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Jessi-cat: The Cat That Unlocked a Boy's Heart
Lorcan Dillon was seven years old when his mother, Jayne, first heard him say 'I love you.' The words were not directed at her, but at Jessi-cat, the family pet. Lorcan suffers from autism and selective mutism, a condition that renders him unable to speak in certain situations, unable to express emotions or enjoy hugs and he has never told anyone he loves them. This all began to change with the arrival of a kitten named Jessi-cat.
Jessi-cat is the stirring tale of how the affection and attention of a constant loving companion allowed a little boy to start to connect to the world around him. Lorcan spends hours playing with her, cuddling her and telling her how much he loves her. He has also begun opening up to others, making friends at school and is constantly making progress. Jessi-cat proved so inspiring that she was named Best Friend and National Cat of the Year 2012 by the Cats Protection Awards. This book charts the story of this great friendship and how the love between a young boy and his pet has changed his life forever.
Jessi-cat is the stirring tale of how the affection and attention of a constant loving companion allowed a little boy to start to connect to the world around him. Lorcan spends hours playing with her, cuddling her and telling her how much he loves her. He has also begun opening up to others, making friends at school and is constantly making progress. Jessi-cat proved so inspiring that she was named Best Friend and National Cat of the Year 2012 by the Cats Protection Awards. This book charts the story of this great friendship and how the love between a young boy and his pet has changed his life forever.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 21, 2022
Lorcan Dillon was seven years old when his mother, Jayne, first heard him say 'I love you.' The words were not directed at her, but at Jessi-cat, the family pet. Lorcan suffers from autism and selective mutism, a condition that renders him unable to speak in certain situations, unable to express emotions or enjoy hugs and he has never told anyone he loves them. This all began to change with the arrival of a kitten named Jessi-cat.
Jessi-cat is the stirring tale of how the affection and attention of a constant loving companion allowed a little boy to start to connect to the world around him. Lorcan spends hours playing with her, cuddling her and telling her how much he loves her. He has also begun opening up to others, making friends at school and is constantly making progress. Jessi-cat proved so inspiring that she was named Best Friend and National Cat of the Year 2012 by the Cats Protection Awards. This book charts the story of this great friendship and how the love between a young boy and his pet has changed his life forever.
Personally, this book meant a lot to me, my wife and I have had Birmans for 35/40 years, firstly Bobby and Candy, who both lived to age 14 years old. Then very sadly and very recently we have lost our lost two Bermins cats Buddy and Milly, one 6 months ago, Buddy and our pricess Milly died last week, both aged 18 years old.
So I and my wife know this breed so well, we know how loving, caring, intelligent characters they are, as animals lovers it breaks our heart loosing them.
The affection and loyalty they give I can fully understand the relationship between Lorcan and Jessi-cat, they are clever cats they know how you feel.
Although this story is a little short, and more of this book should mention the character of the cat, Jessi Cat, it does cover the reality of the hardship and struggles of parents with a child/children suffering heart breaking difficulties with school, life and everyday things that we take for granted in our own lifes.
A four star book as the story could have been longer book detailed, more flow, more humour, more feeling and more touching moments.
I wish our cats/dogs could stay by our side forever, all of them.
Jessi-cat is the stirring tale of how the affection and attention of a constant loving companion allowed a little boy to start to connect to the world around him. Lorcan spends hours playing with her, cuddling her and telling her how much he loves her. He has also begun opening up to others, making friends at school and is constantly making progress. Jessi-cat proved so inspiring that she was named Best Friend and National Cat of the Year 2012 by the Cats Protection Awards. This book charts the story of this great friendship and how the love between a young boy and his pet has changed his life forever.
Personally, this book meant a lot to me, my wife and I have had Birmans for 35/40 years, firstly Bobby and Candy, who both lived to age 14 years old. Then very sadly and very recently we have lost our lost two Bermins cats Buddy and Milly, one 6 months ago, Buddy and our pricess Milly died last week, both aged 18 years old.
So I and my wife know this breed so well, we know how loving, caring, intelligent characters they are, as animals lovers it breaks our heart loosing them.
The affection and loyalty they give I can fully understand the relationship between Lorcan and Jessi-cat, they are clever cats they know how you feel.
