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© 2026 Cats Hope, The Returning Ones, Tiffany Argent. All rights reserved.

”Rockie, The Compassionate One”
Photograph © CatsHope™

ROCKIE ROMEO CASANOVA GRIFFENDOR

The Compassionate One

Formal Name: ROCKIE ROMEO CASANOVA GRIFFENDOR

Affectionate Name: Rockie AKA Lover Boy

Lineage: A Griffendor, born of Tamara Tigerlily

Born: 17 December 2020

Horoscope: Sagittarius

Character: Sensitive, enquiring — and not shy about voicing his concerns.

Quirks: Will steal your bowl. Opens cupboard doors. Can fish out bowls hidden under the cupboard. Will hi-five.

Favourite Games: Soccer, Chase the red squirrel

Special Charm: His hooked tail, wide round eyes and permanently concerned, enquiring face.

Duty at CatsHope™: The Welcoming Committee

Rockie — CatsHope™ Welcome Committee

Rockie,
The Compassionate One

Wide eyes watching,
a question on his face.

If something isn’t right,
Rockie wants to know.

He looks.
He asks.
He talks about it.

And when someone needs a friend,
out comes a paw—

Hello.

“Five Siblings”

Tami’s Five Kittens : bottom right Simba, bottom left Tigger, Top Left to Right: Rockie, Kopi, Cougar.


Photograph © CatsHope™

Arrival

Rockie did not arrive at CatsHope™.


He was born there.


On 17 December 2020, Tamara Tigerlily gave birth to five kittens: Tigger, Kopi, Simba, Rockie and Cougar.


Rockie grew up surrounded by his mother, his brothers and sisters, the older resident cats and the two-leg Angel Mum who cared for them all.


Two of the five kittens, Tigger and Kopi, were eventually adopted. Rockie remained with his mother, Simba and Cougar.


For a while, the four continued life together as a family.


Then came a journey that changed everything.

Early Life

Rockie was born at CatsHope™ on 17 December 2020, one of Tamara Tigerlily’s five kittens. There were five of them: Tigger, Kopi, Simba, Rockie and little Cougar. They grew up together, playing, eating and sleeping beside one another, with Mother always nearby. To Rockie, this was simply his family. He had never known anything else. Then his sisters began to leave.

When Tigger Left

One day, the kittens travelled together in their carriers to meet a lady. The lady spent time with Tigger and Cougar before choosing Tigger. But Tigger did not understand that she had been chosen for adoption.

When it was time for the others to leave, she tried to climb back into the carrier with her family. Her brothers and sisters reached towards her through the carrier door, trying to bring her back inside. They couldn’t. The carrier door closed. Rockie went home with Simba, Cougar and Kopi. Tigger stayed behind.

Then Kopi Left

A few weeks later, someone came for Kopi. This time, the visitor had already chosen her from her photograph and had been waiting until she was old enough to leave Mother. Kopi was picked up, cuddled and carried away to her new home. And then there were three.

Simba.

Rockie.

Cougar.

Rockie had begun life as one of five kittens. Now his two sisters were gone. He could not know where they had gone or why they had left. He only knew that the family around him had become smaller. Mother was still there. So were Simba and Cougar. And the three remaining kittens stayed close to her.

Not long afterwards, another journey began.

This time, Mother went with them. Rockie, Simba, Cougar and Tamara were being rehomed together as a family. None of them understood that they were being rehomed. To them, it was simply another journey with Mother.

None of them knew that they would soon be coming home again — or that when they did, everything would be different.

The adoption did not work out as intended. What happened next, and what happened after they returned home, is told by Rockie in:

Rockie — After the Journey

Personality

Rockie is a simple, affectionate and sensitive fellow with an extraordinarily expressive face.

His large round eyes are often wide open, giving him a permanently concerned, startled or enquiring expression. He can look as though something important has just happened and he would very much like someone to explain it to him.

And if looking concerned isn’t sufficient, Rockie will voice his concerns. He talks.

Rockie notices what is happening around him and responds readily to people and cats. He is curious about what others are doing, interested in changes around the home and particularly attentive when someone new appears.

He can also be remarkably considerate. At mealtimes, Rockie will sometimes wait while his siblings eat first. But don’t be fooled by that concerned face. Rockie is perfectly capable of deciding that someone else’s bowl should be his. When the mood takes him, he simply reaches over, hooks the bowl towards himself and takes possession.

