Introducing: Dr. Sheldon Cooper

Not this Dr. Sheldon Cooper:                            

Dr. Sheldon Cooper as played
by the Emmy winning Jim Parsons

This Dr. Sheldon Cooper:

This is the newest addition to our home.  We call him Sheldon and he chose us.  The adventure of Sheldon becoming part of our household made for a long week, but he's very sweet, so it's all worth it.

Sheldon's story: 

This kitten is very smart. He convinced me to feed him Sunday night after he talked to my youngest cat Mischa. I fed him each night through Wednesday. That night he decided to be social and be petted as gratitude (that's how cats work, 'I am so fabulous, petting me is a reward'). 

 

I petted him for some time, despite the fact that he was jumpy.  You see, it was clear someone had dumped him on the street at least a couple of months ago.  Everything was going fine until a group of girls who make trouble in our neighborhood screamed at each other.  The kitten and I both jumped and he bit me, drawing blood.

I went upstairs and washed up.  I went back outside to check on him and he looked contrite.  I petted him and then I went inside for the night.  I shut the doors, because my boy cats were so distracted.  Twenty minutes later, as I was readying my attempt to go to bed, I hear him trying to get in the screen door on the front porch.  Obi-Wan, Charlie and Mischa rushed down the stairs to see what the noise was about.

I opened the door and the kitten meowed. I stepped out and petted him for a few minutes. Then I really needed to get ready for bed and went inside.  I felt a bump on my leg, looked down and there he is standing next to me in the house- too quick for me.   He also found himself face to face with a very confused Mischa.  So, I scooped him up and he, appropriately, bedded down for the night in the guest room. 

Lori and I agreed he should go to the ARL, even though he was very sweet.  So, during my lunch hour Thursday, I put him in the carrier and drove toward the south side.  Suddenly I realized I didn't know whether that location was open again after the flooding.  

I called Tom Colvin's office and his assistant Sara said it was and I told her the story, including that he bit me.  She got kind of quiet and then told me about the ARL's bite policy - they don't adopt out biters.  I reiterated that he didn't do it maliciously and she said they might make an exception.  The air went out of me.  I couldn't be responsible for a perfectly sweet kitten being put down because I broke the rule of strays - be extra careful and do not pet them too much.  (By the way, I totally understand the ARL's policy in cases where the animal is, by nature, violent.)

So, I called Lori and she gave me the nod to take him to the vet.  The rest of the story - I had them do the works, that included neutering him.  Lori and I had agreed that we would find someone else to adopt him, but once I had put way too much money into his care, we had a good laugh and agreed we would keep him.  

But now we ARE full at the Drake House Inn.  LOL.  All other strays WILL be taken to the ARL - we have taken 5 others there this year.  We theorize the cats have our house marked somehow with a note that says, "These people will feed you and get you a warm home".  And the note is right.

That's the story of Dr. Sheldon Cooper.

 

As to his name, if you are not familiar with the show, Sheldon is named after the lead character on "Big Bang Theory".  He's a brilliant, geeky, hyper-intelligent and incredibly fastidious funny man.  Jim Parsons, his portrayer, has been able to make an otherwise grating persona greatly endearing and sweet.  (It won him an Emmy.)  I am sure that our Sheldon will prove himself just as endearing. 

Yours in Health, 

Kate