Although this story is a little short, and more of this book should mention the character of the cat, Jessi Cat, it does cover the reality of the hardship and struggles of parents with a child/children suffering heart breaking difficulties with school, life and everyday things that we take for granted in our own lifes.
A four star book as the story could have been longer book detailed, more flow, more humour, more feeling and more touching moments.
I wish our cats/dogs could stay by our side forever, all of them.
July 20, 2019
Lorcan é autista e sofre de mutismo selectivo, e não era capaz de comunicar e expressar afectos como a maioria das crianças mas tudo muda com a chegada de Jessi.
Desconhecia o mutismo selectivo, pelo que o livro foi bastante informativo. E foi muito interessante perceber as mudanças que a gatinha Jessi conseguiu impulsionar em Lorcan, tornando-o muito mais afectivo e comunicativo.
Uma história de vida que nos consegue tocar! E é a prova em como os animais, neste caso, os gatos mudam a vida das pessoas!
Vejam a minha opinião mais detalhada em vídeo, AQUI.
Desconhecia o mutismo selectivo, pelo que o livro foi bastante informativo. E foi muito interessante perceber as mudanças que a gatinha Jessi conseguiu impulsionar em Lorcan, tornando-o muito mais afectivo e comunicativo.
Uma história de vida que nos consegue tocar! E é a prova em como os animais, neste caso, os gatos mudam a vida das pessoas!
Vejam a minha opinião mais detalhada em vídeo, AQUI.
December 5, 2016
As a cat owner and mother to an Asperger's son, I felt I could identify with the author here, and so I was keen to read this story. I got it as an audiobook from the library. I'm afraid I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd anticipated. I found the narrator a little stilted, but the main reason it fell short for me has nothing to do with the book itself. Sadly, part way through listening to it, our beloved kitty Pixie passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. She was only 6 years old, and had been fine the night before. We were heartbroken. Her loss made the story of Jessi-cat somewhat painful to listen to.
June 18, 2025
If you're looking to read a cat book, this ain't it. This is a book about high-functioning Asperger's and a rare anxiety disorder. It's a very English book, so if you're not familiar with things like the British school system and various medical acronyms, you're going to be lost, unless you want to stop and Google a lot.
The cat in question, a purebred Birman named Jessi-cat (registered name Bluegenes Angel) is in the Prologue, then disappears for about 70 pages. She wasn't born until 2010 and the author takes her sweet time getting from her life to her kids' lives to 2010. Jessi-cat also rarely appears in the rest of the book. She just seems to flit in and out of the author's awareness.
I'm going to assume I read the whole book, more or less, since I read the large-print edition scanned into the Internet Archive, which stops mid-sentence at page 193. I was not interested enough to find the other edition in the Archive to find the rest of the sentence, let alone the rest of the book.
Since this is a reasonably posh family, where the mother can stay home to mother, they've plunked down about $2,000 for a Birman and a Tibetan Terrier puppy. This makes my stomach turn. For a fraction of the price, she could've saved two lives at her local animal shelter -- and the shelters in England are considered the best in the world. People abandon purebred pets, too, and shelters could've notified her when one came in.
There's really nothing remarkable about the book, except that using exclamation points as a joke got old fast. If Jessi-cat is still alive, she'd be 15, and I really don't care to research to find out how she's doing. Odds are, she got dumped at the RSPCA.
The cat in question, a purebred Birman named Jessi-cat (registered name Bluegenes Angel) is in the Prologue, then disappears for about 70 pages. She wasn't born until 2010 and the author takes her sweet time getting from her life to her kids' lives to 2010. Jessi-cat also rarely appears in the rest of the book. She just seems to flit in and out of the author's awareness.
I'm going to assume I read the whole book, more or less, since I read the large-print edition scanned into the Internet Archive, which stops mid-sentence at page 193. I was not interested enough to find the other edition in the Archive to find the rest of the sentence, let alone the rest of the book.
Since this is a reasonably posh family, where the mother can stay home to mother, they've plunked down about $2,000 for a Birman and a Tibetan Terrier puppy. This makes my stomach turn. For a fraction of the price, she could've saved two lives at her local animal shelter -- and the shelters in England are considered the best in the world. People abandon purebred pets, too, and shelters could've notified her when one came in.
