The family cat Jonesy died today. He was 18, as best as we can figure.

My mom brought him home from work on her lunch break during the summer of 1991. He was about 6 months old when we got him. He had shown up one day on a co-worker's porch, and she couldn't take him in because she already had two other cats. So she was going to take him to the animal shelter, but my mom decided to bring him home for me instead. I'd been wanting a cat for a while by that point. He was orange (mostly), so I named him after the cat in Alien.

He was a crazy cat when we first got him. He'd been living as a stray for who knows how long--we think he was born in a garage because he always went nuts for any oil or grease smells..and he loved honkey tonk music--and he showed it. He hunted things, including our feet as we'd walk by his ambush points. He was skittish and terrified of strangers. His nose was crooked from a bad break. But I loved him, even though he gave me several gnarly scars on my arm from times when I'd be holding him and he'd freak out and turn into a whirlwind of claws and fur. My mom was upset because she said now people would think I'd tried to slit my wrists. I still have the scars.

Jonesy mellowed with age--it helped that I also got older and stopped tussling with him, I'm sure--and turned into the sweetest little house cat. After I moved out, he and mom bonded pretty tightly. No matter where he was in the house, if my mom curled up on the couch with a blanket he'd show up within 30 seconds, hop up, burrow into the blanket, and quickly fall asleep.

I got to see plenty of Jonesy during my last visit to Santa Fe back in October. He was having trouble eating then, too, although at the time it was due to stress from both my parents being out of house for most of the day. So having me around helped calm him down and he got back on a regular eating schedule. I'm glad I was able to have that time with him. A couple weeks ago I was talking to my mom and he came over and started meowing at her, so she put him on the phone with me and I got to hear him chirp a bit.

Jonesy was an old, old cat, and no doubt lived many more years than he would have if he'd stayed out on the streets, and he went really quickly--as recently as last week he was being more demanding than ever with his feedings--so his passing is neither shocking nor particularly tragic. But it's sad. Very sad.

( Some pics. )

I think that's about all that I can say without rambling. So here's to Jonesy, a great cat and companion and friend. You will be missed.

ETA: I was talking to my parents just now, and apparently that gray cat came around today (after a long absence), looking for Jonesy. She was specifically looking for him, because she methodically went to each of his window hang-outs, including a little bedroom nook he liked to sleep in. Desiree thinks she was coming by to pay her respects.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090205/ap_en_mu/obit_lux_interior





I was never a HUGE Cramps fan, but I've always respected their music and their legacy. Sad to see another great pass on. Plus the soundtrack to Return of the Living Dead just wouldn't have been the same without "Surfin' Dead", one of my all-time favorites.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080304/ap_en_ot/obit_gygax

:(