Taylor Swift’s love of cats is no folklore. The 33-year-old singer’s cat lover status is evident to anyone who follows her on social media. The Grammy winner is a cat mom to three furry companions: Meredith Grey, Olivia Benson, and Benjamin Button, all named after fictional characters in TV and film.
The singer’s love of cats even extended into her role in the 2019 film Cats, based on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s stage musical of the same name. While at the film’s New York premiere, Taylor called her cats “little lazy bears” while speaking to Entertainment Weekly, saying, “My cats are beautifully round and fuzzy and they look like little lazy bears. They’re always taking naps.”
Learn more about her lazy little bears below.
Meredith Grey
Meredith Grey, named after Ellen Pompeo’s character in Grey’s Anatomy, is a Scottish Fold that Taylor got in 2011. The “Cardigan” singer has previously described Meredith as a “private” cat. In April, Taylor shared a video message on Twitter after fans grew concerned about the whereabouts of Meredith after she stopped making an appearance on her social feeds. “The truth is, Meredith just hates having her picture taken,” she explained as a montage of grumpy Meredith played. “That’s the explanation,” she continued. “She’s just a really private little cat. She likes her business kept to herself. She doesn’t like a camera shoved in her face, and who can blame her?” That hasn’t stopped her from getting her close up, though. Meredith made a cameo in Taylor’s music video for “ME!” with Brendon Urie alongside her siblings Olivia and Benjamin.
Olivia Benson
Olivia Benson, named after Mariska Hargitay’s character in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, is also a Scottish Fold that Taylor got in 2014. Olivia is a star in her own right, as she has starred in Taylor’s 2014 Diet Coke commercial and her “Blank Space” music video. (She also appeared in the “ME!” music video.) And, yes, cat Olivia Benson has met her namesake. In 2015, Taylor shared footage from backstage of one of her shows of Olivia meeting Mariska, who was in attendance. Both of her cats’ namesakes also appeared in her music video for “Bad Blood” that year: both Mariska and Ellen (Meredith Grey) made cameos in the star-studded video.
Benjamin Button
Benjamin Button, named after Brad Pitt’s character in the film The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, is, unlike the singer’s last two cats, a Ragdoll cat. Taylor adopted him in 2019 after she met him on set of her “ME!” music video, which featured a number of cats along with Meredith and Olivia. During an Instagram Live that year with Brendon following the release of the music video, Taylor recounted how she brought the little guy home. “He was just a cute kitten who didn’t have a home,” she said, explaining that he was part of a program to “get cute kittens adopted by putting them in commercials and stuff.” When a handler handled her Benjamin, she “fell in love,” explaining, “He literally looked at me like, ‘Adopt me please.’ And I was like, ‘OK I’m going to do that.’ He’s just the best boy. He’s the best little guy.”