When Lorcan Dillon uttered the words “I love you” for the first time， his mother Jayne was understandably elated.

“I was so moved， but I had to hold myself in check，” she says. “No matter how excited I felt， I didnt want him to realise just how important it was for me to hear those precious words.”

But this seven-year-old boys first declaration of love wasnt directed at his mother. Instead， it was aimed at the family cat—a loveable ball of fluff named Jessi-Cat.

Lorcan， at the time， was a lonely little boy trapped in a world of silence by a condition called selective mutism， which left him unable to talk or express emotion.

But， after forging an extraordinary bond with his two-year-old Birman cat， the boy has spoken for the first time.

This inspiring story meant the pair won first prize at the Cats Protection Awards in August. And a moving video of the pair playing together made by the charity had more than 115，000 views on YouTube.

And Jessi-Cat is loving every minute of her fame. Former midwife Jayne， 44， says： “Most cats would run and hide around strangers. But even when the TV crews were here， Jessi-Cat adored the attention.

“She seemed to understand her role was to stay by Lorcans side. When he played with his model soldiers， she even put out a paw and pushed one over for the cameras.

“This cat has an extraordinary sense of duty. She cannot bear not knowing what Lorcan is doing， and if she hears him laugh， shell come and find out whats going on. The other day， I found Lorcan reading to her. Her paw was resting on his hand， while her blue eyes were just gazing into his face in adoration.

“Every night， she sleeps beside his bed and when he comes home from school， he runs to scoop her up and hug her，” says Jayne.

“This cat is the only living thing that Lorcan can talk to without hesitation. She is not there to judge him—she is just there to listen.”

Lorcan was born in September 2004. Jayne， from Manchester and husband David， 48， a GP， already had a four-year-old son， Luke.

Lorcan was a healthy baby who cried lustily but， as a toddler， he would fall silent if other people entered the house.

Jayne says： “When Lorcan was three， his grandma came to babysit with another little cousin. Lorcan didnt say a word to them all day. I can also recall going into a shop， and Lorcan skipping in happily. Then， the shopkeeper said hello to him， and he hid under the counter. At home， he chatted away happily， so I assumed it was shyness.”

But when he started nursery at four， staff began to notice problems. “He was a happy child who played with others， but he couldnt communicate with them，” says Jayne. “While other children babbled away and laughed， Lorcan stayed completely silent. He would look at nursery staff and flash them a smile， but he would not talk to them. We took Lorcan to see the doctor and after many tests， he was diagnosed with selective mutism.”

This disorder， affecting around one in 1，000 children， is a nervous condition caused by stress. The sufferer can often speak in their home environment， but finds it hard to communicate outside.

In Lorcans case， he struggled to display emotion to his loving mother. “It is heartbreaking，” says Jayne.“This isnt a case of a shy child. Lorcan can dance down the aisle of a supermarket and wont mind that people are watching. But he cannot bring himself to talk. He is trapped in a world of silence.

“It was terribly hard to walk down the road and see other children beside their parents， chatting happily. I know that Lorcan loves me—but he cant bring himself to say those words to me. He doesnt even like cuddles.”

By the time he was five， Lorcan was a lonely boy with no way of making friends his own age. Then came the arrival of Jessi-Cat.

Jayne says： “I wanted him to have someone he could talk to who might help him to relax and speak， so I found Jessi-Cat from a breeder. When she met Lorcan， she seemed fascinated by him. He would scoop her up and squeeze her in bear-hugs， and she would just purr.

“Then， something magical happened. After a few months， I heard him talking to her. She would tilt her head and meow in reply.”

And Lorcans breakthrough with Jessi-Cat allowed him to express his emotions to others. “He made a friend and began to talk to him—and over the past few months， hes been able to speak to his teacher. Then came the news that he had read a few sentences in class. It was a fantastic breakthrough.

“But the icing on the cake was when I recently heard Lorcan turn to Jessi-Cat and say ‘I love you. It was incredible to hear him utter those words for the first time.”

