Mosaic Monday #47: Celebrating Josie

January 2019

She was the five-pound cat that thought she was a Doberman.  She had gourmet tastes, leading to an obsession with brie and grilled salmon.  She abhorred being picked up, but she still wanted to be in the center of the action.  That was our Josie.  On September 20, we made the tough decision to have Josie put to sleep.  She may have been 16 years old, but she still looked like a kitten and she will always be that kitten in my heart.

In 2005, on a visit to Rescue Village in Chesterland, Ohio, we planned to adopt two kittens.  But, as we walked the rows of cages, we noticed two adult cats in a single cage.  The sign indicated they had been residents there for almost six months; the previous owner had found that her new dog and the cats did not get along, and she gave up the CATS!  We knew kittens would quickly find homes, and none of us could abide the thought of these two spending another day in that small space, so after a short visit with Josie and Maggie in a guest room, they joined our family.

2005 - Age 2 - Rescue Village estimated her age 

We enjoyed her antics (mostly) for fourteen years.  Both kids graduated from high school and one graduated from college.  We moved to Troy, Ohio and then to Montana, first in Whitefish and now in Kila.  Maggie and Josie have seen it all.  As Josie's health began to decline in the last 12 months, we prepared the kids and ourselves for the inevitable.  But it was still an emotional event for all of us, and even as I write this the tears are streaming.  I certainly could not bring myself to write this post last week.  On the day we lost Josie, #1 Daughter paid tribute to her on FaceBook with this post:  

November 2017 - in the "spa"

From the moment she stepped into our home, Josie was a grumpy oddball. She did not like to be picked up.  She did not want to sit on our lap for pets, but would sit on a kitchen chair and meow her face off 'til Mom stopped what she was doing to pet her.

Josie liked sunny spots on hardwood floors, ribbons as chew toys, holiday decorations and cardboard boxes as beds.

Josie liked to lay under the Christmas tree and collect pine needles in her fur.  We would be hard pressed to find a ribbon or bow at Christmas that didn't have little kitty teeth marks on it.  Looking back, I think it was her way of showing love.

Christmas 2011

July 21, 2017 - first time she ever sat

on a lap - it only took 12 years!

Josie was by no means a lap cat, but toward the end of her life, we could find her on my Dad's lap more and more.  I think she knew her time was coming to an end and Josie wanted us to have those final memories with her.

I miss you already, Josie Cat.  I hope there are plenty of catnip toys for you to play with and cardboard boxes for you to sleep in in heaven.

I can't promise to keep dry eyes for the rest of this post, but I am trying to focus on the memories, as our daughter said above.  As I gathered over 140 possible photos for this post, I found myself laughing out loud.  "Noodle", as I liked to call her when I was slightly exasperated, had the typical cat penchant to be where she shouldn't be.

On the bed, saying "Feed me" with those big eyes

If a kitchen cabinet door was open, she had to be through it, prompting Head Chef to grumble about "Fuzzhead".  If we found the downdraft running on the oven in the morning, you knew Josie the Mosie had been mosey-ing about the kitchen counters in the night.

#1 Son sent me this email:  

Josie had her own way of showing affection to the family. She may have come off as grumpy but she really did care for us. It showed in her wariness to strangers. She will be dearly missed.

In her lifetime, Josie became legendary with family and regular visitors - she might act all nice and even approach you.  And then she would try to take a hand off, or make a swipe at a passing leg.  One of our neighbors, who cared for Josie during some of our absences, recounted wearing socks even in the summertime, to safeguard from Miss Cuteness (and more importantly, her teeth and back claws!!!)  As our son says, I believe she thought she was protecting us, and our home.  Yes, a five-pound cat channeling her inner Doberman.

November 2017 - in the cat tree

Josie has been in many of my posts; one of my favorites depicted her Houdini talents.  But no recollection about Josie would be complete without this story.  On our way from Ohio to Montana, we were in a Minneapolis hotel for one night.  Shortly after carting all of our luggage, two cats and a bird to the room, I looked around to make sure the cats had used the litter box and settled in.  No surprise, Maggie was curled up on one of the beds.  Josie?  Nowhere to be found.  After two full circuits of the room, I was convinced she had gotten out. I roamed down two hallways, asking everyone if they had seen a Doberman gray cat.  No luck.  Returning to the room, I peered again under the beds, and discovered a hole in the box spring.  I could just see a gray spot pressed up against the far wall.  What was she thinking?  "You will never get me back in that cat carrier again".  After dismantling the box spring and retrieving Noodle, we blocked up the hole.  Egads, the things we do for our furbabies!

September 2017

Spousal Unit recollects that, even after Josie began venturing onto his lap, she was pretty fickle.  Unless conditions were "just right", you could just as easily see her perched on the narrow arm of the chair.  At times, she would not tolerate Maggie joining in the cuddles, and would jump down.  On other occasions, both of them would make a space and settle in.

June 2018

One day, Spousal Unit was listening to a band cover a Bruce Springsteen song, and Josie jumped on his lap.  I caught a little on video.


You may be wondering about Maggie - how is she coping?  Although they are not related, Maggie and Josie have been together most of their lives.  Rescue Village told us Maggie was 4 at the time of the adoption, so that means the "Old Lady" has passed the 18-year mark.  She has a little arthritis in her hips, but that doesn't keep her from jumping onto laps or the ottomans.  Since Josie's passing, Maggie has begun meowing in the morning, usually at the same time the coffee maker starts brewing.  It might be her way of mourning, or of carrying on Josie's fine legacy of the same.  Either way, we are making a concerted effort to give her more attention.

May 2017

July 2019

Josie may have had a favorite lap (Dad's) or a favorite dining room chair (near mine), but any craft activity was a friend of hers.  If you didn't want her to sit on it, you shouldn't leave it out in the open!!!

Upper left: My current project - a Christmas tree skirt.  This picture was taken September 13 - thanks, Josie, for

putting your paw prints on the last project we will do together!

A week passes quickly when you are busy, and occasionally a movement has caught the corner of my eye, and I have looked for Josie, expecting her to be there. Maybe it is these random moments that I will miss the most.

In our family, Christmas is a significant event, full of traditions.  My Josie photo collection contains more snaps from the Christmas season than any other time of year - as you already heard from our daughter, Josie joined in with gusto.

Christmas - 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

Christmas 2011 and 2017 - what happened in between?  Life?

I have no doubt that Christmas 2019 will not be the same without Josie, but we will raise a glass, and tell our Josie stories, and that may be enough.

Mosaic Monday

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