A Special Cat Helps A Seven-Year-Old Boy Say "I Love You" For The First Time

Lorcan Dillon is seven-years-old and suffers from "selective mutism," an anxiety disorder that makes it difficult for him to speak, especially when it comes to strangers or to expressing emotions. His mother Jayne got Jessi-Cat to, hopefully, help Lorcan to express his feelings for the first time...

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This was the video used to nominate Jessi-Cat for Verdo's "Cats Protection's National Cat Awards." Jessi-Cat was crowned the overall winner at the ceremony held last week.

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A talk show appearance, where it's revealed that the Dillons are #teamcat all the way.

"Lorcan is able to connect love to Jessi-Cat, something he can't do with people and she's been a great support to him when things have been really hard. He does not express his emotions, he would not say 'I love you Mummy', he just doesn't do it. But with the cat he can cuddle her, he can stroke her, he can talk to her and he can say 'I love you Jessi-Cat.'"

"She is without a doubt the best friend a boy could have and has had a huge positive impact on his life. We’ve had her for a couple of years and in the last year alone he seems to be making excellent progress at school. In the past two weeks he’s started communicating with people he doesn’t know very well and even reads to one of the teachers now – something he’s never done before.”