Celebrities who love cats!

There’s no denying that when your favourite celebrity is a fan of animals, it makes them seem down-to-earth and like they’re probably actually a nice person IRL. Plus, famous people snuggling cats is extremely wholesome, so we’ve rounded up a few of our faves…enjoy!

RICKY GERVAIS

He might be best known for his work on celebrated TV shows like The Office, Extras and now AfterLife (as well as a host of stand-up specials), but Ricky Gervais has carved out a secondary role as animal activist born out of his love of animals. His Burmese, Siamese, Rex-mix cat, Ollie, features heavily on his social media and even has her own twitter account. Gervais explained to Ellen Degeneres that he “loves cats” and can even discern what Ollie’s miaows mean! “She’s got four or five,” Gervais said, revealing three of the most common. “There’s the ‘where have you been?’, the ‘Tuna, I want tuna, now!’, the ‘Brush me’...”.

TAYLOR SWIFT

No list of celebrities who love cats would be complete without pop Queen, Taylor Swift. And the singer has now added a third cat to her brood -- a new kitten called Benjamin Button who she met on set of her video for new single, ME!. Her two older cats are called Meredith Grey, named after a Grey’s Anatomy character, and Olivia Benson, named after a character from Law and Order: SUV. Taylor has been spotted leaving her New York apartment, cat in tow, and regularly posts pictures of her beloved furry friends on Instagram.

Taylor’s previously shrugged off any suggestions she might be a crazy cat lady; "I asked around: I was like, 'Does two cats count as cats?'" she told Rolling Stone a few years ago. "But then I thought, what imaginary guy's perspective am I thinking about this from? Someone is going to think I'm undateable for a lot of reasons before they think I'm undateable because I have two cats."

NORMAN REEDUS

The scruffy star of The Walking Dead has a surprisingly soft side, as proven by his devotion to his small black cat, Eye In The Dark, who makes semi-regular appearances on Reedus’ Instagram account. Eye In The Dark was adopted from a New York shelter when Reedus’ son with Helena Christensen, Mingus, was five-years-old. Mingus is now 19, and Eye In The Dark is by Reedus’ own admission to Us Weekly, his “best friend”.

“He comes everywhere with me,” Reedus has previously told the publication. “He doesn’t like to be left alone. He racks up a major room service bill.”

The kitty earned it’s unusual name thanks to the black floors Reedus had when he was adopted -- meaning that only Eye In The Dark’s, you guessed it, eyes could be seen in the dark!

ROBERT DOWNEY JNR.

The beloved Avengers star wasn’t always a cat person, but after he adopted two kittens in 2010 that had been discovered in a bush in LA, his attitude changed! Along with his wife, Susan, Downey Jr named the cats, Montgomery and Dartanian, and he quickly became obsessed with them.

“I couldn't imagine living without them,” he has said. “I've become one of those people where the Missus is like, 'They don't want to see iPhone pictures of our kittens right now. Stop it.'"

In a video with Architectural Digest, Downey Jr revealed the cats rule the roost at home, pointing out printed signs all over the house reading “DO NOT LET THE CATS OUT” because, he explained, “nothing matters except them not getting out.”

Compiled by Jenny Haward