are
OK.

After I got bigger, momma and I got separated. I really don't know
where she went. Things were pretty rough there for a while. All the
older, bigger cats didn't want me around. I regularly got beat up
until I learned how to fight and protect myself. After a couple more
hot and cold times came and went, it got so that I was winning fights
more often than I was losing.

Things were really starting to look up. I established my own little
territory where I was the King. All the other cats in the neighborhood
gave me the respect I deserved. When some young upstart gave me grief
, I'd either whip them into shape or make their life so miserable that
they moved out of my kingdom. There were always hoomins around, but I
avoided them as much as I could.

Part Two - Changes

After living the good life for a couple more hot and cold times, a
couple things happened that changed my life. You see there was a group
of hoomin dwellings in my kingdom where a brown-nosed tom cat used to
hang around. I later learned he was what the hoomins call a tuxedo
kitty. He had a white face and a black nose. I always called him
brown-nose because of how he was always cozying up to the hoomins. The
hoomins called him Spot, though. He used to say he was the official
apartment complex cat. It worked for him, he used to go inside the
various hoomin houses to sleep at night, get out of the worst weather,
and get all the best food.

The other thing that happened which ended up changing my life was that
about this time a new hoomin moved into one of the hoomin houses.
Eventually I'd end up trustung this particular hoomin and even let him
pet me, but that was still in the future. The first thing about this
new hoomin that changed my life was that he learned about Spot and he
started putting food outside to encourage Spot to eat at there, and
sometimes spend the night sleeping on his bed. I couldn't have cared
less about going into the hoomin's house, but the food he put out for
Spot was GOOD, so I started eating it when the hoomin put it out.

Life got even better. All us neighborhood cats had a new source of
good food, which of course is always welcome when you're not sure when
the next meal is coming. At first I ran and hid when I saw the hoomin,
but over time I learned that he wouldn't throw things or chase me
away. So, after a time I stopped running whenever I saw him. After a
while I started going closer and waiting while he filled up the food
bowl. I learned a startling fact, it actually feels nice when a hoomin
scritches you in that certain spot that you just can't seem to reach
behind your ear.

Part Three - Betrayal and My First TED Visit

Life was good. I had the occasional challenge to my rule of my
kingdom, but still won all my fights. After one fight, though, I had a
war wound that wouldn't seem to heal.. It REALLY hurt and just
wouldn't heal. The hoomin noticed that my leg was all swollen about
three times the size of the other one. He tried to touch it, but I
wasn't about to put up with that, so I hightailed it out of there and
stayed away for a while.

After a couple days I was starting to get really hungry, so I decided
to go back and see if he was still putting food out. When I got there
the food bowl was full, and I was so hungry I let the hoomin take a
close look. The next morning when I went back to eat the hoomin was
there waiting. When I bent over the bowl he snatched me up and stuck
me in a box. Next thing I knew he carried me over to one of those big
moving monsters that the hoomins sit in and ride around in. The hoomin
put me inside the monster and it made a lot of noise and we were
moving.

It didn't last long, and when we stopped the hoomin carried me inside
a different hoomin place. The hoomin talked to some other hoomin, then
after waiting a while carried me to a smaller room. We waited again
until another strange hoomin came. This was the worst hoomin yet, and
I was really beginning to think momma had been right when she told me
not to trust hoomins. This new hoomin looked at me through the bars on
the box, and they opened the side of the box.

I made a break for it, but there was no place to go. They threw
something over me and held me so I couldn't defend myself while this
new hoomin poked and prodded me. It ended up with this new hoomin
sticking me with something sharp, but it didn't hurt much. When they
put the box with the bars on the table I decided it was a lot safer
inside the box than outside where they could poke, prod and stab me
with sharp sticks. So, when they loosened their grip a bit I darted
back into that box. Turned out, though, that's what they wanted. The
hoomins exchanged some of their strange noises, then the hoomin who
betrayed my trust picked up the box, and carried me back to the moving
monster. After the strange moving feeling, the monster stopped and the
hoomin carried me awhile. When he put down the box I found I was back
where the adventure had started.

The hoomin opened the side of the box, and I was OUT OF THERE. It may
sound strange, but after the trip in the monster and having that
strange hoomin stab me with the sharp stick, my leg stopped hurting
and healed up a lot quicker than war wounds normally do. I stayed gone
for several days before I went back to check for food, though. For a
long time I didn't trust the hoomin and kept my distance. Eventually,
I forgave him, after all he kept putting out food, and things went
back to the way they were before.

Part Four - Little Bit and Sammy Move In - Another TED Visit

I was still the King, I lived the good life, and my sore leg was good
as new. Sometime during this period Spot, the self proclaimed complex
cat, disappeared. I heard the hoomin say later that he had gotten
himself locked inside one of those BIG moving monsters with some other
hoomin's furniture and gone to someplace called California. Serves old
brown nose right, but I hear he was happy as he stopped being a
complex cat and had his own hoomin family.

Another cold time came and went. One of the neighborhood girls cats,
called Little Bit, moved in with the hoomin and had some babies. She
started living inside with the hoomin with Sammy, one of the babies. I
started trusting the hoomin again, and even went inside the hoomin's
apartment to eat sometimes, since the inside cats seemed to get better
food than what the hoomin put out for us neighborhood cats.

Things were good, until another challenge came and I had to put
another pipsqueak in his place. I got another one of those swollen leg
wounds which just won't heal. The hoomin tried to stick me inside the
box with bars, but I remembered from the other time and took off and
stayed away for a couple days. Guess I was getting spoiled by the
regular meals of good food, though, and it's hard to get enough to eat
when it hurt to walk, so eventually I went back.