Concerned about you? Quite possibly.

Concerned about ownership of the bowl? Apparently not.

Catitude

Rockie’s concerned face comes with a practical mind.

A cupboard door is not necessarily closed simply because a human has closed it. Rockie knows how to open it. Hiding a bowl doesn’t necessarily work either. He has learnt how to reach beneath the cupboard and pull hidden bowls back out. And when the kibble bowl is sitting between him and Simba, there is no need to get up. A paw will do. The bowl can simply be pulled closer.

Rockie believes in practical solutions.

But one of Rockie’s most characteristic behaviours appears when another cat is uncertain. When Chester first arrived at Cats Hope™, he was separated from the resident cats inside a cage while he settled into his new surroundings. Rockie came over and reached a paw through the bars. Chester reached back.

Paw met paw. A little hi-five through the cage. For a newly arrived cat alone in an unfamiliar place, it was a small gesture of welcome and solace.

And so, somewhere along the way, Rockie appointed himself to the Cats Hope™ Welcoming Committee.

Playtime

Rockie loves soccer. Give him a moving ball and the game is on. He will chase, intercept and send it travelling across the floor. He also loves chasing the red squirrel and other flying toys swung through the air.

The concerned expression remains. Apparently, both are very serious business.

Appearance

Rockie is a sturdy, heavy-set tabby who carries much of the rounded build of his mother, Tamara Tigerlily.

His most distinctive physical feature is his hooked tail. But it is his face that gives Rockie much of his individual charm.

His warm yellow eyes are large, round and frequently opened very wide. Depending upon what is happening around him, he can appear startled, concerned, puzzled or intensely enquiring. It is a face that seems perpetually on the verge of asking a question.

Quite often, Rockie does.

Role in CatsHope™

The Welcoming Committee

Rockie represents compassion expressed through simple actions. When a cat arrives frightened or uncertain, he is likely to reach out in solace.

Chester’s arrival captured Rockie particularly well. Chester was alone inside a cage in a strange new home. After watching him for a while, Rockie reached a paw through the bars. Chester reached forward to meet him.

Paw to paw. A simple hi-five.

No grand gesture. Just two paws touching through the bars.

Hello. Welcome to Cats Hope™.

Rockie had apparently joined the Welcoming Committee.

Nobody remembers appointing him.

Current Life

Today, Rockie lives at CatsHope™ with his family. The frightened young kitten who returned from a failed adoption has grown into a large, sturdy and much-loved member of the household.

He plays soccer.

He talks.

He investigates.

He opens cupboards.

He retrieves bowls that humans believed they had successfully hidden.

He may let his siblings eat first — and five minutes later decide that their bowl looks better than his.

And whenever something unusual happens, there is Rockie: round eyes wide open, concerned expression firmly in place, wanting to know what is going on, ready to comment, and, when someone needs it, ready with a paw.

🐾 Rockie Romeo Griffendor Sensitive. Enquiring. Compassionate. Official CatsHope™ Welcoming Committee. Will hi-five. May steal your bowl.

“Rockie, on a bed of blue” Photograph © CatsHope™

🌙 Rockie’s Prayer for Tigger and Kopi

They were his sisters—
Tigger and Kopi—
once curled beside him,
breathing the same small world.

She was trying to go back—
clawing at the door,
reaching for the place she knew,
while hands pulled her away.

He stood there, watching.
Unable to stop it—
as one was taken,
then the other.

And though he could not follow,
something in him
stayed with them—

First Kopi,
then Tigger—
both sisters gone.

And prayers
were the kindness
he could give them.

🐾🐾 All images and stories © CatsHope™, The Returning Ones, Tiffany Argent.

COMING SOON…

“Rockie, Laid Back and Looking Out”
Photograph © CatsHope™

Story Archive for Rockie

  1. The Journey — The story as told by Rockie
  2. When Rockie Became Ill —The story of Rockie’s illness and diagnosis

Tamara and her three remaining babies left Cats Hope™ together for what their two-leg Angel Mum believed would be their new home.

To Rockie, it was simply another journey with Mother, Simba and Cougar. It didn’t turn out that way.

Rockie tells what happened next — and what happened when the three kittens finally came home.

Read Rockie — After the Journey →

View All Rockie's Stories
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