寵物貓教我說(shuō)話

7歲的洛爾肯·狄龍患有選擇性緘默癥。在家的時(shí)候，他可以和家人歡天喜地地聊天，但只要一出家門(mén)或家里來(lái)了陌生人，他就變得沉默不語(yǔ)。正當(dāng)一家人為此煩惱之際，一只緬甸貓改變了洛爾肯的生活……

When Lorcan Dillon 1)uttered the words “I love you” for the first time， his mother Jayne was understandably 2)elated.

“I was so moved， but I had to 3)hold myself in check，” she says. “No matter how excited I felt， I didn’t want him to realise just how important it was for me to hear those precious words.”

But this seven-year-old boy’s first 4)declaration of love wasn’t directed at his mother. Instead， it was aimed at the family cat—a loveable ball of 5)fluff named Jessi-Cat.

Lorcan， at the time， was a lonely little boy trapped in a world of silence by a 6)condition called selective mutism注， which left him unable to talk or express emotion.

But， after 7)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 Cat’s 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. 8)Former 9)midwife Jayne， 44， says: “Most cats would run and hide around strangers. But even when the TV crews were here， Jessi-Cat 10)adored the attention.

“She seemed to understand her role was to stay by Lorcan’s 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， she’ll come and find out what’s going on. The other day， I found Lorcan reading to her. Her paw was resting on his hand， while her blue eyes were just 11)gazing into his face in adoration.

“Every night， she sleeps beside his bed and when he comes home from school， he runs to 12)scoop her up and hug her，” says Jayne.

“This cat is the only living thing that Lorcan can talk to without 13)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 14)GP， already had a four-year-old son， Luke.

Lorcan was a healthy baby who cried 15)lustily but， as a 16)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 didn’t say a word to them all day. I can also recall going into a shop， and Lorcan 17)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 18)nursery at four， staff began to notice problems. “He was a happy child who played with others， but he couldn’t 19)communicate with them，” says Jayne. “While other children 20)babbled away and laughed， Lorcan stayed completely silent. He would look at nursery staff and 21)flash them a smile， but he would not talk to them. We took Lorcan to see the doctor and after many tests， he was 22)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 Lorcan’s case， he struggled to display emotion to his loving mother. “It is heartbreaking，” says Jayne.“This isn’t a case of a shy child. Lorcan can dance down the 23)aisle of a supermarket and won’t 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 can’t bring himself to say those words to me. He doesn’t even like 24)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 25)breeder. When she met Lorcan， she seemed fascinated by him. He would scoop her up and 26)squeeze her in 27)bear-hugs， and she would just 28)purr.

“Then， something magical happened. After a few months， I heard him talking to her. She would 29)tilt her head and 30)meow in 31)reply.”

And Lorcan’s 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， he’s 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 32)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 33)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 34)stunned when they called me，” she says. The whole family went to the 35)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 36)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(shuō)出“我愛(ài)你”這幾個(gè)字時(shí)，其母親杰恩流露出來(lái)的欣慰不難理解。

“我十分感動(dòng)，但我必須克制自己，”她說(shuō)。“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(lái)說(shuō)有多么重要。”

然而這名七歲男童首次作出“愛(ài)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(ài)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(wú)聲的世界里。這種病令他無(wú)法說(shuō)話或表達(dá)自己的感情。

不過(guò)，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(kāi)口說(shuō)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(ài)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(guò)11.5萬(wàn)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(shuō)：“大多數(shù)貓見(jiàn)到陌生人都會(huì)跑開(kāi)躲起來(lái)。但就算電視臺(tái)的攝制人員來(lái)到家里，杰西貓依然熱愛(ài)受人關(guān)注的感覺(jué)。

“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。