To understand The Doctor, you have to understand Timelords. Timelords are a mysterious alien race with the ability to navigate time and space. They are quasi-immortal in that when a Timelord becomes too old or is mortally injured, they don’t die. They regenerate into a new person. This new person may have a completely different personality but does retain all the memories from their previous incarnation.
When the Doctor regenerated in 2007 the regeneration process produced a surprise: The Doctor didn’t regenerate into a humanoid. He regenerated into a baby chihuahua.
Please understand that I knew nothing of this when The Doctor came into our home. All pets are a great gift and he was that. But he also behaved differently than any pet I’d experienced before.
He was completely fearless. At that time we had two cats. One (Molly) was sweet and gentle.
One (Electra) was the spawn of hell. Electra ruled the house in no uncertain terms.
Until the Doctor arrived. The Doctor quickly made friends with Molly. As Electra had no friends, only subjects, she and the doctor came to a (rather violent) understanding. The Doctor came away with a slight injury (that bled a lot) and Electra came away with a fresh respect for Timelords.
After resolving the Electra issue, the Doctor fell into a pattern of behavior that was pretty much like any other dog. He played, ate, slept, peed (A LOT. Somehow if he drank a teaspoon of water it generated a gallon of pee.), and defecated like any other dog.
Being a Timelord, he had a perfect sense of time. He always knew when it was time for food, even if I didn’t.
When it was time for food, he would find me (often in the TV room), sit, and stare at me until I fed him.
Time passed, as did Molly and Electra. This left The doctor alone. He seemed happy and content. For awhile.
Soon, he became less active and quieter. He could say so very much with his eyes. Now, there was sadness in those eyes. He could often be found rooting around where Molly and Electra had slept.
It was time for a change, an addition.
Mr. Blue joined our family and The Doctor was no longer lonely.
He was also not thrilled. He had graduated from being a rambunctious puppy to an adult dog (who is also capable of dimensional reasoning and time travel).
He was not very happy about having a loud, always in motion rat terrier intrude on his space.
He was VERY unhappy when Mr. Blue decided to sleep in the Doctor’s bed, while the Doctor was in it.
But Mr. Blue was persistent. And soon they became a team. The Doctor had a new companion. His annoyance gave way to acceptance. He was more active and seemed to be his happy self.
The addition had worked. Mr. Blue and The Doctor were the best of friends and all was right with the world.
And then came Jack.
There was a momma cat and her kitten roaming the neighborhood. One day the momma cat appeared in the street, dead from an apparent encounter with a car. The kitten was soon scrounging for food and shelter.
He clearly needed a place to call home and we needed another cat. So we brought Jack into our home.
And soon, (sort of) we were all one big happy family. (sort of)
The team was complete and all was right with the world.
But time waits for no one, not even Timelords. Knowing the end was near, The Doctor said his goodbyes, entered his Tardis, and left. He didn’t want us to witness his passing.
And so in November of 2024 The Doctor took his last trip in his Tardis.
Or so we thought.
In December 2025, a new cat began roaming the neighborhood. Except that’s not quite accurate. He wasn’t really roaming as he seemed to exclusively roam around our house and seemed determined to get inside.
We weren’t sure why but Mr. Blue recognized him immediately. This was The Doctor, regenerated into a cat, a moderately uncommon cat, an American Bobtail. He was completely at home.
Our friend had returned and our family was again complete.
