Freddie Mercury, frontman of the rock band Queen, has been gone for nearly three decades now. But his stage presence, incredible vocal range and mercurial life has made him an iconic figure in the years since his death. As it turns out, Freddie was into cats — like, seriously into cats — and the photos are absolutely heartwarming.
It shows him in a different light.
If you do an image search for Freddie Mercury, you’ll find hundreds of pics of him doing what he did best, performing on stage under the bright glare of the lights.
There are TONS of these pics.
The cat snapshots, which show Mercury at different stages of his life, all with one cat or another, have made their way online over the years thanks to fans in Queen-related forums.
Most are candid.
None seem to be professionally shot. Most have an impromptu vibe to them, and they all show the kind of cat-dad Freddie clearly was: tender, devoted and totally in love with his feline companions.
We know some details.
Thanks to a number of in-depth biographies, we can state that Mercury’s fascination with cats probably began back in the 1970s, thanks to a gift from his girlfriend at the time.
She brought home two cats.
His girlfriend, Mary Austin, named the pair Tom and Jerry. As a touring musician, he wasn’t always around for his cats, but he made sure to frequently check in with the cat-sitters to make sure they were doing well.
Delilah was a noteworthy cat.
Jacky Smith of the Queen fan club said of Delilah, “[She] 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.”
Here’s a video clip that shows Freddie’s favorite cat Delilah.
He didn’t just talk to the cat sitters.
Personal assistant Peter Freestone said , “He’d get to a hotel, we’d dial through, and we really would talk to his cats … This continued throughout the years with succeeding feline occupants of his houses.”
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Unfortunately, it’s hard to know which cats are which.
He had so many over the years that we can’t say for sure which pics are Tom, Jerry, or any of the other cats he had. That’s not even accounting for the random cats he no doubt befriended.
They were basically his kids.
Freestone said, “His cats were his family,” adding that he went way beyond just feeding them and changing their litter box. As a loving cat parent should, Mercury would give each cat a Christmas stocking.
How many did he have?
It sounds like he had about ten cats in total: Tiffany, Dorothy, Delilah, Goliath, Miko, Oscar and Romeo. That’s in addition to Tom and Jerry, along with any other cats he may have been caring for at a given time.
Where did he get them?
I mean, touring and recording albums with one of the biggest bands in the world must make it tough to befriend stray cats and take them into your home, right?
He contacted rescue centers.
The leader of Queen’s official fan club said , “Most of them were from rescue centers. We have a charity called The Blue Cross, which takes care of sick animals. Freddie got at least two from them.”
He immortalized his favorite cats.
The only solo album he ever released, 1985’s Mr Bad Guy , was dedicated to his O.G. cat Jerry, all of his other cats, along with, “all the cat lovers across the universe.”
It wasn’t the only cat feature in his albums.
1991’s Innuendo , the last Queen album recorded before his death, featured artwork of Mercury with cats on his shoulders. One song, Delilah , has guitar work from Brian May that sounds suspiciously like meowing.
He wrote a song about his love of a cat.
The aforementioned track Delilah , is straight-up about a cat:
When you cuddle up and go to sleep beside me
*And then you make me slightly mad
When you pee all over my Chippendale suite…
Like his own children…
Mercury’s boyfriend Jim Hutton wrote , “Freddie treated the cats like his own children. He would constantly fuss over them, and if any of them came to any harm when Freddie was away, heaven help us.”
They ran the Mercury home.
“During the day the cats had the run of the house and grounds, and at night one of us would round them up and bring them inside,” remembered Hutton.
This vest features his real cats.
Seen in the paper insert for the CD Classic Queen , this vest shows paintings of Mercury’s cats. Considering it was his last official portrait, it’s a fitting send-off to a man who was many things — including a devoted cat dad. h/t Brilio , BoredPanda
