A Virginia woman's doctor gave her unusual instructions when she came in saying that she was struggling with depression and was not doing so well. He prescribed her a cat, a feline, if you will. Robin Sipe says she had a tearful visit with her [00:00:18] pulmonologist of 15 years, Dr.Earl King. Now, her cat had recently died, and she was feeling sad about it. And I don't even wanna think about the day Charlie is no longer with us, because I'm gonna be a mess and I probably will need. [00:00:34] To take- >> All you ever have to do is say Charlie's name and your eyes begin to well up every single time. Just saying his name makes you emotional. [LAUGH] >> Speaker 1: There's at least one night a week where it's just me and Charlie. [00:00:50] It's after work, we're bonding, and I ask him, am I giving you a good life? Are you a happy dog? [LAUGH] No, but I'm not kidding. I literally asked him that. Anyway, let's move on, let's get back to the story. [00:01:07] Enough about me. Let's go back to the Virginia woman. So, King had treated her for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which is a condition that blocks airflow and makes it difficult to breathe. Sipe said that King had saved her life three different [00:01:24] times in intensive care in Harrisonburg, Virginia. So when he asked her what was wrong, Sipe, 67, opened up to him about her loneliness since her beloved cat died over the summer. I was really going through a bad time, [00:01:41] she said she told him during her appointment in September. King mentioned that she should think about getting a new cat, which I will say is a risky proposition, right? Because some people might get offended by that. They're still grieving the loss of the previous cat. [00:01:56] The idea of just like, get a new cat and forget about the old cat, some might not like that. When her checkup was over, he handed her a printed summary of the appointment with instructions to get a high dose flu shot in October and [00:02:12] a coronavirus shot in November. But at the top of that list, the doctor had written, get a cat. Okay, so there it is. You can see it in the note. King, 63, has been a doctor long enough to know that people sometimes don't follow [00:02:29] your instructions, he said. In fact, patients don't take medications as prescribed by their doctors about half the time, according to the American Medical Association. So he wrote it down. Robin was down in the dumps crying about the loss of her cat, and [00:02:44] I felt that a new cat was the best remedy for her. And guess what? She immediately filled her prescription. She was not offended by it. After leaving the office, Sipe stopped at a farm produce stand on her way home. [00:03:00] While she was browsing, she noticed a black and white kitten walking around. She was from a litter of five, and she was missing, she was missing her front left paw. So then workers at the stand told her that the kitten lost her paw shortly [00:03:19] after she was born when something fell off a wall in a shed and severed it. >> Speaker 2: Jeez. >> Speaker 1: Then they told her she could bring the kitty home, okay? I decided to name her Earlene, I think Earlene, after Dr. Earl King. [00:03:39] He helps with more than just my breathing. He's always taken the time to look after my entire well being. In this instant, he also treated my heart. Everything changed for the better when I found the cat, who I will not butcher the name of again. [00:03:57] So, Waz, you have a cat. Did the cat do anything to you emotionally? >> Speaker 2: Absolutely. Somebody who's never been an animal lover, animal owner, any of that, me and my cat have absolutely connected, bonded, all of those things. [00:04:13] We feel extremely close to one another. There's no doubt about it. It's been an additive experience for me owning the cat. However, Earlene aka Captain Hook, shout out to the owner for stepping up there. [LAUGH] >> Speaker 1: [LAUGH] Waz is really [00:04:31] looking to provoke the audience today. [LAUGH] But honestly, Captain Hook would have been a pretty base name for the cat. I would have kinda love it. >> Speaker 2: Yeah, come on, you make up funny nicknames all the time. >> Speaker 1: I like funny nicknames when they're not directed at me. [00:04:48] Now, she says that Earlene likes to watch television with her and cuddles up next to her in the bed. She's a sweet, loving kitten, but she does have this habit of waking me up to play at 01:00 AM. Yes, I would love Charlie to wake me up at 01:00 AM. [00:05:06] Charlie wants nothing to do with me at night. He doesn't wanna sleep in our bed, he wants to sleep in his own bed, on the floor. Who does that? >> Speaker 2: That's why my cat's not allowed to sleep in my room with me. My cat will wake me up at 5:30AM in the morning when they're bored, [00:05:25] just start all up in my Fit. No, we're not doing that. We're not prematurely waking me up. >> Speaker 1: So what do you do? You lock the cat out of your room? >> The door is closed. You got your food, you got your bathroom, go do what you do out there. Bye, bye. [00:05:41] >> Speaker 2: My God. >> Speaker 2: [LAUGH] There's just no way. I got a good enough alarm clock, I don't need the cat waking me up prematurely. >> Speaker 1: All right, that's fair. And cats are different from dogs, so [00:05:57] there have been times where Charlie will wake us up in the middle of the night and he'll be panting, and that's usually a sign that he's got to do the doodoo. He's got to take him out immediately unless we wanna clean the mess from our place, which I definitely don't wanna do. [00:06:12] And usually, since I sleep with earplugs and Christian doesn't, he's the one who gets woken up by the dog and takes the dog out, which I love. By the way, we have a lovely photo of the said kitten, I like the name Captain Hook. We're gonna call her Captain Hook. [00:06:29] There it is. >> Speaker 2: Captain, my Captain. >> Speaker 1: So cute, so sweet. And I'm so happy that this worked. So, anyway, if you're feeling sad, maybe be consider adopting an animal. Adopting an animal. Cuz there's a lot of animals that need to be adopted, [00:06:44] whether we're talking about cats or dogs. And by the way, you're now seeing images of the lovely cats that belong to my lovely producers on the main show. So there you have it. Love it. >> Speaker 2: Wonderful. >> Speaker 1: Yep.