The End of an Era: How Taylor Swift and Her Cat Ended Jason Kelce’s Reign of ‘Poisonous’ Feline Fear

The domestic landscape of the Kelce household is typically dominated by the boisterous energy of a former NFL offensive lineman, the grounded reality of his wife, Kylie, and the boundless enthusiasm of their young daughters. But recently, a new, far fluffier character has emerged to challenge the family’s peace—and the very word of its patriarch. The stakes were initially low, a simple parental fib told to avoid getting a cat. Yet, what started as a white lie exploded into a viral, cultural flashpoint when global superstar Taylor Swift, a devoted mother of three famous felines, got involved.

The core of the conflict? Jason Kelce had long held a deep-seated resistance to welcoming a cat into his home, a position he attempted to solidify by telling his children the outrageous claim that cats are, in fact, “poisonous”.

Now, the battle has ended—and Swift and her beloved cat, Benjamin Button, have decisively won.

The Origin of the Outrageous Parental Lie

The story first gained traction on the incredibly popular New Heights podcast, hosted by brothers Jason and Travis Kelce. In a September episode, Jason first revealed his desperate, humorous tactic to keep his house cat-free. “You know what my latest plan to divert our family from getting a cat is? I just keep telling our girls that cats are poisonous,” Jason revealed. When Travis understandably scoffed, “Why the would you tell them that?” Jason offered a simple, if cold-blooded, rationale: “So that they don’t want cats… And I don’t have to deal with having a cat and make them terrified”.

This admission immediately sparked a lively and amused debate among listeners, but the stakes were raised dramatically when global superstar Taylor Swift, who is dating Travis and is the proud owner of Meredith Grey, Olivia Benson, and the now-legendary Benjamin Button, took it upon herself to launch a full-scale feline intervention.

Appearing on the podcast, Swift humorously announced that her mission to disprove Jason’s claim had become her “greatest challenge yet”. Her strategy was simple, brilliant, and devastatingly effective: introduce the Kelce daughters to a cat so gentle and charismatic that the “poisonous” narrative would crumble instantly.

Benjamin Button: The Agent of Change

The cat chosen for this monumental task was Benjamin Button, a majestic Ragdoll known for his exceptionally docile nature. Swift explained her approach to the Kelce daughters: “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.

Her winning move was to simply hand them Benjamin, a cat who, she notes, “lets humans hold him like he’s a baby”. This experience, the soft fur and passive nature of Benjamin held in their arms, was a powerful, tangible refutation of their father’s fictional science.

The intervention was an instant success. Swift described the adorable aftermath, relaying one of her favorite moments: when Jason’s daughter, Benny, would come up to her and simply announce, “I find Benjamin, I find him,” before settling down to lay with and pet the Ragdoll.

The musician further attested to the excellent demeanor of her other cats, even noting that the girls would just “drag them,” referencing Meredith, before adding, “And you know what? She didn’t bite you at all, did she? And if she did bite you, she wouldn’t be poisonous.” The girls, now thoroughly converted, could only offer a weak defense of their father: “That’s not what our dad said,” to which Swift simply replied, “Well…”. The debate was over.

Jason’s Retreat and the Critical Thinker Joke

Faced with irrefutable proof—the beaming faces of his own children cuddling a non-poisonous feline—Jason was forced to offer a humorous retreat. He joked that his absurd lie was actually a complex parenting maneuver designed to foster independence and critical thinking.

“This exact situation is why I lie to my kids,” Jason quipped, suggesting he wanted them to “realize it’s absurd to think this and you handing them Benjamin and then walking them through critical thinking ability”. In his typical self-deprecating style, he suggested that now they’ve learned not to believe something “that every moron tells them on the internet”. Swift, in turn, acknowledged the hilarious irony, replying, “Yeah, it was really like I know it wasn’t helpful for you, but it was helpful for me”.

The episode was a watershed moment, proving that the heart wants what the heart wants—and the heart, in this case, wants Benjamin Button’s genetic descendants.

The Ongoing Battle: Barn Cat vs. Family Pet

While Swift may have successfully reversed the “poisonous” lie, the greater negotiation within the Kelce-McMullin household continues, fueled by Kylie’s consistent advocacy for a cat.

The mom of four has repeatedly expressed her desire to add a feline to their family of six. On an October 30th episode of her own Her Not Going to Lie podcast, she pressed Jason on the matter after months of hinting. When a fan questioned when they would finally adopt a cat, Kylie asked her husband directly, “When are you finally getting the cat?” Jason, ever the purist, joked back, “If it’s up to me, never.”

However, the pressure from Kylie, coupled with the children’s recent conversion, has cracked Jason’s resolve. A compromise is currently being negotiated.

“There is a compromise that we have found our way to, which is maybe in the next couple years,” Kylie shared. The compromise, however, comes with a major caveat from Jason: he only wants an outdoor cat.

Jason’s preference is for a “working cat”—specifically, a “barn cat” that “does not go inside” and “will survive off of rodents in the field and guard our house”. He is vehemently against a “deadbeat pet,” quipping that if a cat is “living with us, you’re paying rent”. The idea of a “deadbeat cat” that has “no use” to him, unlike a cat that handles the “mice situation,” is a major sticking point.

Kylie, recognizing his stubbornness, is taking a gradual approach, debating the possibility of an “indoor-outdoor cat that’s a little bit inside.” “It’s a work in progress guys,” she joked, “I’mma keep chipping away at it, okay?”.

The Exotic Pet Parallel

Jason’s strict views on pets are not new. Earlier in the podcast, Jason and Travis entertained a fan question about exotic pets they wanted as kids that their parents vetoed. Travis recalled desperately wanting a ferret, noting that his college roommate had one, which ultimately taught him the lesson that “the room [will] smell like absolute shit”. They also discussed a rabbit, rodents, and Jason’s grown-up desire for a pygmy marmoset, or ‘finger monkey’.

Jason firmly concluded that he would not recommend exotic pets for children, stating, “I don’t remember exotic pets for anybody. I think exotic pets should stay exotic wild animals”. This firm line on wild animals provides important context for his pet preference: he sees an animal’s purpose in utilitarian terms. Hence, the “working barn cat” makes sense in his worldview, whereas a pampered, indoor Ragdoll like Benjamin Button—a “deadbeat cat”—does not.

The Inevitable Future of the Kelce Cat

The humor of the Kelce’s domestic pet saga lies in the conflict between Jason’s desire for utility and Kylie and the girls’ push for companionship. While Jason insists on a working cat, Taylor Swift has already successfully planted the seeds of the latter. As Swift herself predicted, despite Jason’s best efforts to keep a barn cat outside, “Those girls are going to be sneaking that cat into their beds every single night”.

The evidence is clear: the daughters are already smitten, Jason has lost his primary line of defense, and Kylie is chipping away at his defenses one compromise at a time. The era of the “poisonous” cat is over, and the era of the cozy, indoor family cat—a likely relative of Meredith, Olivia, or the heroic Benjamin—is surely just beginning. The former NFL center may have wanted a “working cat,” but he is almost certainly going to end up with a lap cat that never pays a dime of rent.