Since it was so hard to walk with my wound, the hoomin managed to
catch me and stick me in the box again. It was a repeat of the first
time - into the moving monster, back to the smelly hoomin place,
stabbed by the strange hoomin, then back to where we had started. I
took off again as soon as the hoomin put down the box and opened the
bars, but didn't stay away as long. You know, there may just something
about that stick the strange hoomin stabs you with, because the
swelling started going down again, and in no time the wound healed.

Part Five - I Become Part of the Family and Get a Name

Things went back to normal. More hot times followed by cold times came
and went. Life was good. Then a time came when the hoomin started
saying he might move, and he started asking me if I wanted to go some
place and become a "barn cat". He said something about having
something fixed before I became a barn cat. I had no clue what he was
talking about. I tried to tell him I was the King, life was good,
nothing needed fixing, and I had no intention of becoming a barn cat -
whatever the h*ll a barn cat was.

One day when I went to eat he was waiting there with the bar-box.
There was no way I was going to go into that thing, especially not
this time as I didn't even have a sore leg. I took off and stayed away
for a few days. I checked a couple times, but he had stopped putting
out food. Then, one day when I went back he opened the door and told
me to come inside if I wanted to eat. By that time I was pretty
hungry, so I went on inside. Turns out it was a BIG mistake, because
as soon as I started eating he dropped something over me. Before I
could plan an escape I was back inside that blasted bar-box and on the
way to the monster.

This time we ended up at a different smelly place. The hoomin
abandoned me and left me there with strangers. I ended up being held
captive for a couple days, and on the second day the hoomins did
something to me which I guess fixed whatever they thought was broken.
Finally, on the third day MY hoomin came back and rescued me. I knew
he was the one who had taken me to the smelly place, but I decided to
forgive him right away this time. I figured I'd better do a little
sucking up so that he would decide not to take me wherever the barn
was - if this was what was meant by "Fixing" I sure didn't want to
find out what he meant by becoming a barn cat.

Sammy, one of the girl cats who lives with the hoomin, was actually
pretty helpful telling me how to get the hoomin to help me become part
of the family. Little Bit, Sammy's mom, didn't like me, and kept
telling me how much fun I'd have as a barn cat. She didn't fool me
though, so I followed Sammy's advice. It worked, too. When it came
time for me to leave and go wherever barn cats go, the hoomin had
decided to let me stay.
I wasn't always too sure when Sammy told me how to get on the hoomin's
good side, but learned that she's a pretty smart little cat.

Lots of things have changed since I joined the family. Guess the first
thing was when I got a real hoomin name. Before the hoomin called me
"mostly white, black and white tom cat", or just Whitey. Once I became
family he started calling me Rocky. I've learned a lot of other
things, too. Once I became part of the family I started making strange
sounds that the hoomin
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Rocky (RB)

[remove Junk for email]
Home Page:
http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html
  #2  
Old October 28th 04, 03:09 AM
Karen Chuplis
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

You know, I was thinking tonight that while it is sad he had such a short
time with you, I can just imagine the very sad and possibly much shorter
life he would have had if you hadn't been there to feed him and tame him and
eventually take him in. He had a happy life and it could have been so bad.
Soothing purrs to you and the girls.

  #3  
Old October 28th 04, 03:09 AM
Karen Chuplis
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

You know, I was thinking tonight that while it is sad he had such a short
time with you, I can just imagine the very sad and possibly much shorter
life he would have had if you hadn't been there to feed him and tame him and
eventually take him in. He had a happy life and it could have been so bad.
Soothing purrs to you and the girls.

  #4  
Old October 28th 04, 03:09 AM
Karen Chuplis
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

You know, I was thinking tonight that while it is sad he had such a short
time with you, I can just imagine the very sad and possibly much shorter
life he would have had if you hadn't been there to feed him and tame him and
eventually take him in. He had a happy life and it could have been so bad.
Soothing purrs to you and the girls.

  #5  
Old October 28th 04, 05:04 AM
Singh
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Quality of love sometimes more than makes up for quantity, or duration. And it
sounds like Rocky had some of the best quality love out there. That tribute was
sweet and spirited, just how I imagined Rocky must have been.

Blessed be,
Baha

Karen Chuplis wrote:

You know, I was thinking tonight that while it is sad he had such a short
time with you, I can just imagine the very sad and possibly much shorter
life he would have had if you hadn't been there to feed him and tame him and
eventually take him in. He had a happy life and it could have been so bad.
Soothing purrs to you and the girls.


  #6  
Old October 28th 04, 05:04 AM
Singh
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Quality of love sometimes more than makes up for quantity, or duration. And it
sounds like Rocky had some of the best quality love out there. That tribute was
sweet and spirited, just how I imagined Rocky must have been.

Blessed be,
Baha

Karen Chuplis wrote:

You know, I was thinking tonight that while it is sad he had such a short
time with you, I can just imagine the very sad and possibly much shorter
life he would have had if you hadn't been there to feed him and tame him and
eventually take him in. He had a happy life and it could have been so bad.
Soothing purrs to you and the girls.


  #7  
Old October 28th 04, 05:04 AM
Singh
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Quality of love sometimes more than makes up for quantity, or duration. And it
sounds like Rocky had some of the best quality love out there. That tribute was
sweet and spirited, just how I imagined Rocky must have been.

Blessed be,
Baha

Karen Chuplis wrote:

You know, I was thinking tonight that while it is sad he had such a short
time with you, I can just imagine the very sad and possibly much shorter
life he would have had if you hadn't been there to feed him and tame him and
eventually take him in. He had a happy life and it could have been so bad.
Soothing purrs to you and the girls.


