Jojo
Long-Term Relationship
Debra Davis wasn’t looking to adopt a pet when she visited our New York City headquarters in late March 1993. Davis, a television producer, was attending a meeting about an upcoming ASPCA event she had agreed to film.
But then she saw Jojo, a cute little five-month-old calico.
“I just took one look at her and thought, ‘That’s my cat,’” Davis says. She soon found herself filling out adoption paperwork and on her way to becoming a pet parent. “Just bringing her home in that little box in the subway—it was just one of the greatest times of my life.”
At home, Davis put Jojo on her bed and said, “OK, be a cat. Do whatever cats do.” Before long, Jojo simply rolled over, and Davis was in awe. “I remember thinking, here’s this tiny little thing who could be damaged so easily. But she was just so trusting and loving, and it was so amazing to me to see that kind of trust. It made me a kinder, nicer person.”
Since then, Davis has relocated to her home state of Texas, where Jojo keeps a close eye on five rescue dogs and a rotating cast of foster animals. (“She completely dominates them,” Davis reports.) Jojo no longer loves to flush the toilet and watch what happens, but she does still sleep in the sink—a habit she’s had since the beginning.
Jojo was diagnosed with diabetes in 2002, and she’s slowed down quite a bit in her golden years, but she’s still as curious, gregarious and loving as ever, Davis says. “She’s been with me through everything—I just can’t imagine a time without her. She is by far my longest relationship.”