Taylor Swift may be a billionaire entertainer with an incredible record-breaking world tour underway, but to her three cats, she’s just “Mom.” Taylor has never hesitated to make her love of cats a significant part of her personality, and that’s just made the Swifties love her even more.
If you’ve seen glimpses of Taylor’s cats on social media and wondered how many she has (three, by the way), what their names are, and how she acquired them, you’ll want to keep reading. Read on to learn everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Ms. Swift’s fur babies, including their breeds and origin stories.
How Many Cats Does Taylor Swift Have?
Taylor Swift’s fur family includes three cats: Meredith Grey, Olivia Benson, and Benjamin Button.
Meredith Gray, named after the character of the same name in Taylor’s favorite television show, Grey’s Anatomy, is the oldest of the three. Meredith was born on November 10, 2010, and Swift adopted her on Halloween the following year.
Her second cat—Olivia Benson—was named after a character on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, another of Swift’s favorite TV shows. Olivia was born on January 23, 2014, and welcomed with open arms by Swift and Meredith in June of that same year.
The most recent adoptee into the Swift family is Benjamin Button, who was named after the main character in the 2008 film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Benjamin was born on December 18, 2018, and adopted in 2019.
What Breed Are Taylor Swift’s Cats?
Meredith Grey and Olivia Benson are both Scottish Folds. These beautiful cats, sometimes also known as “Lops,” are known for their adorably round appearance. This breed is very distinctive thanks to a natural dominant gene mutation that causes their ears to fold toward the front of their heads. Not all Scottish Folds have folded ears, but both Meredith and Olivia do.
Benjamin Button is a Ragdoll. These big, fluffy cats are known for their incredibly docile and calm nature. In fact, their breed name is a nod to the cat’s tendency to go entirely limp and relax whenever picked up.
Taylor’s Cats in the Media
Like their Mom, Taylor’s cats appear to be naturals in front of the camera.
Meredith is the shyest of all Taylor’s pets, though she and Olivia appear together in Taylor’s 2019 music video for “ME!” However, it’s not just the two Scottish Folds who appear in this video. Taylor actually first met Benjamin on the set.
In the music, Brendon Urie of the band Panic! at the Disco is seen gifting the kitten to Taylor’s character. She immediately fell in love with Benjamin and reportedly asked the handle, “Can I have him?” The handler replied with, “He is available,” and the rest is history.
Olivia is a bit of an overachiever, appearing in Taylor’s “Blank Space” music video and Taylor and Ice Spice’s single “Karma.” She was even nominated for six awards, including the iHeartRadio Music Awards’ Cutest Musician’s Pet award and the Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards’ Favorite Pet award (which she won).
Benjamin also appears as a cat design on the wristwatch in Taylor’s “You Need to Calm Down” music video. He shared the TIME magazine cover with his Mom when she was awarded the “Person of the Year 2023” award.
Does Travis Kelce Have Pets?
Whether you consider yourself a Swiftie or not, you’ve undoubtedly heard about Taylor’s whirlwind romance with Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce. But how does Travis fit into Taylor’s feline-centric family? Does he have pets of his own?
Travis has two dogs: a Pomsky (Pomeranian x Siberian Husky) named Chauncey and a Goldendoodle (Golden Retriever x Poodle) named Rambo.
Final Thoughts
Taylor Swift, the billionaire, might be unrelatable to much of the population, but her as a cat mom is something we can all identify with. Taylor clearly loves her pets, and we love seeing that glimpse of normalcy peek through when she shares them with her fans on social media and in her music videos.
Featured Image Credit: rock the stock, Shutterstock