  #8  
Old October 28th 04, 02:03 PM
CatNipped
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Steve Touchstone" wrote in message
...
Many thanks to all who were pulling for Rocky, sending purrs to all of
us here. Some may consider swapping purrs a little strange, even
silly, but when you need them they really do help the recipient. I
know I collected those sent for Rocky, and they helped (may have
gotten teary reading them, but sometimes crying is a good thing).

I want to offer a special thanks to those who offered to help with the
cost. I didn't reply earlier, both because I wasn't sure how much the
final cost would be, and didn't feel like looking up Dr Haney's
address. When I went to pick up the carrier (sadly empty, rather them
full of a loudly complaining Rocky) I was surprised, and more than a
little touched, to learn that a couple of you had gone through the
trouble to look up the information and already made contrinutions. I
learned today that it will be hard to personally thank all who
contribute, screen names just don't match the receipts. I guess I'll
just send a sort of blanket thanks, since some may not wish their
names listed on the NG.

Anyway, here's the vet's info:

Dr Haney
Midtown Animal Hospital
1101 SW Park Ave
Lawton, OK 73501
ph: 580-353-3438

While on the subject of cost, I should say that the bill is much less
than I feared. When I went in this afternoon, Dr Haney had already
left for the day, but I'm pretty certain he gave me a big discount on
the charges.

I started to write a Rocky Tribute, then remembered his story (in what
I thought would have been his words) posted last month. I think that
post tells his story well, so am including it here. I've re-edited it,
but haven't really changed it here. All I want to add is to emphasize
that he was truly loved, and that his death seemed painless, both to
me and to his doctor. I would rather he hadn't spent his last day in a
clinic surrounded by strangers, but feel that it was necessary to give
him a fighting chance. I know I don't need to tell you all that he'll
be sorely missed. He was a great cat who lived too short a time after
leaving his life as a feral and becoming my cat.

==========
Repost of Rocky's Story (in his own words)
(originally posted in early September)
==========

Part One - I Become the King

It's been a while now since I joined this here family, so I figured it
was time to sit down and tell my story. I probably wouldn't bother,
but the one the hoomin calls Sammy tells me both she and her momma,
called Little Bit, have told their stories and that I should tell
mine.

I can't tell you much about my early years. Really have no idea how
old I am. I know that the cold and hot times came several times. Momma
taught me how to hunt for food, how to find cool spots when it was
hot, and warm spots during the cold times. Momma taught me from an
early age that hoomins weren't to be trusted. I figure she was right
about most stuff, but lately I've found that at least SOME hoomins are
OK.

After I got bigger, momma and I got separated. I really don't know
where she went. Things were pretty rough there for a while. All the
older, bigger cats didn't want me around. I regularly got beat up
until I learned how to fight and protect myself. After a couple more
hot and cold times came and went, it got so that I was winning fights
more often than I was losing.

Things were really starting to look up. I established my own little
territory where I was the King. All the other cats in the neighborhood
gave me the respect I deserved. When some young upstart gave me grief
, I'd either whip them into shape or make their life so miserable that
they moved out of my kingdom. There were always hoomins around, but I
avoided them as much as I could.

Part Two - Changes

After living the good life for a couple more hot and cold times, a
couple things happened that changed my life. You see there was a group
of hoomin dwellings in my kingdom where a brown-nosed tom cat used to
hang around. I later learned he was what the hoomins call a tuxedo
kitty. He had a white face and a black nose. I always called him
brown-nose because of how he was always cozying up to the hoomins. The
hoomins called him Spot, though. He used to say he was the official
apartment complex cat. It worked for him, he used to go inside the
various hoomin houses to sleep at night, get out of the worst weather,
and get all the best food.

The other thing that happened which ended up changing my life was that
about this time a new hoomin moved into one of the hoomin houses.
Eventually I'd end up trustung this particular hoomin and even let him
pet me, but that was still in the future. The first thing about this
new hoomin that changed my life was that he learned about Spot and he
started putting food outside to encourage Spot to eat at there, and
sometimes spend the night sleeping on his bed. I couldn't have cared
less about going into the hoomin's house, but the food he put out for
Spot was GOOD, so I started eating it when the hoomin put it out.

Life got even better. All us neighborhood cats had a new source of
good food, which of course is always welcome when you're not sure when
the next meal is coming. At first I ran and hid when I saw the hoomin,
but over time I learned that he wouldn't throw things or chase me
away. So, after a time I stopped running whenever I saw him. After a
while I started going closer and waiting while he filled up the food
bowl. I learned a startling fact, it actually feels nice when a hoomin
scritches you in that certain spot that you just can't seem to reach
behind your ear.

Part Three - Betrayal and My First TED Visit

Life was good. I had the occasional challenge to my rule of my
kingdom, but still won all my fights. After one fight, though, I had a
war wound that wouldn't seem to heal.. It REALLY hurt and just
wouldn't heal. The hoomin noticed that my leg was all swollen about
three times the size of the other one. He tried to touch it, but I
wasn't about to put up with that, so I hightailed it out of there and
stayed away for a while.

After a couple days I was starting to get really hungry, so I decided
to go back and see if he was still putting food out. When I got there
the food bowl was full, and I was so hungry I let the hoomin take a
close look. The next morning when I went back to eat the hoomin was
there waiting. When I bent over the bowl he snatched me up and stuck
me in a box. Next thing I knew he carried me over to one of those big
moving monsters that the hoomins sit in and ride around in. The hoomin
put me inside the monster and it made a lot of noise and we were
moving.

It didn't last long, and when we stopped the hoomin carried me inside
a different hoomin place. The hoomin talked to some other hoomin, then
after waiting a while carried me to a smaller room. We waited again
until another strange hoomin came. This was the worst hoomin yet, and
I was really beginning to think momma had been right when she told me
not to trust hoomins. This new hoomin looked at me through the bars on
the box, and they opened the side of the box.