There's really nothing remarkable about the book, except that using exclamation points as a joke got old fast. If Jessi-cat is still alive, she'd be 15, and I really don't care to research to find out how she's doing. Odds are, she got dumped at the RSPCA.
August 25, 2017
1. This is not a book about a cat. This is a book about a boy who has ASD and selective mutism, and how his family has dealt with it. And they happen to have a cat. That alone is not necessarily a negative, as their story is interesting. However:
2. This is why we need editors and ghostwriters. There is no sense of narrative, things just happen. It feels like a series of blog posts rather than a book. A lot of the anecdotes have little or no relevance to the plot. Every single holiday and school trip is described for no apparent reason.
3. The writing isn't bad as such, but it is bland and boring as heck.
I did actually enjoy the parts of the book that dealt with the boy's progressions and regressions and their struggle for the right diagnosis. But somehow, a lot of the book doesn't even deal with that either. So if most of the book isn't about the cat, and most of the book isn't about the boy's mutism, what is the main content of the book? Filler and inane stories that go nowhere.
The author seems like a great mum and a very good advocate for her son's needs. But she's not a writer and this book would have benefited greatly from a firmer editing hand.
2. This is why we need editors and ghostwriters. There is no sense of narrative, things just happen. It feels like a series of blog posts rather than a book. A lot of the anecdotes have little or no relevance to the plot. Every single holiday and school trip is described for no apparent reason.
3. The writing isn't bad as such, but it is bland and boring as heck.
I did actually enjoy the parts of the book that dealt with the boy's progressions and regressions and their struggle for the right diagnosis. But somehow, a lot of the book doesn't even deal with that either. So if most of the book isn't about the cat, and most of the book isn't about the boy's mutism, what is the main content of the book? Filler and inane stories that go nowhere.
The author seems like a great mum and a very good advocate for her son's needs. But she's not a writer and this book would have benefited greatly from a firmer editing hand.
April 14, 2019
I wanted to like this book and I'm disappointed that I feel that I can only give it 2 stars. I really sympathised with the author's plight and some of the description of Lorcan's foibles were really endearing but this book could have been so much more. Jayne, Lorcan's mum is clearly not an author (I'm sure she never intended to be) and it's clear that her key motivation is to educate people about autism and selective mutism which she does achieve to a certain extent. The editorial however is poor with many spelling mistakes, poor grammar and a lack of structure to the narrative. If you are someone wanting to read about a parent's experience of supporting a child with additional needs then I'm sure that you'll enjoy this book none the less. If you're someone who is looking for a detailed plot and high literary standards than I'd give it a miss.
May 30, 2018
Good book. I enjoyed reading it and learned a lot.
May 26, 2019
An interesting read and an insight into the struggles this family and son came across
October 5, 2022
Best book ever........ friendship between an autistic boy and a cat......
October 6, 2016
Every year, I get a book from my grandmother as a birthday present. It's always written in portuguese, and it always features cats. I have received A Streetcat named Bob, Dewey the cat, Varjak Paw, Cats in May, among several children's books as well.
Some of them are pretty good (I'm looking at you, Varjak), but most of them are not to my taste. I'm not a mushy sort of person, so I'm usually not interested in reading cosy non-fic. Even if it has cats.
However, this story caught my eye. I was a very shy child, and I never spoke to anyone unless I knew them for a while. I was often considered rude, and I only really overcame it when I went to university at age 18 (being all alone in a different country where no one speaks your language can do wonders for you).
The thing is, I also had a cat as a child. A cat that received so much more attention and affection than my own parents or friends. Because of this, I thought I should read this book and see if this boy went through a similar experience.
First of all, I wasn't as bad as this boy, and if I was, my father would never have understood it, as he didn't with my shyness. He would get angry instead. It's wonderful to see that his mother is nothing like this, she supports him and did everything in her power to make him overcome his anxiety and his mutism.
However lovely the willpower of this mother, I didn't like this book. And it was no-one's fault but the publisher's. The author is the mother, a midwife, so obviously she needed some help to write. Hey, I'm a dentist, if you ask me to write a book, it will very likely not be very good, because that's not my trade. I'm not familiar with the publishing world, but if someone like Zoella can "write" a decent book, this lady could have as well.
