Rare Photos of Freddie Mercury and His Cats are Heart-Melting
Freddie Mercury, frontman of the now legendary rock band Queen, was one of rock’n’roll’s biggest icons. The star, as everyone knows, loved performing live shows. What few know is that Mercure, despite being a music lover, was an aficionado of cats, so much so that he had ten.
The cats, even though they are completely different from each other, have received all the love and dedication that a human being in love with pets is capable of giving. Mercury, in his spare time, spoiled cats too much. They say that the star treated them as if they were their own children, because they even got Christmas presents.
Even when on tour, Mercury left pet cats in the care of professionals, after all, the animal, when treated as a child, really deserves to be well taken care of. The singer, according to reports from people close to him, always called home and asked to speak to the cats.
Cats and more cats
His love for cats was so profound that it influenced his art. In 1985, for example, Mercury produced a solo album and dedicated all songs to the cats, of all the songs, one was made especially for Delilah, the rock star’s favorite feline.
The relationship with the animals in question arose at the time that Queen released his first album. At the time, his ex-fiancee, Mary Austin, decided to adopt two cats. The cats were named Tom and Jerry, after the characters in one of the cartoons produced by Hanna-Barbera.
After the friendly separation of the couple, Austin presented the rocker with another cat, named Tiffany. Eventually, over time, Mercury expanded the family, including Delilah, Goliath, Lily, Dorothy, Miko, Romeo and Oscar.
Residence and pampering
Although he owned countless properties around the world, the star’s favorite residence was the Garden Lodge mansion in Kensington, England, as that was where all his babies lived.
All of Mercury’s cats were highly spoiled. Everyone, without exception, ate chicken and fish – and freshly prepared. Each cat, in addition, also had its own Christmas stocking, so, when the festive holiday arrived, the star could deposit the gifts of each of the cats.
According to Jim Hutton, one of the singer’s residents, “Freddie treated cats like his own children. He always played with them, and if any of them got hurt when Freddie was gone, only God could help us. He became a beast. During the day, the cats would leave the house and stay in the area, but when night came, he or I would get everyone together and then put the pets in the house ”.
Hutton, in one of the interviews he gave, recalled an occasion when Goliath, one of the cats, disappeared. “Freddie was frantic and, in deep despair, threw a beautiful Japanese hibachi out of the guest room window,” he reported.
“Mercury’s mood only changed when the cat appeared. As soon as the bug came back, he spent hours hugging and caressing it ”, revealed Hutton. “But, like any good mother, before he collapsed in love, Freddie scolded the cat, shouting and screaming at the tiny Goliath for leaving the Garden Lodge. And that dark little ball of fur stayed there, listening calmly to Freddie’s explosion and purring loudly ”.
Freddie Mercury’s love for his cats was undoubtedly the deepest love he has ever felt in his life. During one of his last interviews, Mercury released the contents of his will, declaring “I am leaving everything for Mary [Austin] and the cats”.
