October 24, 2012

Wordy Wednesday

Mom got an email from Purina PetCentric the other day and spotted this picture.  Of course, she had to read the whole story when she saw that this was about a BIRMAN like us!!!  



On a difficult news day that may have made you question your faith in humanity, we were delighted to spot a story that reaffirmed our faith in, well, felinity: an article in The Sun about a fluffy kitty named Jessi-cat who's helping her young owner to find his voice.
 
Lorcan Dillon is a 7-year-old from Davyhulme, Greater Manchester who suffers from an anxiety condition that makes it almost impossible for him to communicate or express emotion. But that all began to change when his mother, Jayne, brought home a cream-colored Birman cat named Jessi-cat a couple of years ago. (Birmans, not to be confused with Burmese, are semi-longhaired cats with distinctive sapphire eyes and pure white "gloves" on each paw.) 

Lorcan bonded strongly with Jessi-cat, and as a result, he's better able to show affection, Jayne told The Sun. "The bond between Lorcan and Jessi-cat is so touching as he's able to show physical affection to her which he doesn't like doing with people – even me." Not every cat is up for lots of canoodling, but according to Jayne, Jessi loves it: "She's such a delightful, responsive cat and he hugs and kisses her all the time." Aw.

The article also says that Lorcan is doing better in social situations recently. In the last couple of weeks, Jayne said, he's "started communicating with people he doesn't know very well and even reads to one of the teachers now," which he hasn't done before (aw!). And he's started saying "I love you" for the first time. Awwww!

Jayne noted that cuddling and spending time with the cat is a way for Lorcan "to express his emotions that otherwise he wouldn't be able to do." 

Numerous studies have suggested that pets can help with anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses; pet-assisted therapy is offered by senior centers, hospitals, and even universities during exam periods. Jessi-cat may have no formal training and only one "client," but she's still doing great work. She sure made us feel better today.
 

Here's a video that tells more of the story. 



We hope you enjoyed the video and the story.  Even though we were a bit partial (because we're Birmans!), we think therapy pets do wonderful work!!

19 comments:

Sweet Purrfections said...

What a wonderful, feel-good story! Thanks for sharing.

Summer at sparklecat.com said...

That is an awesome story! Paws up for feline miracle workers like Jessi-cat!

Angel Prancer Pie said...

Thanks fur sharing this feel-good story! xoxo

Barb said...

Well, that was just lovely! But of course, we've known about this amazing effect and power that furbabies have on humans all along!

dArtagnan Rumblepurr/Diego Hamlet Moonfur said...

Aww, such a sweet story!

SeaThreePeeO said...

Teen Bean has autism and has a very stronge relationship with Lola and vise versa. So we know how amaing cats can be to children who find the world a difficult place to understand.

Great story and video.

The Paw Relations

The Island Cats said...

What a great story! But we always knew that us cats can help the humans. It's just taking the humans so long to realize this!!

The Whiskeratti said...

What a wonderful story. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Brian's Home Blog said...

That made all of our whiskers grin up!

BeadedTail said...

That's a wonderful story! We enjoy happy stories like that!

Marilia said...

Beautiful story!

Cat and DOG Chat With Caren said...

that is a wonderful story but came as no surprise to me!

Kjelle Bus aka Charlie Rascal said...

Wonderful feel-good story <3

Asta said...

Thank you fow once again showing what wondews a fuwwkid can achieve. I know youw Mom aweady knows this
Smoochie kisses
Asta

Kat said...

This story warmed our hearts! purrrs

Anonymous said...

What a heartwarming story!

Ellen Whyte said...

The power of cats! Wonderful story.

meowmeowmans said...

Oh, that makes our hearts so happy. :)

A Tonl said...

We heard about that story and thought it was wonderful....!