Sweet Pea

Jo
1994-2012

Yesterday our sweet “Jo Jo” passed away at the ripe old age of 18. She seemed to be doing a little better after the antibiotics, but we guess the infection must have been just too much for her weak little body. We found her on the floor at the foot of the bed on the same rug where Mikey had taken his last breath.

Jo adopted us back in 1994 by showing up at our back door one day in CA. Russ opened the door figuring she’d run off like most cats would but instead she walked right in and made herself at home. We had a couple other cats at the time so she helped herself to some food and water and checked out the rest of the place. We assumed she belonged to someone and put her back outside that night. It was the weekend, and Russ had gotten up before me the next morning. When I walked into the living room, there she was laying in his recliner! She had been at the back door again when he got up so he let her in, and when he returned from the bathroom, that was where he found her. We put up signs around the neighborhood, but no one ever claimed her. We took her to the vet, and they estimated she was about 6 months old. Though she appeared strong and healthy, she did have some minor health issues and then we nearly lost her when she had an allergic reaction to the vaccines. Once we got past that first year though, she was relatively healthy the rest of her life. Russ had named her Jo (just a name that came to him) before we even decided that we’d keep her.

When we adopted Mikey, she was not too thrilled with her new brother and they never did become best buds, but she and Abby always seemed to have a special kinship, and Jo would regularly rub up against her.

Jo was a very independent little girl, like most cats, and could be ornery at times, but would love to “help” me make the bed and loved to sit on Russ’ lap, especially the last couple of years…she was always “daddy’s girl”. Of course like most cats, she loved going where she shouldn’t like laying under the Christmas tree.

Over the years she lived all over the country, coast-to-coast, and during the past 5 years saw more of the country than most people. When we first hit the road, she would run and hide when the RV engine was started and sometimes it took awhile to get her out of her hiding space as she had found a crevice we didn’t even know existed initially. Eventually though she grew to love the traveling, and when we’d start the engine, she’d jump onto the front dash to get the best view and lay in the sun. Though she was totally an indoor cat, throughout her life she loved going outside to eat some grass and soak up some rays, and when we hit the road, we’d try to find ways to let her enjoy some outdoor time.

This will be the first time since Russ and I have been together that we have no cat, and the first time that we humans outnumber the animals. We found a nice sunny place to bury her and will miss her sweet face, especially the next time we start up the RV. Just won’t seem the same without her peering out the front window checking things out as we travel down the road. Although her name was Jo, more often than not we called her Jo Jo (though I usually called her "Jo Jo baby"), and she was always my “sweet pea”.