I made a break for it, but there was no place to go. They threw
something over me and held me so I couldn't defend myself while this
new hoomin poked and prodded me. It ended up with this new hoomin
sticking me with something sharp, but it didn't hurt much. When they
put the box with the bars on the table I decided it was a lot safer
inside the box than outside where they could poke, prod and stab me
with sharp sticks. So, when they loosened their grip a bit I darted
back into that box. Turned out, though, that's what they wanted. The
hoomins exchanged some of their strange noises, then the hoomin who
betrayed my trust picked up the box, and carried me back to the moving
monster. After the strange moving feeling, the monster stopped and the
hoomin carried me awhile. When he put down the box I found I was back
where the adventure had started.

The hoomin opened the side of the box, and I was OUT OF THERE. It may
sound strange, but after the trip in the monster and having that
strange hoomin stab me with the sharp stick, my leg stopped hurting
and healed up a lot quicker than war wounds normally do. I stayed gone
for several days before I went back to check for food, though. For a
long time I didn't trust the hoomin and kept my distance. Eventually,
I forgave him, after all he kept putting out food, and things went
back to the way they were before.

Part Four - Little Bit and Sammy Move In - Another TED Visit

I was still the King, I lived the good life, and my sore leg was good
as new. Sometime during this period Spot, the self proclaimed complex
cat, disappeared. I heard the hoomin say later that he had gotten
himself locked inside one of those BIG moving monsters with some other
hoomin's furniture and gone to someplace called California. Serves old
brown nose right, but I hear he was happy as he stopped being a
complex cat and had his own hoomin family.

Another cold time came and went. One of the neighborhood girls cats,
called Little Bit, moved in with the hoomin and had some babies. She
started living inside with the hoomin with Sammy, one of the babies. I
started trusting the hoomin again, and even went inside the hoomin's
apartment to eat sometimes, since the inside cats seemed to get better
food than what the hoomin put out for us neighborhood cats.

Things were good, until another challenge came and I had to put
another pipsqueak in his place. I got another one of those swollen leg
wounds which just won't heal. The hoomin tried to stick me inside the
box with bars, but I remembered from the other time and took off and
stayed away for a couple days. Guess I was getting spoiled by the
regular meals of good food, though, and it's hard to get enough to eat
when it hurt to walk, so eventually I went back.

Since it was so hard to walk with my wound, the hoomin managed to
catch me and stick me in the box again. It was a repeat of the first
time - into the moving monster, back to the smelly hoomin place,
stabbed by the strange hoomin, then back to where we had started. I
took off again as soon as the hoomin put down the box and opened the
bars, but didn't stay away as long. You know, there may just something
about that stick the strange hoomin stabs you with, because the
swelling started going down again, and in no time the wound healed.

Part Five - I Become Part of the Family and Get a Name

Things went back to normal. More hot times followed by cold times came
and went. Life was good. Then a time came when the hoomin started
saying he might move, and he started asking me if I wanted to go some
place and become a "barn cat". He said something about having
something fixed before I became a barn cat. I had no clue what he was
talking about. I tried to tell him I was the King, life was good,
nothing needed fixing, and I had no intention of becoming a barn cat -
whatever the h*ll a barn cat was.

One day when I went to eat he was waiting there with the bar-box.
There was no way I was going to go into that thing, especially not
this time as I didn't even have a sore leg. I took off and stayed away
for a few days. I checked a couple times, but he had stopped putting
out food. Then, one day when I went back he opened the door and told
me to come inside if I wanted to eat. By that time I was pretty
hungry, so I went on inside. Turns out it was a BIG mistake, because
as soon as I started eating he dropped something over me. Before I
could plan an escape I was back inside that blasted bar-box and on the
way to the monster.

This time we ended up at a different smelly place. The hoomin
abandoned me and left me there with strangers. I ended up being held
captive for a couple days, and on the second day the hoomins did
something to me which I guess fixed whatever they thought was broken.
Finally, on the third day MY hoomin came back and rescued me. I knew
he was the one who had taken me to the smelly place, but I decided to
forgive him right away this time. I figured I'd better do a little
sucking up so that he would decide not to take me wherever the barn
was - if this was what was meant by "Fixing" I sure didn't want to
find out what he meant by becoming a barn cat.

Sammy, one of the girl cats who lives with the hoomin, was actually
pretty helpful telling me how to get the hoomin to help me become part
of the family. Little Bit, Sammy's mom, didn't like me, and kept
telling me how much fun I'd have as a barn cat. She didn't fool me
though, so I followed Sammy's advice. It worked, too. When it came
time for me to leave and go wherever barn cats go, the hoomin had
decided to let me stay.
I wasn't always too sure when Sammy told me how to get on the hoomin's
good side, but learned that she's a pretty smart little cat.

Lots of things have changed since I joined the family. Guess the first
thing was when I got a real hoomin name. Before the hoomin called me
"mostly white, black and white tom cat", or just Whitey. Once I became
family he started calling me Rocky. I've learned a lot of other
things, too. Once I became part of the family I started making strange
sounds that the hoomin
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Rocky (RB)

[remove Junk for email]
Home Page:
http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html


sobbing at my desk Steve, I can't tell you how sorry I am. Rocky was a
true treasure, a dear friend beloved by people around the world. I hope
your heart heals quickly, I know Rocky would not want you to be sad,. Think
of him at the bridge, frolicking like a kitten, chasing butterflies, and
waiting for you, the one he picked to bestow his love upon, the one he
picked whom he knew would love him best.