This book reads like a blog. If it was a blog, I would follow it straight away. I wouldn't expect the writing to be above average, and I would expect random facts about their lives that have nothing to do with the selective mutism or the cat.
The other thing that almost made me DNF was something very simple: the cat wasn't in the book until about half way through. I understand we need to know more about Lorcan's condition to fully understand that, but it felt like I was being cheated out of the main subject of the book.
My review is probably very biased, since I'm not the target audience for this book, but since my lovely nana bought it for me I couldn't not read it.
(Also, considering that I read mostly fiction or science and feminist non fic, maybe I shouldn't have reviewed it in the first place!)
Some of them are pretty good (I'm looking at you, Varjak), but most of them are not to my taste. I'm not a mushy sort of person, so I'm usually not interested in reading cosy non-fic. Even if it has cats.
However, this story caught my eye. I was a very shy child, and I never spoke to anyone unless I knew them for a while. I was often considered rude, and I only really overcame it when I went to university at age 18 (being all alone in a different country where no one speaks your language can do wonders for you).
The thing is, I also had a cat as a child. A cat that received so much more attention and affection than my own parents or friends. Because of this, I thought I should read this book and see if this boy went through a similar experience.
First of all, I wasn't as bad as this boy, and if I was, my father would never have understood it, as he didn't with my shyness. He would get angry instead. It's wonderful to see that his mother is nothing like this, she supports him and did everything in her power to make him overcome his anxiety and his mutism.
However lovely the willpower of this mother, I didn't like this book. And it was no-one's fault but the publisher's. The author is the mother, a midwife, so obviously she needed some help to write. Hey, I'm a dentist, if you ask me to write a book, it will very likely not be very good, because that's not my trade. I'm not familiar with the publishing world, but if someone like Zoella can "write" a decent book, this lady could have as well.
This book reads like a blog. If it was a blog, I would follow it straight away. I wouldn't expect the writing to be above average, and I would expect random facts about their lives that have nothing to do with the selective mutism or the cat.
The other thing that almost made me DNF was something very simple: the cat wasn't in the book until about half way through. I understand we need to know more about Lorcan's condition to fully understand that, but it felt like I was being cheated out of the main subject of the book.
My review is probably very biased, since I'm not the target audience for this book, but since my lovely nana bought it for me I couldn't not read it.
(Also, considering that I read mostly fiction or science and feminist non fic, maybe I shouldn't have reviewed it in the first place!)
July 5, 2014
This book reads like a rambling blog post. Some of it is reasonably well written, but seems to be ordered by the author as things occurred to her so there doesn't seem to be a cohesive narrative.
The eponymous cat doesn't really feature heavily in the book and the interaction between the author's son and Jessi-cat is not satisfactorily explored. Unfortunately, the author comes across as a pushy mother who is continually complaining to the school and other authorities that they are not doing enough to help her child. I'm sure she's a loving and caring parent who wants the best for her children, but that didn't come across in the book.
I think there is a good book hiding in here somewhere, but it would need a complete rewrite. I wouldn't recommend this book either to cat lovers or to people wanting to know about raising a child with autistic spectrum disorders - there is almost nothing in this book to interest either group of people.
The eponymous cat doesn't really feature heavily in the book and the interaction between the author's son and Jessi-cat is not satisfactorily explored. Unfortunately, the author comes across as a pushy mother who is continually complaining to the school and other authorities that they are not doing enough to help her child. I'm sure she's a loving and caring parent who wants the best for her children, but that didn't come across in the book.
I think there is a good book hiding in here somewhere, but it would need a complete rewrite. I wouldn't recommend this book either to cat lovers or to people wanting to know about raising a child with autistic spectrum disorders - there is almost nothing in this book to interest either group of people.
May 23, 2016
I wanted to like this book but I really found I struggled to give a damn about most of it. I'm sure that the cat is wonderful and we'd all love one like her but the book over promises and under-delivers. Kid has problems, family get cat, kid loves cat, cat wins aware. And even that's not a spoiler as it's all on the cover blurb.
I lived in the area of Manchester where Dillon and her family are based and recognised a lot of the local references but that's not enough to make a story that's worthy of a 2 or 3 page spread in a magazine into a 200+ page book. There's just too little substance to this book.
