Meet a family of five talking cat-therapists—these 10-inch plush cats each have their own unique “purr-sonalities” to help adults prioritize mental health. TheraPurrs, the name of the company, was started by Apollo Beach residents William and Angelique Sever to provide specialized therapy for mental health practitioners. Specializing in comforting phrases such as, “I am here to help you,” TheraCat is designed to create a therapist-like dialogue with their owner. Another member of the TheraPurrs family Posicat is a tuxedo cat programmed with over 90 positive affirmations like “I am surrounded by love,” and “Good things are going to come to me.”

The couple developed the TheraPurrs concept during the Covid-19 pandemic after noticing the necessity for nurses and other frontline workers to have an emotional outlet. “There are more people needing mental health help than there are therapists to help them with it,” says William Sever, who was working as a Chief Marketing Officer at BenefitHub in Tampa at the time.  “Looking at the data, it had been getting worse and through Covid, the need for mental health help escalated even further.”

The Severs also noticed a trend of posts on popular mental health meme pages, often seeing funny posts that included cats and wine. Joking around one night, the pair came up with the idea of a talking cat when they suddenly had an epiphany. As a mental health specialist, Angelique Sever had been working in the children’s crisis unit at Gracepoint Wellness in Tampa for over three years. Her unit’s focus was on children that had been Baker Acted, or temporarily placed under involuntary detention in order to administer emergency mental health services. Under HIPAA regulation, Angelique is unable to divulge to her loved ones about the difficult situations she faces at work. However, she would be able to speak to a talking cat.

After developing the product, the couple decided to give their furry friends to professionals employed in mental health clinics and schools. In a TikTok posted to the account miss.gellar, a kindergarten teacher reveals how she utilizes PosiCat for her class’s morning affirmations, recommending TheraPurrs to students, parents and educators. Miss Gellar reached out to the Severs to detail how an emotional child used PosiCat to calm down, regulating his big emotions with the affirming animal. “He went to the cat right away and has been listening to it,” Gellar wrote. “He stopped crying without me coming to him and he’s just sitting there, listening.”

TheraPurrs are available for purchase on their website, and customer’s have the choice between English and Spanish speaking felines for the price of $50. You can also find a collection of paw-some shirts and other merchandise.

“It’s uplifting to see the reaction,” says William Sever. “We’re just trying to bring a little smile to people receiving emotional support. Everybody needs more of that.”

455 N US Highway 41 #2206, Ruskin, FL 33575, 1-813-443-9847.

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