Hugs,

CatNipped


  #9  
Old October 28th 04, 02:03 PM
CatNipped
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Steve Touchstone" wrote in message
...
Many thanks to all who were pulling for Rocky, sending purrs to all of
us here. Some may consider swapping purrs a little strange, even
silly, but when you need them they really do help the recipient. I
know I collected those sent for Rocky, and they helped (may have
gotten teary reading them, but sometimes crying is a good thing).

I want to offer a special thanks to those who offered to help with the
cost. I didn't reply earlier, both because I wasn't sure how much the
final cost would be, and didn't feel like looking up Dr Haney's
address. When I went to pick up the carrier (sadly empty, rather them
full of a loudly complaining Rocky) I was surprised, and more than a
little touched, to learn that a couple of you had gone through the
trouble to look up the information and already made contrinutions. I
learned today that it will be hard to personally thank all who
contribute, screen names just don't match the receipts. I guess I'll
just send a sort of blanket thanks, since some may not wish their
names listed on the NG.

Anyway, here's the vet's info:

Dr Haney
Midtown Animal Hospital
1101 SW Park Ave
Lawton, OK 73501
ph: 580-353-3438

While on the subject of cost, I should say that the bill is much less
than I feared. When I went in this afternoon, Dr Haney had already
left for the day, but I'm pretty certain he gave me a big discount on
the charges.

I started to write a Rocky Tribute, then remembered his story (in what
I thought would have been his words) posted last month. I think that
post tells his story well, so am including it here. I've re-edited it,
but haven't really changed it here. All I want to add is to emphasize
that he was truly loved, and that his death seemed painless, both to
me and to his doctor. I would rather he hadn't spent his last day in a
clinic surrounded by strangers, but feel that it was necessary to give
him a fighting chance. I know I don't need to tell you all that he'll
be sorely missed. He was a great cat who lived too short a time after
leaving his life as a feral and becoming my cat.

==========
Repost of Rocky's Story (in his own words)
(originally posted in early September)
==========

Part One - I Become the King

It's been a while now since I joined this here family, so I figured it
was time to sit down and tell my story. I probably wouldn't bother,
but the one the hoomin calls Sammy tells me both she and her momma,
called Little Bit, have told their stories and that I should tell
mine.

I can't tell you much about my early years. Really have no idea how
old I am. I know that the cold and hot times came several times. Momma
taught me how to hunt for food, how to find cool spots when it was
hot, and warm spots during the cold times. Momma taught me from an
early age that hoomins weren't to be trusted. I figure she was right
about most stuff, but lately I've found that at least SOME hoomins are
OK.

After I got bigger, momma and I got separated. I really don't know
where she went. Things were pretty rough there for a while. All the
older, bigger cats didn't want me around. I regularly got beat up
until I learned how to fight and protect myself. After a couple more
hot and cold times came and went, it got so that I was winning fights
more often than I was losing.

Things were really starting to look up. I established my own little
territory where I was the King. All the other cats in the neighborhood
gave me the respect I deserved. When some young upstart gave me grief
, I'd either whip them into shape or make their life so miserable that
they moved out of my kingdom. There were always hoomins around, but I
avoided them as much as I could.

Part Two - Changes

After living the good life for a couple more hot and cold times, a
couple things happened that changed my life. You see there was a group
of hoomin dwellings in my kingdom where a brown-nosed tom cat used to
hang around. I later learned he was what the hoomins call a tuxedo
kitty. He had a white face and a black nose. I always called him
brown-nose because of how he was always cozying up to the hoomins. The
hoomins called him Spot, though. He used to say he was the official
apartment complex cat. It worked for him, he used to go inside the
various hoomin houses to sleep at night, get out of the worst weather,
and get all the best food.

The other thing that happened which ended up changing my life was that
about this time a new hoomin moved into one of the hoomin houses.
Eventually I'd end up trustung this particular hoomin and even let him
pet me, but that was still in the future. The first thing about this
new hoomin that changed my life was that he learned about Spot and he
started putting food outside to encourage Spot to eat at there, and
sometimes spend the night sleeping on his bed. I couldn't have cared
less about going into the hoomin's house, but the food he put out for
Spot was GOOD, so I started eating it when the hoomin put it out.

Life got even better. All us neighborhood cats had a new source of
good food, which of course is always welcome when you're not sure when
the next meal is coming. At first I ran and hid when I saw the hoomin,
but over time I learned that he wouldn't throw things or chase me
away. So, after a time I stopped running whenever I saw him. After a
while I started going closer and waiting while he filled up the food
bowl. I learned a startling fact, it actually feels nice when a hoomin
scritches you in that certain spot that you just can't seem to reach
behind your ear.

Part Three - Betrayal and My First TED Visit

Life was good. I had the occasional challenge to my rule of my
kingdom, but still won all my fights. After one fight, though, I had a
war wound that wouldn't seem to heal.. It REALLY hurt and just
wouldn't heal. The hoomin noticed that my leg was all swollen about
three times the size of the other one. He tried to touch it, but I
wasn't about to put up with that, so I hightailed it out of there and
stayed away for a while.

After a couple days I was starting to get really hungry, so I decided
to go back and see if he was still putting food out. When I got there
the food bowl was full, and I was so hungry I let the hoomin take a
close look. The next morning when I went back to eat the hoomin was
there waiting. When I bent over the bowl he snatched me up and stuck
me in a box. Next thing I knew he carried me over to one of those big
moving monsters that the hoomins sit in and ride around in. The hoomin
put me inside the monster and it made a lot of noise and we were
moving.

It didn't last long, and when we stopped the hoomin carried me inside
a different hoomin place. The hoomin talked to some other hoomin, then
after waiting a while carried me to a smaller room. We waited again
until another strange hoomin came. This was the worst hoomin yet, and
I was really beginning to think momma had been right when she told me
not to trust hoomins. This new hoomin looked at me through the bars on
the box, and they opened the side of the box.