Needs more cat, less obsessed mum and I fear this was just cashing in on the Cats Protection prize. Move along now, there's very little story here.
I lived in the area of Manchester where Dillon and her family are based and recognised a lot of the local references but that's not enough to make a story that's worthy of a 2 or 3 page spread in a magazine into a 200+ page book. There's just too little substance to this book.
Needs more cat, less obsessed mum and I fear this was just cashing in on the Cats Protection prize. Move along now, there's very little story here.
June 20, 2022
Je ne sais si cela vient de l'écriture d'origine ou de la traduction mais je suis déçue. Il y a du potentiel mais 1 truc gachait systématiquement ma lecture.
Je pensais réellement lire un témoignage sur le lien qu'en enfant autiste peut lier avec 1 animal et ce que cela lui apporte au quotidien.
Au lieu de ça j'ai lu des formulations trop maladroites qui tombaient systématiquement à côté de l'effet recherché et qui donnaient 1 impression de mme je-sais-tout-imbuvable à la mère alors qu'elle est très certainement passée par de très grands moments de doutes et de solitude.
Il y a de belles choses a développer. A travers ses lignes Lorcan est 1 petit garçon formidable.
Je pensais réellement lire un témoignage sur le lien qu'en enfant autiste peut lier avec 1 animal et ce que cela lui apporte au quotidien.
Au lieu de ça j'ai lu des formulations trop maladroites qui tombaient systématiquement à côté de l'effet recherché et qui donnaient 1 impression de mme je-sais-tout-imbuvable à la mère alors qu'elle est très certainement passée par de très grands moments de doutes et de solitude.
Il y a de belles choses a développer. A travers ses lignes Lorcan est 1 petit garçon formidable.
July 6, 2015
Nice to know you're not the only one, my son was thought to have selective mutism, they wrote that off as he speaks most of the time now but he still freezes sometimes, I asked if he tried to speak and he said he tried but his throat wouldn't let him. He also has traits of aspergers and autism, loved the book and am passing round my family so they can get a better understanding as I did from you, thank you it has made me realise my son still has a few issues and starting juniors (which you can imagine I am dreading) so back to cahms we go xx ps my son now desperately wants a jessi cat x
February 11, 2014
Hmmm because he has aspergers and not autism with the right kind of help there is hope. Is there not hope for autistic children too. I re read the page and chapter hoping I had read it out of context but no. No expansion on the sentence at all. Plus the cat doesn't really make an appearance until half way through. Had high hopes for this but it's more about the author than the specifics of the bonding process between cat and boy
January 17, 2016
A brilliant insight to a young boys bond and the start of a long journey with a cat who unlocked his heart. Lorcan has Aspergers and Selective Mutism and this book is well worth a read. Having met the family and heard their story first hand, I am in awe.
I have 2 teenage children with Selective Mutism and the fight to get help is long and never ending.
It is an easy and quick read.
I have 2 teenage children with Selective Mutism and the fight to get help is long and never ending.
It is an easy and quick read.
May 13, 2016
This book was super cute!
It took a while for Jessi-cat to show up, but that allowed the reader to get to know the family as it was before her appearance in their lives.
A very heart-warming story of how much pets can touch people's lives and make a real difference.
It took a while for Jessi-cat to show up, but that allowed the reader to get to know the family as it was before her appearance in their lives.
A very heart-warming story of how much pets can touch people's lives and make a real difference.
January 29, 2017
I enjoyed this book. I'm a true cat lover with four of my own and I know how great they can be. having suffered with depression I don't know where I'd be without them and it's great to see Jessi-cat had such a profound effect on lorcan
September 28, 2014
the narrative does not correspond to the title. It's worthy if you are interessed in knowing about autism. And that's it.
September 7, 2015
The topic of this book is inspiring and it is beautiful the way jessie cat has helped this family. However the writing style wasn't the easiest to engage with and at times read was disjointed.
January 5, 2022
J'ai dévoré ce livre qui m'a beaucoup touché de part l'histoire d'amitié entre Lorcan et Jessi mais aussi de part le combat quotidien de Jayne Dillon pour que son fils ait le meilleur avenir possible
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews