When I took him home, the first thing he did was start challenging my other two cats. I would laugh and tell him that he was too small to be fighting for the rank of top cat. But he would keep doing it anyway. Gregory, a very large cat, consistenly pinned him down almost instantly. Three years later, Rocky is enormous. He challenges every cat that comes into my house to let them know where they stand. But he is still second to Gregory.

For the first few months, he could hardly jump. He needed help getting onto the couch, which was only a couple of feet off the floor. But slowly he started jumping higher and higher. Now it is very difficult to tell that he was ever injured.

I believe that Rocky is absolutely the cutest cat I have ever seen. Not very smart, not very graceful, but unbelievably cute. His bright orange fur and his great big eyes make him look almost like a cartoon. Combine that with his little high-pitched kitten mews that he regularly sings out for long stretches of time. He is so fluffy and plump, that he looks like a little bear cub. You can't look at him without wanting to pick him up and squeeze him. Unfortunately, he doesn't usually care for human attention. Except when someone is in the bathroom.

I don't know why, but whenever someone, even a total stranger, goes into the bathroom, Rocky headbutts, does figure eights (in his own clumsy way), and mews as long as they are in there. People see this and get the impression that he is the most affectionate cat in the world.

In the early fall of 1999, I watched as Rocky ran as fast as he could and lept with all his might onto a tree. He landed about one foot off the ground, clung to the tree for about five seconds, and fell off. I thought how sad it was for a cat to not be able to climb a tree.

In January of 2000, Rocky and I were sitting out on the porch together when a malamute and a German shepherd came out of nowhere. They were very sweet to me, but when they spotted Rocky the Malamute chased after him. I tried to grab Rocky and I tried to grab the dog, but both got away from me. The dog's guardian managed to call the dog away but I couldn't find Rocky anywhere. Since he is so defenseless, I was terrified of what might have happened to him. But finally we spotted him sitting about eight feet up in a tree. I was so proud of him. We did have to help him down from the tree.