I made a break for it, but there was no place to go. They threw
something over me and held me so I couldn't defend myself while this
new hoomin poked and prodded me. It ended up with this new hoomin
sticking me with something sharp, but it didn't hurt much. When they
put the box with the bars on the table I decided it was a lot safer
inside the box than outside where they could poke, prod and stab me
with sharp sticks. So, when they loosened their grip a bit I darted
back into that box. Turned out, though, that's what they wanted. The
hoomins exchanged some of their strange noises, then the hoomin who
betrayed my trust picked up the box, and carried me back to the moving
monster. After the strange moving feeling, the monster stopped and the
hoomin carried me awhile. When he put down the box I found I was back
where the adventure had started.

The hoomin opened the side of the box, and I was OUT OF THERE. It may
sound strange, but after the trip in the monster and having that
strange hoomin stab me with the sharp stick, my leg stopped hurting
and healed up a lot quicker than war wounds normally do. I stayed gone
for several days before I went back to check for food, though. For a
long time I didn't trust the hoomin and kept my distance. Eventually,
I forgave him, after all he kept putting out food, and things went
back to the way they were before.

Part Four - Little Bit and Sammy Move In - Another TED Visit

I was still the King, I lived the good life, and my sore leg was good
as new. Sometime during this period Spot, the self proclaimed complex
cat, disappeared. I heard the hoomin say later that he had gotten
himself locked inside one of those BIG moving monsters with some other
hoomin's furniture and gone to someplace called California. Serves old
brown nose right, but I hear he was happy as he stopped being a
complex cat and had his own hoomin family.

Another cold time came and went. One of the neighborhood girls cats,
called Little Bit, moved in with the hoomin and had some babies. She
started living inside with the hoomin with Sammy, one of the babies. I
started trusting the hoomin again, and even went inside the hoomin's
apartment to eat sometimes, since the inside cats seemed to get better
food than what the hoomin put out for us neighborhood cats.

Things were good, until another challenge came and I had to put
another pipsqueak in his place. I got another one of those swollen leg
wounds which just won't heal. The hoomin tried to stick me inside the
box with bars, but I remembered from the other time and took off and
stayed away for a couple days. Guess I was getting spoiled by the
regular meals of good food, though, and it's hard to get enough to eat
when it hurt to walk, so eventually I went back.

Since it was so hard to walk with my wound, the hoomin managed to
catch me and stick me in the box again. It was a repeat of the first
time - into the moving monster, back to the smelly hoomin place,
stabbed by the strange hoomin, then back to where we had started. I
took off again as soon as the hoomin put down the box and opened the
bars, but didn't stay away as long. You know, there may just something
about that stick the strange hoomin stabs you with, because the
swelling started going down again, and in no time the wound healed.

Part Five - I Become Part of the Family and Get a Name

Things went back to normal. More hot times followed by cold times came
and went. Life was good. Then a time came when the hoomin started
saying he might move, and he started asking me if I wanted to go some
place and become a "barn cat". He said something about having
something fixed before I became a barn cat. I had no clue what he was
talking about. I tried to tell him I was the King, life was good,
nothing needed fixing, and I had no intention of becoming a barn cat -
whatever the h*ll a barn cat was.

One day when I went to eat he was waiting there with the bar-box.
There was no way I was going to go into that thing, especially not
this time as I didn't even have a sore leg. I took off and stayed away
for a few days. I checked a couple times, but he had stopped putting
out food. Then, one day when I went back he opened the door and told
me to come inside if I wanted to eat. By that time I was pretty
hungry, so I went on inside. Turns out it was a BIG mistake, because
as soon as I started eating he dropped something over me. Before I
could plan an escape I was back inside that blasted bar-box and on the
way to the monster.

This time we ended up at a different smelly place. The hoomin
abandoned me and left me there with strangers. I ended up being held
captive for a couple days, and on the second day the hoomins did
something to me which I guess fixed whatever they thought was broken.
Finally, on the third day MY hoomin came back and rescued me. I knew
he was the one who had taken me to the smelly place, but I decided to
forgive him right away this time. I figured I'd better do a little
sucking up so that he would decide not to take me wherever the barn
was - if this was what was meant by "Fixing" I sure didn't want to
find out what he meant by becoming a barn cat.

Sammy, one of the girl cats who lives with the hoomin, was actually
pretty helpful telling me how to get the hoomin to help me become part
of the family. Little Bit, Sammy's mom, didn't like me, and kept
telling me how much fun I'd have as a barn cat. She didn't fool me
though, so I followed Sammy's advice. It worked, too. When it came
time for me to leave and go wherever barn cats go, the hoomin had
decided to let me stay.
I wasn't always too sure when Sammy told me how to get on the hoomin's
good side, but learned that she's a pretty smart little cat.

Lots of things have changed since I joined the family. Guess the first
thing was when I got a real hoomin name. Before the hoomin called me
"mostly white, black and white tom cat", or just Whitey. Once I became
family he started calling me Rocky. I've learned a lot of other
things, too. Once I became part of the family I started making strange
sounds that the hoomin
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Rocky (RB)

[remove Junk for email]
Home Page:
http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html


sobbing at my desk Steve, I can't tell you how sorry I am. Rocky was a
true treasure, a dear friend beloved by people around the world. I hope
your heart heals quickly, I know Rocky would not want you to be sad,. Think
of him at the bridge, frolicking like a kitten, chasing butterflies, and
waiting for you, the one he picked to bestow his love upon, the one he
picked whom he knew would love him best.

