Meet Jim

Jason "the Softie" Hendrickson fell in love at first purr.

Sucker that I am, I agreed to drive an hour with Jesse for a meet and greet.

So, if you can picture it in your head, the three Hendricksons are in this little private cubicle of a room at the Stratham SPCA with this skinny, long-tailed striped thing that's a tad on the freaked out side.

One look at Jason and it was obvious he was smitten and trying very hard not to look like it. He has no poker face.

Jesse was all smiles and giggles, completely enraptured.

I, however, was the lone holdout.

In the half hour I had sat in that three-foot triangle of a room, the cat hadn't even deigned to sniff me over and dismiss me in the supercilious manner of cats everywhere. With as much space as I fill, I hadn't even registered existence.

And, as much as I miss my old cats (terribly), I really wasn't sure we were ready to introduce another being into our mix.

Finally, when the overzealous crazy cat lady masquerading as an SPCA volunteer left the room, I looked at Jason.

"I really am not sure we're ready for this."

How is it that they always know?

Because no sooner had the words left my mouth than Jim jumped up in my lap, stretched his paws onto my shoulder and nuzzled into my neck, plunging his wet nose along my cheek and tangling into my hair. Purring.

Then he fell asleep all warm kitty and happy-like.

For 40 minutes. Straight.

Who with a beating heart can say no to that?

He came with the moniker "Jiminy." But since we have a tradition of naming all our four-footed friends something Asian (per our previously mentioned affinity for the Martial Arts), the cat has been officially dubbed "Yojimbo" (allusion to the Kurosawa film) and shortened to Jim.

Everyone please give a warm welcome to Jim.

Welcome home, Jim the cat.