Did one of Taylor Swift’s cats make its formal “New Heights” debut?
In the middle of Travis Kelce’s Wednesday, August 28, podcast episode, fans believe that they heard a subtle “meow” in the background. In the episode, Travis, 34, and brother Jason Kelce discussed their offseason experiences, with Jason, 36, marveling over traveling to Paris with wife Kylie Kelce to watch the 2024 Olympics.
In between their chat, it appears as if a cat was purring in the background. The Kelce brothers did not discuss the supposed noise during the episode, remaining focused on their conversation.
“Not the ‘MEOW’ in the background. Travis letting one of the cats have its podcast debut,” one fan pointed out via X, while another noted that the supposed cat sound occurs around the 27-minute timestamp.
not the “MEOW” in the background 🤭 travis letting one of the cats have it’s podcast debut pic.twitter.com/N6Jn9nmNGg
— anália (@analiaogs) August 28, 2024
“There’s a CAT meowing! Jason does not have a cat,” the social media user wrote.
Neither Jason nor Travis own cats — only dogs. (Kylie, 32, previously tried to persuade her husband to adopt a feline during a December 2023 episode of the podcast.) Travis’ girlfriend of one year, Swift, is, however, a proud cat owner.
The pop star has three cats: Meredith Grey, Olivia Benson and Benjamin Button. (Meredith and Olivia are Scottish Folds, while Benjamin is a Ragdoll.)
“I have cats. I’m obsessed with them,” Swift previously told TIME in April 2016. “They’re just a real joy to live with. … They’re very dignified. They’re independent. They’re very capable of dealing with their own life. 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. Like, this is my calling in life to do this — for the ladies.”
Benjamin even joined Swift on the cover of TIME in December 2023 when she was named Person of the Year.
Neither Swift nor Travis have confirmed whether their pets have met, though Swifties speculated that the NFL star might have filmed previous podcast episodes at her home. During a May episode of “New Heights,” fans wondered if Travis was even petting a cat off-camera.
The couple, who started dating in summer 2023, spend as much time as possible together in between their respective work commitments. Swift recently returned to the United States from the international run of her Eras Tour. She and Travis reunited at her Watch Hill, Rhode Island mansion for a star-studded party with Jason, Kylie, Patrick and Brittany Mahomes, Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Bradley Cooper and Gigi Hadid.
Travis is currently in the middle of his NFL commitments as a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs with his first regular season game scheduled for early next week and it is likely that Swift could attend. She previously went to many of the team’s home and away games last season, also forming friendships with the athletes and their families.