Mariska Hargitay Says She ‘Was Not a Cat Person’ Before New Kitten, Karma: ‘I Don’t Understand the Obsession’

• Mariska Hargitay revealed during the visit Today with Hoda and Jenna yes she “she wasn’t a cat” until she met her new kitten
• The Law and order: SVU the star introduced her kitten Karma on Instagram in November
• Karma is named after a song by Taylor Swift on her 2022 album Midnight

Don’t call Mariska Hargitay the cat lady!

In Thursday’s episode Today with Hoda and Jenna, the Law and order: SVU star was candid about how her latest pet, a kitten named Karma, has become part of her family.

“I don’t understand the obsession,” she told hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager, about people who love cats.

“I wasn’t a cat person, I’ll be honest. And I love lions, I see myself as a lion, and I saw this cat and I was crazy about it,” she continued about her unexpected relationship with Karma.

: Mariska Hargitay attends the Association for Stuttering for Youth (SAY) 2023 Benefit Gala at the Edison Ballroom on May 22, 2023.

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

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The actress told Kotb, 59, and Hager, 42, that her children begged for a cat and she was surprised that her husband, Peter Hermann, agreed to allow another animal in the family.

“He didn’t want another animal, because we have a dog. And he saw this cat. And I was sitting there thinking I was going to have [to convince my husband] — ’cause my kids were like, [begging] ‘Mum, mum please.’ And it was all: ‘Dad won’t agree to this.’ And then Peter said, ‘I love that cat,'” Hargitay, 59, explained.

The children – August Miklos Friedrich, 17, Amaya Josephine, 12, and Andrew Nicolas, 12 – didn’t have to do much convincing after all to make Karma part of their family.

Karma, of course, is named after a Taylor Swift song on her 2022 album Midnight. Hargitay confirmed this to Kotb and Hager by quoting the lyrics, “Karma is a cat. Me and Karma vibe that way.”

Taylor Swift performs on stage with actress Mariska Hargitay during The 1989 World Tour on June 13, 2015.

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The actress introduced her followers to her cat in an Instagram post in November.

In an exclusive to PEOPLE earlier this month, Hargitay admitted, “She was called Karma from minute one. That was her name.”

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Swift named her cat Olivia, who she brought home in 2014, after Hargitay ALL character, Olivia Benson.

“It was irrelevant,” she continued. “I felt so good, and my daughter was no different.”

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Source: HIS Education