Meet Lily: The Calming Cat Who Soothes Seizures and Stress

Although cats are typically less renowned for their emotional intelligence than dogs (have you ever been crying and had your cat look at you with disdain?), cats can in fact smell stress and some very special cats are attuned enough to human emotion to help support their humans. One such comforting feline is Lily, a one-year-old kitty whose three-quarter Maine Coon heritage means she’s a giant puff of white fluff. Her pet parent Rachel Lockhart explains that despite her youth, she’s an “old head on young shoulders, watching over the children with almost motherly concern”.

That motherly concern first became apparent to the Lockhart family when Rachel lost a relative and her three-year-old daughter Harlow was diagnosed with epilepsy. “Lily is so attuned to Harlow’s needs. Her epilepsy takes the form of absent seizures during which she blanks out for a few seconds. Afterwards, Lily sits with her, providing comfort,” explains Rachel. But Lily’s nurturing instinct doesn’t stop there: Rachel also has a nine-year-old son, Zayn, who has autism and ADHD, and a six-year-old daughter, Reeva. Lily “also instinctively knows how to help Zayn who has ADHD and autism. When he’s stressed, Lily calms him down by pressing her paw on his head. And Lily’s best friend is Reeva, she sleeps at the bottom of her bed. We are so lucky to have her caring for us all.”

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For all her wonderful support, Lily is a finalist in the National Cat Awards, which is run by the country’s biggest cat charity Cats Protection. You can learn more about Lily in the video below and vote for her in the Incredible Cats category.

Making things a little harder in the voting department are two other amazing feline finalists up for the coveted award in the same category.

Marmaduke helped his pet parent Janice Cheetham by pulling her out of the “deep depression she fell into after the trauma of working as an emergency medical technician at Manchester Arena on the night of the May 2017 attack”. Janice credits Marmaduke for supporting her through the terrible situation and says, “My advice to anyone struggling with their mental health is: ‘Get a big orange cat.’ I honestly don’t know whether I’d be here today without Marmaduke.”

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Then there’s Marley, who is the resident cat at Caritas Bakhita House in London, a safehouse for women who have been enslaved, exploited and trafficked. “Often Marley placing a gentle paw on our guests’ legs is the first kindness they’ve experienced in years. He has this incredible gift of empathy, knowing instinctively who needs him.” His job titles also include staff supervisor, security guard, patrolling the grounds, chief gardener and art therapy muse.

There are also categories for Connected Cats (cats that have made an impact on social media or in their local community), Family Cats and Senior Cats. So get your votes in now before the winner is announced at the National Cat Awards ceremony on 18 September in London, hosted by best-selling author Dawn O’Porter.