Jayne adds： “I know cats are meant to have a sixth sense， but it is as if this cat understood from day one that Lorcan was vulnerable.”

Two months ago， Jayne nominated Jessi-Cat for Cats Protection Awards. She says： “I saw an online tweet to say they wanted to hear about extraordinary cats， and I quickly typed a few lines about what Jessi-Cat meant to Lorcan.

“I was stunned when they called me，” she says. The whole family went to the ceremony where Lorcan and Jessi-Cat won Cat of the Year and the Best Friends Award.

Jayne says： “Lorcan was so proud of Jessi-Cat that he stepped on to the podium to take the award with no hint of nerves. When we got home， he hugged Jessi-Cat and told her she had won. To me， hearing him talk was like winning all over again.”

當(dāng)洛爾肯·狄龍第一次說出“我愛你”這幾個(gè)字時(shí)，其母親杰恩流露出來的欣慰不難理解。

“我十分感動(dòng)，但我必須克制自己，”她說。“不管有多興奮，我也不想讓他知道這幾個(gè)珍貴的詞對(duì)我來說有多么重要?！?/p>

然而這名七歲男童首次作出“愛的宣言”的對(duì)象并不是他的媽媽，而是他們的貓——一只叫“杰西貓”的可愛毛團(tuán)兒。

那時(shí)的洛爾肯是一個(gè)孤獨(dú)的小男孩，他被“選擇性緘默癥”這種疾病困在一個(gè)無聲的世界里。這種病令他無法說話或表達(dá)自己的感情。

不過，在他與這只兩歲的緬甸貓結(jié)下了不可思議的親密關(guān)系后，小男孩第一次開口說話了。

這個(gè)鼓舞人心的故事也讓這個(gè)組合在今年8月舉行的“愛貓大獎(jiǎng)”中贏得了第一名。該慈善團(tuán)體攝制了一段他們一起玩耍的感人視頻，在YouTube上的點(diǎn)擊率超過11.5萬次。

杰西貓顯然很享受成名的每一刻。44歲的杰恩以前是一名助產(chǎn)士，她說：“大多數(shù)貓見到陌生人都會(huì)跑開躲起來。但就算電視臺(tái)的攝制人員來到家里，杰西貓依然熱愛受人關(guān)注的感覺。

“她似乎知道自己的角色就是守護(hù)在洛爾肯身旁。當(dāng)他和模型士兵玩時(shí)，她甚至?xí)斐鲆恢蛔Γ岩粋€(gè)模型推到鏡頭前面。

“這只貓有著超凡的責(zé)任感，她一定要知道洛爾肯在做什么。如果聽見他的笑聲，杰西就會(huì)走過來看看發(fā)生了什么事。有一天，我發(fā)現(xiàn)洛爾肯在念書給她聽。她的爪子放在洛爾肯的手上；透過藍(lán)藍(lán)的眼睛，杰西用疼愛的眼神凝視著他的臉。

“她每晚都睡在洛爾肯的床邊；放學(xué)回家后，洛爾肯總是跑去抱起她，”杰恩說道。

“這只貓是洛爾肯唯一可以毫不猶豫地與之談話的生物。她從不對(duì)洛爾肯評(píng)頭品足——她只是靜靜地聆聽?！?/p>

洛爾肯出生于2004年9月。來自曼徹斯特的杰恩和48歲的丈夫戴維（一名全科醫(yī)生）已經(jīng)育有一子——四歲的兒子盧克。

洛爾肯出生時(shí)是一個(gè)健康的嬰兒，哭聲很響亮。但在他學(xué)走路的時(shí)候，如果其他人走進(jìn)屋里，他就會(huì)不吭一聲。

杰恩說：“洛爾肯3歲時(shí)，奶奶過來照看他，還帶了一個(gè)小表弟。洛爾肯一整天都沒和他們說一句話。我還記得洛爾肯蹦蹦跳跳地走進(jìn)一家商店，然后店老板跟他打招呼，他馬上躲到柜臺(tái)下面。他在家里可以跟人開心地聊天，所以我以為他只是害羞而已?！?/p>

然而在他4歲開始上幼兒園后，保育員們開始覺得不對(duì)勁。“他是一個(gè)快活的孩子，會(huì)跟其他同學(xué)玩，但就是無法和他們溝通，”杰恩說?！爱?dāng)其他孩子牙牙學(xué)語、發(fā)出笑聲的時(shí)候，洛爾肯卻一聲不吭。他會(huì)望著保育員笑一笑，但就是不跟他們說話。我們帶洛爾肯去看醫(yī)生，做了很多測試后，醫(yī)生診斷他有選擇性緘默癥。”

這種（心理）失調(diào)是壓力導(dǎo)致的神經(jīng)疾病，一千個(gè)兒童當(dāng)中約有一個(gè)會(huì)受影響?；颊咄ǔＤ軌蛟诩抑姓f話，在外面卻難以與人溝通。

在洛爾肯的個(gè)案中，他即使想對(duì)心愛的媽媽表達(dá)自己的感情也很不容易?！斑@太讓人心酸了，”杰恩說?！八皇且粋€(gè)害羞的孩子。洛爾肯可以沿著超市的過道一直跳舞，完全不介意其他人的目光，可他卻無法開口說話。他被困在無聲的世界里。

“每當(dāng)我在路上看到其他孩子高興地和父母說話時(shí)，我總是很難受。我知道洛爾肯愛我——但他無法對(duì)我表達(dá)出來。他甚至不喜歡擁抱?！?/p>

到了5歲，洛爾肯還是無法和同齡人交朋友，非常孤獨(dú)。然后杰西貓來了。

杰恩說：“我希望他可以有一個(gè)傾訴心聲的對(duì)象，讓他放松下來說話，于是我從飼養(yǎng)員那里找來了杰西貓。見到洛爾肯的那一刻，她似乎馬上就喜歡上他了。他會(huì)捧起杰西，緊緊地?fù)ё∷芪髦粫?huì)“喵嗚”地叫。

“接著，神奇的事情發(fā)生了。幾個(gè)月后，我聽見他對(duì)杰西說話。她會(huì)翹起頭，發(fā)出喵喵的聲音回應(yīng)?！?/p>

洛爾肯的這一突破令他得以向其他人表達(dá)自己的感情?！八涣艘粋€(gè)朋友并開始和他說話——在過去的幾個(gè)月里，他能夠跟老師說話了。后來，我又聽說他在班上可以讀出幾個(gè)句子。這真是不可思議的突破?！板\上添花的是，最近我聽見洛爾肯對(duì)著杰西貓說‘我愛你。聽見他第一次說出這幾個(gè)字，太難以置信了?！?/p>

杰恩補(bǔ)充道：“我知道貓有第六感，但這只貓仿佛從第一天就知道洛爾肯很脆弱?！?/p>

兩個(gè)月前，杰恩向“愛貓大獎(jiǎng)”提名杰西貓。她說：“我見到一條推特，他們想聽聽關(guān)于貓的與眾不同的故事，于是我很快地輸入了幾行文字，寫下了杰西貓對(duì)洛爾肯的重要性。

“當(dāng)他們打電話給我的時(shí)候，我很吃驚，”她說。當(dāng)洛爾肯和杰西貓拿到“年度最佳貓貓”和“最佳朋友”獎(jiǎng)時(shí)，全家人都去到頒獎(jiǎng)現(xiàn)場。

杰恩說：“洛爾肯很為杰西貓感到自豪，他站到頒獎(jiǎng)臺(tái)上領(lǐng)獎(jiǎng)，看起來一點(diǎn)都不緊張。我們回到家后，他抱著杰西貓，告訴她她贏了。對(duì)于我來說，聽到他講話就像又贏了一次。”