RIP Ralph. You done good.

damn… it’s hard when they go, even though you are sort of expecting it. We never REALLY expect it. That’s a long time to have a critter.. they become family for sure…..

Saddened by your loss . Rest in Peace Ralph. Happy for you that you had almost 20 years to enjoy his love.

RIP Ralph! You lived a very good life, and lasted longer than some marriages! Glad at the end you were with your family.
Sorry for your loss!

I’m sorry for your loss Jack…I just found a tiny kitty a few months ago that looks just like him…..It was 30 degrees outside and he jumped in my truck and buried himself in my coat LOL …I just had to take the little fellow in the house and show him to Lori…He’s lived with us ever since…He’s damn good Cat….I feel for you brother!

Sorry for your loss. Your video of him is one of my favorites.

A fitting tribute for a pet, friend or family member. Well done, Jack. RIP Ralph.

sorry for your family’s loss…

I’m sorry for your loss. I really like that video that is one to cherish. His patients, being a cat that is, is amazing.

I’m sorry to hear you and Dorothy lost a family member, Jack. Ralph was obviously a good friend. How wonderful that you were able to give him such a loving home and share this life with him for 19 years.

“We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own, live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached. Unable to accept its awful gaps, we still would live no other way. ”

-Irving Townsend

Sorry for your loss.

Great Tribute Jack.
I forget the year, 80s or 90s but while maintaining apartment buildings in the ghettos of Los Angeles County, specifically Long Beach.

Discovered a kitten, probably born under house nearby, and thought “OMG, if the kids around here got him they would torture him to death: So I swooped him up, put him in my 1971 F-250 work truck and at the end of the day took him home, to the High Desert, Palmdale/Lancaster CA and introduced him to my son, who was about (I think) 11 at the time.

That kitten … I was my cat’s Mom, we bonded.
I never named it, sometimes it was good kitty, sometimes bad kitty… but I swear someone was living in there, pretty good evidence for reincarnation.

He had a very interesting life. Only lived 12 years but they were intense, in a good way. Except… in the High Desert, we had a cat door so he could come and go as he pleased and there came a day when I realized he was sleeping in the same spot for 3 days so I did the Boy Scout first aid thing and realized he had a big gash on his flank. Outside running with the coyotes is my theory and I had to laugh at myself after realizing I was yelling at my catfor making the tactical error of turning his back on the enemy, he should have stood his ground and died with honor like a Klingon.

So I violated my policy about not spending $ on pets and took him to the vet.

After my amicable divorce (16 years of marriage) I gave him to my former wife and son (who was about 14 at the time) and this cat, having followed me through the changes, I had to become a truck driver so gifted him to my former family and he lived a few more years. Funny as hell: ex-wife reported that the cat (they lived in a condo and left the sliding glass door open) would let other cats in but would not let them out. Yea, I taught my cat how to be a warrior. Ex-wife came home one day to find blood all over the wall because my cat was kick ass, and maybe a little crazy.

After about 12 years of life he stopped eating, got skinny and had to be put down. He lost it, we don’t know if it was cancer or what. He had a good life. I miss my cat. But it was a good ride.

For both of us.

When you get a Good family pet you wish they would always be in their prime.
My sister has a dog that is in failing health. Spike is his name and he is a Big black lab who.could look you in the eye if he jumped up on you. He was named after the vampire on Buffy the vampire slayer. His name fit him to, one day I was watching him while my sister was on vacation and I saw him throw in the air what I thought was a squeak toy, but was a mouse that got in the house. That was not the only mouse he ever got too another mouse had his own exit through a Crack under the front door and I was told he chased it out through that Crack and them waited right there until the mouse came back and lets just say that mouse was never a problem again I was told.
like I said he is in failing health has lost 2 toes to cancer and is a little unsteady on his paws but at age 13 he now has a girlfriend named Willow that my sister adopted last year. I am sure at his great age he is like an old man tolerant of the antics of the young with just enough Wisdom to teach her a thing or two.
When he passes he will be missed and maybe he will teach Willow a little of what she needs to know to protect his family when he is gone.
In closing their are pets and then their are four legged family members. When you get an animal it is a pet, but in time they become family members. It would be a sad day if all our animal family members dissappeared no dogs no cats anywhere it would be like chopping our arm off. Without them the world would not be the same. If we ever make it into outer space we need to make sure we bring our four legged family members with us too.