Hugs,

CatNipped


  #10  
Old October 28th 04, 02:03 PM
CatNipped
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Steve Touchstone" wrote in message
...
Many thanks to all who were pulling for Rocky, sending purrs to all of
us here. Some may consider swapping purrs a little strange, even
silly, but when you need them they really do help the recipient. I
know I collected those sent for Rocky, and they helped (may have
gotten teary reading them, but sometimes crying is a good thing).

I want to offer a special thanks to those who offered to help with the
cost. I didn't reply earlier, both because I wasn't sure how much the
final cost would be, and didn't feel like looking up Dr Haney's
address. When I went to pick up the carrier (sadly empty, rather them
full of a loudly complaining Rocky) I was surprised, and more than a
little touched, to learn that a couple of you had gone through the
trouble to look up the information and already made contrinutions. I
learned today that it will be hard to personally thank all who
contribute, screen names just don't match the receipts. I guess I'll
just send a sort of blanket thanks, since some may not wish their
names listed on the NG.

Anyway, here's the vet's info:

Dr Haney
Midtown Animal Hospital
1101 SW Park Ave
Lawton, OK 73501
ph: 580-353-3438

While on the subject of cost, I should say that the bill is much less
than I feared. When I went in this afternoon, Dr Haney had already
left for the day, but I'm pretty certain he gave me a big discount on
the charges.

I started to write a Rocky Tribute, then remembered his story (in what
I thought would have been his words) posted last month. I think that
post tells his story well, so am including it here. I've re-edited it,
but haven't really changed it here. All I want to add is to emphasize
that he was truly loved, and that his death seemed painless, both to
me and to his doctor. I would rather he hadn't spent his last day in a
clinic surrounded by strangers, but feel that it was necessary to give
him a fighting chance. I know I don't need to tell you all that he'll
be sorely missed. He was a great cat who lived too short a time after
leaving his life as a feral and becoming my cat.

==========
Repost of Rocky's Story (in his own words)
(originally posted in early September)
==========

Part One - I Become the King

It's been a while now since I joined this here family, so I figured it
was time to sit down and tell my story. I probably wouldn't bother,
but the one the hoomin calls Sammy tells me both she and her momma,
called Little Bit, have told their stories and that I should tell
mine.

I can't tell you much about my early years. Really have no idea how
old I am. I know that the cold and hot times came several times. Momma
taught me how to hunt for food, how to find cool spots when it was
hot, and warm spots during the cold times. Momma taught me from an
early age that hoomins weren't to be trusted. I figure she was right
about most stuff, but lately I've found that at least SOME hoomins are
OK.

After I got bigger, momma and I got separated. I really don't know
where she went. Things were pretty rough there for a while. All the
older, bigger cats didn't want me around. I regularly got beat up
until I learned how to fight and protect myself. After a couple more
hot and cold times came and went, it got so that I was winning fights
more often than I was losing.

Things were really starting to look up. I established my own little
territory where I was the King. All the other cats in the neighborhood
gave me the respect I deserved. When some young upstart gave me grief
, I'd either whip them into shape or make their life so miserable that
they moved out of my kingdom. There were always hoomins around, but I
avoided them as much as I could.

Part Two - Changes

After living the good life for a couple more hot and cold times, a
couple things happened that changed my life. You see there was a group
of hoomin dwellings in my kingdom where a brown-nosed tom cat used to
hang around. I later learned he was what the hoomins call a tuxedo
kitty. He had a white face and a black nose. I always called him
brown-nose because of how he was always cozying up to the hoomins. The
hoomins called him Spot, though. He used to say he was the official
apartment complex cat. It worked for him, he used to go inside the
various hoomin houses to sleep at night, get out of the worst weather,
and get all the best food.

The other thing that happened which ended up changing my life was that
about this time a new hoomin moved into one of the hoomin houses.
Eventually I'd end up trustung this particular hoomin and even let him
pet me, but that was still in the future. The first thing about this
new hoomin that changed my life was that he learned about Spot and he
started putting food outside to encourage Spot to eat at there, and
sometimes spend the night sleeping on his bed. I couldn't have cared
less about going into the hoomin's house, but the food he put out for
Spot was GOOD, so I started eating it when the hoomin put it out.

Life got even better. All us neighborhood cats had a new source of
good food, which of course is always welcome when you're not sure when
the next meal is coming. At first I ran and hid when I saw the hoomin,
but over time I learned that he wouldn't throw things or chase me
away. So, after a time I stopped running whenever I saw him. After a
while I started going closer and waiting while he filled up the food
bowl. I learned a startling fact, it actually feels nice when a hoomin
scritches you in that certain spot that you just can't seem to reach
behind your ear.

Part Three - Betrayal and My First TED Visit

Life was good. I had the occasional challenge to my rule of my
kingdom, but still won all my fights. After one fight, though, I had a
war wound that wouldn't seem to heal.. It REALLY hurt and just
wouldn't heal. The hoomin noticed that my leg was all swollen about
three times the size of the other one. He tried to touch it, but I
wasn't about to put up with that, so I hightailed it out of there and
stayed away for a while.

After a couple days I was starting to get really hungry, so I decided
to go back and see if he was still putting food out. When I got there
the food bowl was full, and I was so hungry I let the hoomin take a
close look. The next morning when I went back to eat the hoomin was
there waiting. When I bent over the bowl he snatched me up and stuck
me in a box. Next thing I knew he carried me over to one of those big
moving monsters that the hoomins sit in and ride around in. The hoomin
put me inside the monster and it made a lot of noise and we were
moving.

It didn't last long, and when we stopped the hoomin carried me inside
a different hoomin place. The hoomin talked to some other hoomin, then
after waiting a while carried me to a smaller room. We waited again
until another strange hoomin came. This was the worst hoomin yet, and
I was really beginning to think momma had been right when she told me
not to trust hoomins. This new hoomin looked at me through the bars on
the box, and they opened the side of the box.

