Jo Whiley reveals she’s had realistic £185 FELT models of her pets crafted to ‘immortalise’ them forever after her beloved cat GinGin died
She sadly lost her beloved cat GinGin in October.
And Jo Whiley, 55, has found a unique way of remembering the adorable moggy as she revealed the ginger and white feline has been immortalised in felt.
The BBC Radio 2 DJ looked incredibly pleased with the £185 intricate item as she took to Instagram to reveal it and also posed with a miniature of her dog Django.
Adorable! Jo Whiley has revealed she’s had felt models of her pets GinGin and Django crafted after her beloved cat died in October
Jo shared a picture of herself holding the £160 model of Django as well as the £185 felt GinGin and praised crafter Katy Richardson, who made them.
The animal lover penned: ‘Thank you @artbykiki_ for immortalizing our beloved pets.
‘GinGin, our supercilious puss who we lost this year and Django the porn star pup who is still very much alive and kicking – posing legs akimbo more often than not. We [love heart emoji].’
The Chelmsford-based artist asks for four images and one video to get to know the pet’s character.
Adorable: Ginger and white feline GinGin passed away in October and the felt model was based on a snap of the cat sitting in a puzzle box (pictured)
She then uses wool, glass beads for eyes and clay for noses, and sells the models on the craft site Etsy.
Along with the snaps of her new creations, Jo shared the images they were modelled off revealing GinGin relaxing in a black puzzle box.
While Django was seen laying on his back with his paws in the air as he took a quick break on the star’s floor.
After sharing the felt miniatures Jo also took to Instagram to reveal she’s welcomed a new pet into the family – kitten Ponyo.
Cheeky: While dog Django was recreated in felt with his legs akimbo
So happy: Jo thanked artist Katy Richardson for the fabulous miniatures on Instagram
The beautiful cat appears to have settled in well, with Jo sharing snaps of herself holding the fluffy feline as well as the kitten getting to know the rest of the family.
She penned: ‘Meet Ponyo – who’s bringing much joy to our little gang.’
It comes after Jo revealed she had to take HRT before becoming co-presenter of Simon Mayo’s Radio 2 show to clear a ‘brain fog’ caused by the menopause.
The presenter said she decided to have hormone replacement therapy in 2018 as she ‘couldn’t cope’ with her body’s changes and felt as if she was losing her mind.
New addition: Jo later took to Instagram to reveal her cute kitten Ponyo had joined the family
Jo told The Shift podcast in October: ‘I was feeling the effects of being my age. I had that hideous brain fog… it’s so hard, so intangible – just that awful thing of trying to remember stuff and it just fading away from your brain.
‘You try and get hold of it and bring the thought back into your head to try to articulate it and you can’t.
‘I did think at times I was losing my mind and kept going backwards and forwards to various doctors and professionals, going, ‘I just don’t feel quite right’.’
Jo added that the negative reviews she received from the show knocked her for six, saying: ‘That was not good for my confidence… wanting to do a good job and being aware the show is not successful. That is a horrible thing. People were angry I’d come in and destroyed the show.’