Most people know Freddie Mercury as the larger-than-life frontman for the iconic rock band Queen. If you’ve been a part of pop culture in America for any time at all, you’ve heard the song “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and chances are, you’ve sung along with it, even hitting those falsetto notes before breaking out in some raucous headbanging.
But did you know Mercury loved cats? Like, not just a little either, he was a feline fanatic all the way through, just like us. Not only did he care for cats, Mercury lyricized and sung the praises of his felines, making sure each and every one of them got the love and attention every kitty deserves.
So, to celebrate a king among the cats of rock, let’s have a look at some of history’s best photos of the dedicated cat dad and some of his felines while learning about the legend’s love of the kitties.
The Feline Kings and Queens of Freddie Mercury’s World
When Freddie Mercury embarked on a solo career, he released an album titled “Mr. Bad Guy,” and what cat lovers find special about this record is the fact he dedicated it to his cat Jerry and the rest of the kitties he called family at the time. He also included a shoutout to “all the cat lovers across the universe.”
Mercury knew the specialness of cats just like we do now, and it seemed he also understood that between those of us who fancy the felines, there’s some undefined connection. Let’s just call it a realization that we all understand the magic of cats. It’s a secret club we don’t keep secret, but when you’re in it, you recognize the other members. By including the dedication to fellow cat lovers, the rock star let us know he felt the same.
But his love for cats began far earlier than “Mr. Bad Guy” and its 1985 release.
In the 1970s, Mercury’s then-girlfriend Mary Austin brought home two cats named Tom and Jerry, according to a 2003 Cat Fancy article by Gail Flug digitized into the Queen Archives. From that introduction on, Freddie Mercury was a cat man. And though he had residences all over the world, all his cats lived in London at his two-story mansion, the Garden Lodge.
Peter Freestone, Mercury’s personal assistant and cook, penned a biopic of the singer entitled Freddie Mercury, and in those pages, he wrote that the cat dad “knew home was where his cats were.”
Not a Woman Peeing All Over His Chippendale Suite
Not only mentioning felines in dedications, the song “Delilah” was penned about one of Mercury’s cats and not a wild human lady, which is good to know because any woman who would “pee all over my Chippendale suite” might not be the greatest of company. But, even when they pee in the house, cats are still the apples of our eyes!
As Flug wrote, Delilah was “a large, tri-colored tabby who was adopted in late 1987,” and she was the Queen of the Mercury home.
“She was a real character, that lady!” explained Jacky Smith, head of the Official Queen Fan Club for more than 20 years. “Delilah was just kind of funny. She was a bit of a bully to the others, but was always first on his lap, first for food.”
Jim Hutton, Mercury’s boyfriend of seven years and author of Mercury and Me, also recognized the bond between Mercury and Delilah. Bored Panda shared quotes from the biography that reveal Delilah as “the little princess of their home, the one he’d pick up and stroke the most often.”
As his cats were his children, the stories about Mercury and his cats could fill pages, so we’ll leave you with one of the greatest cat facts about Mercury for now.
He had a fondness for rescue cats, with Smith explaining, “Most of them were from rescue centers. We have a charity [in the United Kingdom] called The Blue Cross, which takes care of sick animals. Freddie got at least two from them, if not more.”
Smith also said, “No particular reason for the moggies, although I think he felt good that he was actually rescuing them and giving them a loving home. It makes you feel good when you can do something like that!”
We at iHeartCats.com completely understand the notion, and we know you do too, dear cat lover! So, break out the Queen tunes and rock out with your cat, knowing the man behind the music had a huge heart for felines.
H/T: www.gidypet.com
Feature Image: @neveragingqueens/Instagram & @invinciblefreddie/Instagram