Prelude / Background
Born: Summer 2012
Adopted: February, 2021
Died: May 8, 2026
JoJo was diagnosed with large cell lymphoma with the first symptoms showing up in July 2025. JoJo underwent surgery to remove a mass found on his small intestine, and went through the CHOP chemotherapy protocol to try to address any tumors that were not removed by the surgery. JoJo completed his cancer treatments in January 2026. However, symptoms of cancer returned within a month in February 2026. We choose to not resume chemotherapy, and keep JoJo as comfortable as possible for the remaining months of his life.
Eulogy
JoJo, you first came into Angela’s life during Covid in February of 2021. You were a senior cat that had been returned to the shelter due to circumstances with your first family, and so we were your second family. In your second family, you initially found both Angela and Professor Meatball.
When Angela first got you, you were a very large cat, and needed to go onto a diet. You would always attempt to steal food from others, including human food.
I first meet you, Professor Meatball and Angela in the summer of 2021. Within a few weeks of first meeting you, I ended up watching you for a week while Angela was away. During this time, I brought you over to my apartment for the week and you ended up meeting Patton. I remember the first interaction between the two of you. Patton was was a bit annoyed to have you there, however you did not seem to mind being a new place with a new cat that much after you settled down from being carried over. You were only interested in food and what food you could find. You truly were our stomach with legs.
During that first week, you were a friendly cat trying to be respectful of Patton and his home, while chronically looking around for food.
While your first visit visit with Patton only lasted a week, you did eventually move in with Angela, and become a lifelong friend with Patton and myself. You were a very friendly cat who loved cuddling and hanging out with everyone. I think that your happy place was finding a nice bed or couch to cuddle up with someone. And once you and Patton were comfortable being together, you two were always together.
Professor Meatball even came back for a few months, during which time you were thrilled to have someone else who you could steal food from again.
Professor Meatball then passed, and then you became good friends with Lollipop.
Unfortunately, Patton passed away, and then it just became you and Lollipop for a while.
Even during this time, you still remained your cuddly self.
Eventually, we adopted Boba Milk Tea, and you got another cat to hang out with, and got to show a young kitten how to be a cat.
Unfortunately, these blissful times didn’t last too long. Shortly after we adopted Boba, you were diagnosed with an aggressive form of Cancer, large cell lymphoma. We quickly got you a surgery to remove a 1.6 cm mass from your intestine and got you started on the CHOP chemotherapy protocol. I know that the cancer made this last year rough on you. After your surgery, you had to stay in a cage to limit your movements to prevent tearing your stitches.
Despite the discomfort that you were in, you still like being around the family, as long they didn’t cause you to move around too much.
Eventually, you did recover from your surgery, and while the chemo treatment would leave you feeling a bit ill for the day, you still got to have several good days hanging out with Boba and Lollipop and cuddling on the bed. We even got you your own isolated space using a cat enclosure and a microchip cat door, so that that when you were not feeling well, you could have a place you could isolate from the rest of the family and rest.
This was a good time for you, you were surrounded by your family and got to enjoy every day. You managed to finished the CHOP chemotherapy protocol in January of 2026. At first it seemed like you were doing well, however in February you started having symptoms of cancer again. We decided to not attempt more chemotherapy, as while you still enjoyed living and spending time with your family, the chemotherapy treatments themselves were increasingly taking a larger and larger toll on your health, taking a longer and longer to recover from.
I know your last couple of months were rough. You had always been our stomach with legs who would eat everything, however during these last few months it was tricky getting you to eat, and I offer you food several times throughout the day to ensure that you were still eating enough. During this time, your belly distended and filled with fluid. I can’t imagine that was comfortable for you. Despite all of that, you still enjoyed hanging out with your family and cuddling at night. You were amazing. You really loved all of us so much.
On the morning of Friday, May 8, 2026 at 11:10 am, you passed away. The week prior, your symptoms had continued to worsen, and you were eating less and less every day. I spent the night with you, and in the morning I carried you to the patio where we watched the sun rise together. You spent your last morning watching the sun from your favorite place on the patio surrounded by your whole family to spend your last few moments with your family that you loved.
I know that you loved your family with Boba, Lollipop, Meatball, Patton, Angela and myself. We all miss you JoJo. I miss you JoJo. I am going to miss you cuddling close every night, and waking up with you demanding your breakfast. I am going to miss you jumping onto my lap and demanding to sit there for hours. Our home isn’t going to be the same without you in it. However, I know that you stayed with us for as long as you could, and that now you have achieved your eternal peace and an endless supply of tasty food and friends to cuddle with.
