Dear Sir or Madam,
Boston Made Pets has learned something important: if you want to reach the most famous woman in music, you have been trying the wrong doors.
Our parent company, Boston Made, recently tried to get a message to Taylor Swift by emailing a parking director in Kansas City. (It is a real thing that happened. The full story, Where’s Taylor!?, is on bostonmade.com, and it is a journey.) We respect the hustle. But as a pet company, we have a different theory.
Everybody knows the real power in any household is not the person whose name is on the mortgage. It is the cat. And Taylor Swift has three of them.
Meet the Swift Cat Cabinet
Taylor has been open about her love for her cats for well over a decade. They have appeared in her music videos, commercials, social media posts and, in one case, on the cover of one of the most famous magazines in the world. Here is our unofficial pet-profile briefing on the three most influential felines in the music industry.
Meredith Grey
Breed: Scottish Fold. Joined the family: 2011. Named after: Dr. Meredith Grey from Grey’s Anatomy, because Taylor is a fan.
Meredith is the senior member of the cabinet, and she has the quiet confidence of someone who was there before the stadium tours. Taylor has described her over the years as the more independent, aloof member of the family, which is cat for “management.”
Boston Made Pets assessment: Meredith would read our letter, take one long look at the parking puns, and walk away without a word. We would deserve it.
Olivia Benson
Breed: Scottish Fold. Joined the family: 2014. Named after: Detective Olivia Benson from Law & Order: SVU.
Olivia is arguably the most famous cat on the planet. She has appeared in music videos and ad campaigns, and over the years she has regularly been named on lists of the world’s richest pets. We cannot verify the exact figures, and frankly we do not want to know, because it will make us feel bad about our own savings accounts.
Boston Made Pets assessment: Olivia is the detective. If anyone could track down where our letter ended up, it is her. Olivia, if you see an email about parking, please investigate.
Benjamin Button
Breed: Ragdoll. Joined the family: 2019. Named after: the title character of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Benjamin has the best origin story of the three: Taylor met him on the set of her 2019 “ME!” music video, where he appeared on camera, and she adopted him. Then, in December 2023, Benjamin Button appeared on the cover of TIME when Taylor was named Person of the Year, draped over her shoulders like a very fluffy scarf. Most of us cannot get our cats to sit still for a holiday card. Benjamin did a magazine cover.
Boston Made Pets assessment: Benjamin is clearly the one who gets things done. He went from a music video set to the cover of TIME in four years. We have been trying to go from a parking lot to a reply email for a week.
Why cats are the real backstage pass
Think about it. A parking director sees Taylor occasionally. A cat sees Taylor every day. A cat knows her schedule, her moods, which cardigan is her favorite and whether she is in a folklore mood or a 1989 mood. A cat sits on the keyboard when she is writing. A cat could, theoretically, sit on the “reply” button.
So we are officially updating our strategy. Plan A, emailing a Kansas City parking director, remains active and beloved. Plan B is this article, which is essentially a love letter to three cats in the hope that one of them will put in a good word.
An open letter to Meredith, Olivia and Benjamin
Dear Meredith, Olivia and Benjamin,
We are Boston Made Pets. We help people build profiles for the animals they love. We think you are excellent. We think your human is excellent. We sent her a message through a parking director, which in hindsight was a choice.
If you could knock our letter off a table and onto her lap, we would be forever grateful. In return, we offer: a lifetime of admiration, an honorary Boston Made Pets profile, and one (1) theoretical cardboard box, which we know is the true currency of your people.
With respect and slightly too many treats,
Boston Made Pets
Play: What’s your pet’s Taylor Swift era?
Every pet has an era. Some are in their Lover era, all pink and cuddles. Some are firmly in their reputation era, glaring at you from under the couch. Take the quiz and find out which one lives in your house.
Quiz: What’s Your Pet’s Taylor Swift Era?
Five questions about your dog, cat, bunny or emotionally complex goldfish. One era. Zero scientific validity. Maximum accuracy (emotionally).
Pet Trivia: The Swift Cats Edition
Pet Trivia: The Swift Cats Edition
Seven questions about Taylor and her cats. Pass with flying (folded) ears.
Give your pet the spotlight
Taylor’s cats have magazine covers. Your pet deserves at least a profile. At Boston Made Pets you can create a home profile for your dog, cat or any other family member with fur, feathers or scales, and keep their details safe in one place. No parking director required.
Follow the whole saga in the Boston Made Reader: the original letter on bostonmade.com and the full Eras field guide in the Boston Made Newsroom.
The fine print, in the smallest font we own: Boston Made is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or (yet) on a first-name basis with Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce or the Kansas City Chiefs. Nobody in this story has replied to us, and we have not made anything up about anybody. Photos are freely licensed from Wikimedia Commons and credited under each image. Cat photos show the same breeds as Taylor’s cats, not her actual cats. No cats were bothered in the making of this article; they would not have allowed it.