A loving defense of Taylor Swift’s cat

Ever since pictures of Taylor Swift carrying her cat around like a fashion accessory emerged, people seem to be strangely worried about her (the cat, that is, we all know Taylor’s just shaking it off AND enjoying the fandom around her new single, “Out of the Woods,” which was released on iTunes this morning!). Jezebel went so far as to call a vet and make sure the cat wasn’t ill, and last week, John Cleese asked T. Swift what kind of accident had happened to her cat. It seems to me that this is just a case of the haters hate-hate-hating, because Taylor’s cat is kind of the greatest animal sidekick ever. Here’s why:

1. She has an awesome name

Let’s be honest, you’d expect Taylor to have a cat named Sprinkles or Marshmallow or even Fluffy, but instead her name is Olivia Benson. Way to be named after one of the most badass ladies on TV, little lady. Taylor’s lesser-known but also adorable other cat is named Meredith Grey, which is also amazing (and makes me feel better about having a cat named after Blair Waldorf).

2. She models for her own shoe line

How many people (or cats) get to have their face on a shoe and then model with the shoe? I am pretty sure Olivia is the only one.

3. She’s super chill

Try and get any other cat to just hang out on your arm like a fun purse, and that cat is going to be all

Olivia Benson, on the other hand, is totally cool with it.

4. She’s making it cool to be a cat lady

As I think most of us single women with cats know, you spend a lot of time having to be like “yes, I have a cat, no, I am not a cat lady.” All it takes is a few hoarders to give all of us perfectly normal cat lovers a bad name. With Olivia getting almost as much attention as Taylor right now, maybe the world is finally going to see that you can be a cool, successful woman, and yes, also own a cat.

5. She is straight up adorbs

John Cleese, how dare you suggest this cat is weird. With those giant eyes and floppy little ears, this cat could not be cuter if she tried.