Magical bond between girl and her cat set to cause a storm on social media in Milton Keynes

Rose Kellett, 10, has learning difficulties and frequently suffers from anxiety. Once it was so bad that the stress caused her to have alopecia and she lost all her hair.

A year ago, Rose's family cat had kittens. And once of them, Fluff, proved to be a far from ordinary feline.

"Rosie watched the kittens being born. She was fascinated," said her mum Tracey. "Right from the start there was a bond between her and one of the kittens, which she called Fluff."

As the kitten grew, she would follow Rose around the family's Stantonbury home, meowing for attention. She would only sleep in Rose's bed at night and even perched on the side of the tub when it was bathtime.

"They were inseparable and the bond has just grown and grown. It's so lovely to see." said Tracey.

When Rose goes out for a walk, Fluff has to come too and wears a cat collar and lead. When they go shopping, Fluff gets so upset at being left behind that she has to come too - in a special cat carrier bag that Rose wears on her back.

"Fluff loves her bag and Rose was delighted when we bought it. I means Fluff can go everywhere with her now, even in the car," said Tracey.

When Rose went to school at Great Linford Primary, between lockdowns, Fluff sits in her bedroom and cries until she comes home - when the rushed down the stairs to greet her.

So many people have stopped to admire the purring little cat she's been is out and about with Rosie during lockdown that Tracey has set up an Instagram account called RoseandFluff. Documenting the pair's adventures in photographs and videos, it already has more than 3,000 people following.

"I have never know a girl and a cat to be so close. People are amazed when they see them together," said Tracey.

"Rose sits and talks to Fluff for hours, telling her everything. If she's upset about something, she'll go straight to Fluff and tell her. After a while she announces that she feels better.. Fluff really is her best friend.

"Rose finds day to day life and school very, very hard because of her learning difficulties.The lockdown has not helped at all and she did not want to do home schooling or even get out of bed at first. But the love and friendship between her and her cat is so strong that it has seen her through."

When Rose was six, her hair suddenly started to fall out and doctors said it was stress-induced alopecia. After Tracey arranged for her to have her head shaved and "donate her hair to the fairies", it slowly began to grow back.

"When the first lockdown started last year there were signs that it was happening again. But luckily, Fluff came to the rescue and Rose's hair has grown back beautifully.. It's really thick and lovely now," said Tracey.

"I feel the love between rose and her cat has helped with the stress of the lockdown...I have grown up with cats and never had the bond that rose has with Fluff. It's just magical."