I made a break for it, but there was no place to go. They threw
something over me and held me so I couldn't defend myself while this
new hoomin poked and prodded me. It ended up with this new hoomin
sticking me with something sharp, but it didn't hurt much. When they
put the box with the bars on the table I decided it was a lot safer
inside the box than outside where they could poke, prod and stab me
with sharp sticks. So, when they loosened their grip a bit I darted
back into that box. Turned out, though, that's what they wanted. The
hoomins exchanged some of their strange noises, then the hoomin who
betrayed my trust picked up the box, and carried me back to the moving
monster. After the strange moving feeling, the monster stopped and the
hoomin carried me awhile. When he put down the box I found I was back
where the adventure had started.

The hoomin opened the side of the box, and I was OUT OF THERE. It may
sound strange, but after the trip in the monster and having that
strange hoomin stab me with the sharp stick, my leg stopped hurting
and healed up a lot quicker than war wounds normally do. I stayed gone
for several days before I went back to check for food, though. For a
long time I didn't trust the hoomin and kept my distance. Eventually,
I forgave him, after all he kept putting out food, and things went
back to the way they were before.

Part Four - Little Bit and Sammy Move In - Another TED Visit

I was still the King, I lived the good life, and my sore leg was good
as new. Sometime during this period Spot, the self proclaimed complex
cat, disappeared. I heard the hoomin say later that he had gotten
himself locked inside one of those BIG moving monsters with some other
hoomin's furniture and gone to someplace called California. Serves old
brown nose right, but I hear he was happy as he stopped being a
complex cat and had his own hoomin family.

Another cold time came and went. One of the neighborhood girls cats,
called Little Bit, moved in with the hoomin and had some babies. She
started living inside with the hoomin with Sammy, one of the babies. I
started trusting the hoomin again, and even went inside the hoomin's
apartment to eat sometimes, since the inside cats seemed to get better
food than what the hoomin put out for us neighborhood cats.

Things were good, until another challenge came and I had to put
another pipsqueak in his place. I got another one of those swollen leg
wounds which just won't heal. The hoomin tried to stick me inside the
box with bars, but I remembered from the other time and took off and
stayed away for a couple days. Guess I was getting spoiled by the
regular meals of good food, though, and it's hard to get enough to eat
when it hurt to walk, so eventually I went back.

Since it was so hard to walk with my wound, the hoomin managed to
catch me and stick me in the box again. It was a repeat of the first
time - into the moving monster, back to the smelly hoomin place,
stabbed by the strange hoomin, then back to where we had started. I
took off again as soon as the hoomin put down the box and opened the
bars, but didn't stay away as long. You know, there may just something
about that stick the strange hoomin stabs you with, because the
swelling started going down again, and in no time the wound healed.

Part Five - I Become Part of the Family and Get a Name

Things went back to normal. More hot times followed by cold times came
and went. Life was good. Then a time came when the hoomin started
saying he might move, and he started asking me if I wanted to go some
place and become a "barn cat". He said something about having
something fixed before I became a barn cat. I had no clue what he was
talking about. I tried to tell him I was the King, life was good,
nothing needed fixing, and I had no intention of becoming a barn cat -
whatever the h*ll a barn cat was.

One day when I went to eat he was waiting there with the bar-box.
There was no way I was going to go into that thing, especially not
this time as I didn't even have a sore leg. I took off and stayed away
for a few days. I checked a couple times, but he had stopped putting
out food. Then, one day when I went back he opened the door and told
me to come inside if I wanted to eat. By that time I was pretty
hungry, so I went on inside. Turns out it was a BIG mistake, because
as soon as I started eating he dropped something over me. Before I
could plan an escape I was back inside that blasted bar-box and on the
way to the monster.

This time we ended up at a different smelly place. The hoomin
abandoned me and left me there with strangers. I ended up being held
captive for a couple days, and on the second day the hoomins did
something to me which I guess fixed whatever they thought was broken.
Finally, on the third day MY hoomin came back and rescued me. I knew
he was the one who had taken me to the smelly place, but I decided to
forgive him right away this time. I figured I'd better do a little
sucking up so that he would decide not to take me wherever the barn
was - if this was what was meant by "Fixing" I sure didn't want to
find out what he meant by becoming a barn cat.

Sammy, one of the girl cats who lives with the hoomin, was actually
pretty helpful telling me how to get the hoomin to help me become part
of the family. Little Bit, Sammy's mom, didn't like me, and kept
telling me how much fun I'd have as a barn cat. She didn't fool me
though, so I followed Sammy's advice. It worked, too. When it came
time for me to leave and go wherever barn cats go, the hoomin had
decided to let me stay.
I wasn't always too sure when Sammy told me how to get on the hoomin's
good side, but learned that she's a pretty smart little cat.

Lots of things have changed since I joined the family. Guess the first
thing was when I got a real hoomin name. Before the hoomin called me
"mostly white, black and white tom cat", or just Whitey. Once I became
family he started calling me Rocky. I've learned a lot of other
things, too. Once I became part of the family I started making strange
sounds that the hoomin
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Rocky (RB)

[remove Junk for email]
Home Page:
http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html


sobbing at my desk Steve, I can't tell you how sorry I am. Rocky was a
true treasure, a dear friend beloved by people around the world. I hope
your heart heals quickly, I know Rocky would not want you to be sad,. Think
of him at the bridge, frolicking like a kitten, chasing butterflies, and
waiting for you, the one he picked to bestow his love upon, the one he
picked whom he knew would love him best.

Hugs,

CatNipped


 




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