Yahoo News All About Taylor Swift’s Cats: Meredith, Olivia, and Benjamin
Taylor Swift is the cat mom to three beautiful kitties: Meredith Grey, Olivia Benson, and Benjamin Button. Swifties are very passionate about all details of her life, but her cats hold a special place in their hearts. She is fully aware of this and frequently shares pictures and videos clips of them online. She has even incorporated them into music videos and commercials. They all basically have their own careers at this point.
In 2019, she told Time that they are part of the reason she agreed to do the musical film of the famous Broadway play, Cats.
“I have cats. I’m obsessed with them. I love my cats so much that when a role came up in a movie called Cats, I just thought, like, I gotta do this,” she said. “They’re very dignified. They’re independent. They’re very capable of dealing with their own life.”
Though she travels a great deal, Swift will often have her cats by her side as long as she isn’t entering a country with strict quarantine laws for animals. So these guys are globetrotters as well.
Here’s what we know about the whole crew, from Meredith to Olivia to baby Benjamin.
Meredith Grey
Meredith Grey is named after one of Swift’s personal icons, Ellen Pompeo’s titular character on the long-lasting TV show Grey’s Anatomy. This Meredith is not a doctor; she’s a Scottish Fold who has lived with Swift since 2011. The breed is known for its adorable folded down ears, which are less cutely the result of a genetic mutation that affects the growth of cartilage. Despite this issue for the breed, Swift’s Meredith seems to be thriving as her companion.
With as many fans as Swift herself has, Meredith has become famous in her own right. She’s even made a cameo in a movie: Swift’s friend Ryan Reynolds wore a T-shirt with her picture on it in Deadpool 2, alongside Swift’s other Scottish Fold, Olivia Benson. The shirt said, “Olivia & Meredith Best Friends Purrrrr-Ever.”
Now at almost 13 years old, Meredith is firmly ensconced in cat middle age. She had been making fewer appearances on Swift’s Instagram page, so the artist had to go online in 2021 to refute rumors that Meredith had been met with some misfortune. She and her youngest cat, Benjamin Button, offered a little slideshow presentation on the issue.
“We’ve been hearing some rumors on the internet recently,” Swift said. “I mean, they’re not about you, Benj, they’re about your sister. The truth is, Meredith just hates having her picture taken.”
She offered some recent pics of Meredith that weren’t timeline worthy, and a video of the kitty running away as Swift grilled her about “recent allegations” that she’s a “missing cat.”
Olivia Benson
Three years after Meredith Grey joined the family, another strong female character joined the household. Olivia Benson arrived in 2014 and is named after Mariska Hargitay’s police officer role on Law & Order: SVU. Hargitay has even met her namesake—Swift shared a video of them playing together in 2015, writing, “This is Olivia Benson meeting Olivia Benson, and um, things are going well so far.”
In November 2023, Hargitay returned the honor and welcomed her own cat whom she named “Karma,” in reference to Swift’s hit song.
In the caption, she wrote, “Karma is a Cat @taylorswift Meet Karma. My Cat.🐱 #MeAndKarmaVibeLikeThat #AndIKeepMySideOfMyPawClean #KarmaIsACat.”
Swift commented, “Are you serious?!!!! Nothing has ever come more full circle ⭕️ LOVE THIS SO MUCH!! 😻”
Both Hargitay and Pompeo appeared in Swift’s “Bad Blood” music video as the characters Justice and Luna. They also popped in during her 1989 concert tour.
Big shoes to fill, but like Meredith, Olivia has lived up to the hype. They were both in Swift’s “ME!” music video.
And in 2017, Olivia appeared in an outtake on AT&T ad campaign Swift appeared in.
“Are you a saber-toothed tiger cub?” she asks the kitty. “Are you my baby wolverine? Are you Princess of Meow Town? Are you just a melting snowman? Are you just a sloth? ’Cause you’re just a little unicorn kitty cat!’
The cat had no response. Must be true.
She later appeared in a Diet Coke ad, presumably because she is easier to direct than the elusive Meredith.
Benjamin Button
Benjamin Button joined the crew in 2019 and was named after Brad Pitt’s character who ages backwards—the secret dream of all pet owners for their beloved fur children. Benjamin Button is a Ragdoll, a breed that likes to stretch out and get cuddled.
Benjamin was cast as a kitty star on “ME!” but did not officially belong to Swift quite yet.
“He was just a cute kitten who didn’t have a home,” Swift explained in an Instagram Live video with Panic! at the Disco’s Brendon Urie, saying there’s a group that “tries to get cute kittens adopted by putting them in commercials and stuff.”
“She handed me this tiny cat, and he just starts purring,” Swift said of the handler on set. “He looks at me like, ‘You’re my mom, and we’re going to live together.’ I fell in love. I looked at Brendon and he’s like, ‘You’re going to get the cat aren’t you?’”
In December 2021, she wished Benjamin a happy birthday by pointing out he is 22 in cat years, using the viral hashtag #ImFeeling22.
Benjamin may be young, but he is arguably even more famous than his sisters, appearing on the cover of Time in December 2023 after his mom won Person of the Year.
“Time Magazine: We’d like to name you Person of the Yea- Me: Can I bring my cat,” Swift wrote on Instagram alongside their photo together.
You Might Also Like
