‘Swiftie’ kitties in Kansas depending on Taylor Swift’s lucky No. 13 for homes
Three Swiftie kitties in Kansas are depending on Taylor Swift’s lucky No. 13 to find them new homes and shake off the shelter life.
They’ve all been in the care of the Lawrence Humane Society for more than 13 days — more than a fortnight.
Turns out a lot of Swifties work at the shelter.
So they’re celebrating Swift’s new album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” by appealing to people who love cats as much as she does to place the orange tabbies. She talked about her cats on her record-breaking appearance on the “New Heights” podcast Wednesday.
Orange, by the way, is the album’s color scheme — in case you haven’t noticed all the orange out there on billboards, buildings and social media posts from Starbucks, United Airlines, M&Ms, Six Flags and dozens of other companies marking the album’s debut.
To sweeten the deal, Hill’s Pet Nutrition will give 13 months of free cat food — 13, again — to whomever adopts the cats. (We’re told Hill’s is home to a lot of Swifties, too.)
“We’re excited to work with Hill’s Pet Nutrition to celebrate the new album in this fun, Swiftie-inspired way,” Elina Alterman, chief development officer for the humane society, said in a statement.
Swift is a well-known cat lover who owns three, all named after fictional characters — Meredith Grey (”Grey’s Anatomy”), Olivia Benson (”Law & Order: SVU”) and Benjamin Button from the 2008 Brad Pitt movie, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”
They’ve been in photo spreads and on tour with her, including the Eras Tour.
She had Oliva Benson with her in Miami, where she posted a video of the two of them that Swifties now believe was an Easter egg hinting at “The Life of a Showgirl.”
During the podcast Wednesday, Swift talked about how the young nieces of boyfriend Travis Kelce — the daughters of his brother Jason Kelce and wife Kylie — get excited when she brings the cats around.
Swift apparently has been trying to get Jason to adopt a cat for the family, but he keeps insisting he’s allergic. He even told his girls that cats are poisonous.
“It was actually really a great challenge, because as soon as I got the kids around the cats, it was my goal to prove to them that they weren’t poisonous,” Swift said. “And there’s no better way to prove that than to just hand them Benjamin, my rag-doll cat who lets humans hold him like he’s a baby.
“The cats are so good with kids. They’re just like, ‘Meredith is here.’ I’m like, ‘Yup, and you know what, she didn’t bite you at all, did she? And if she did bite you, she wouldn’t be poisonous.’ They’re like, ‘That’s not what our dad said.’”
Jason said he might be amenable to a barn cat that stays outside the house, but Swift teased him that any cat they adopted would quickly end up in bed with the girls.
The humane society promoted its three homeless cats with photos of them on the same orange and green backdrop Swift used to tease the album earlier this week.
Here are their stories.
Dorothea was found last November, a stray, sick, elderly tabby wandering in a rural part of Douglas County, Kansas. She had hyperthyroidism, common in older cats. Friendly to humans and other cats, she’s been in a foster home for eight months but still doesn’t have a permanent home.
Archer was also a stray who showed up at the shelter about six weeks ago. He was found down the road from Lawrence in Eudora.
He’s a 1 1/2-year-old rotund tomcat with chubby cheeks. Like Dorothea, he was sick when he was found, but an upper respiratory infection has cleared and he’s healthy now.
He’s not aggressive but likes to take things slowly when meeting new people.
You might call him a little ‘fraidy cat. (He probably wouldn’t do well on tour.)
August lost his home when his owner lost hers and had to move out of state without her pets. He was also sick with a respiratory infection, but is fine now.
He’s an elderly statesman, 12 years old and a known cuddle bug, described by the shelter as “a fluffy teddy bear who purrs nonstop and loves every single person who stops to pet him ... he will make a wonderful lap cat for someone who wants a snuggle buddy.”
Currently, adult cat adoptions are $30.
For more information, check the humane society’s website, lawrencehumane.org, or call (785) 843-6835.
This story was originally published August 14, 2025 at 2:45 PM.
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