Sorry for your loss. It sounds like Ralph lived a wonderfully full life.

Hi Jack, Dorothy and other critter lovers,

Having everything from cats to cattle, I know how we come to care about them. Now, with two rescue dogs and five feral cats (“bush cats” as they are also known by here), one of those cats who is “20-something” gets somewhat special care, but not quite what is described below.

A good friend, entrepreneur and musician wrote the following poem about what he needed to do for his elder-cat.

SQUEEZING THE CAT

I take our old orange striped cat
outside to help him pee.
He’s eighteen years old,
and his back legs sprawl,
and his bladder cannot feel
or tell his brain that he is full.
Nerve damage, they say,.
So three times a day
I take him out,
press and massage his bladder
until his sphincter opens
and the cat juice flows
orange upon the ground.
His back legs kick reflexively,
he claws at leaves,
but then I take him inside
and he waddles over to his bowl,
and he looks at me,
and says out loud,
“Where’s the chow?”
I feed him one more time.
I know it’s not great to live this way.
He used to hunt rats and mice
and lizards.
Now he says canned cat food seems so nice.
I give him all he wants
five or six times a day.
I do love him
so I’ll squeeze him dry;
he is my orange striped cat.
When it’s time to go
he will let me know
and I will live with that.
But until then I will go on
squeezing the cat.
It stinks where I squeeze him dry,
and these days he poops wherever he is.
I never even saw him pee before.
He always buried it out in the woods.
as any proper cat would.
I know it’s not a great way to live,
but he loves to eat.
He used to be polite and quiet.
Now he wakes the house every morning
querulously demanding to be fed.
Well, he is old.
And when you scratch his head
his golden eyes squint,
and he tips his head
this way and that,
scratch behind this ear, oh yes,
and now behind the other,
underneath the chin,
around the back,
and isn’t it time for a snack?
I know it isn’t a great way to live,
but who am I to tell him that his life isn’t worth living?
When he can still enjoy these simple things,
food,
and love,
and a sunny place on the porch to nap,
and someone to give him a timely squeeze.
The day will come,
probably not too far away,
when he tells me
that he is tired of it all
and it is time to go.
He will know.
I will know.
And as the vet
gives him the needle of mercy
I will hold him
and tell him
he is a good kitty.
Will someone someday do this for me?
Take my hand, and help me up
so I can go and pee?
And when finally
I have had enough of this sweet life,
hold me and gently
tell me goodnight,
and please then give me the merciful needle,
and tell me I was a good cat.
I’d like that.

Condolences to you Jack & Dorothy,
John “Caribe”

I remember Ralph from a year+ ago when I had the mobile battery bank class at Jacks. Ralph was partly deaf and blind and he’d be sleeping and you’d go and pet him and he did not know you were coming and when you touched him he got started for a second until he realized Oh…someone is loving me and then he’d push against you as you petted and scratched him. Tabbys are such good cats. I have 2 of them at home.

Steve

So sorry to hear about the passing of Ralph. He’ll be missed. For 23, it was a long and good life.
Scott

I’m sorry. 🙁 It’s hard to lose an animal who’s been with you for a long time. You can really love your fur buddies. RIP Ralph.

That’s one good looking cat, be strong bruv I’m sure he’s in a better place. Always hard losing a member of the family like that. Take care buddy

I’m so sorry to hear that Jack.

RIP, beautiful Ralphie. You had a helluva good run with a helluva good family. If only all pets could be so fortunate.

Sorry for your loss.

I’m sorry for your loss Jack.

Been there with the loss of an animal. They are like family, wishing you guys the best.

Dorothy and Jack-

I am truly sorry for your loss. Ralph was a cool old cat. I have been to your property many times and he was fun around the picnic tables. He will be missed.

sorry to hear. my old cat died a few years ago at 19. a long life out side and independent.