Human kitty: “My boyfriend is the purrfect owner”

Eccentric Linnéa Fransson loves exploring her feline side by being stroked and fed by her partner Richard

rawling across C the floor, Linnéa Fransson* purrs contently as her boyfriend Richard Stone* places a bowl of food in front of her. Human kitten Linnéa, 26, can spend hours a day on all fours, dressed as a cat and communicating only in “meows”. Richard, 28, is also her “owner” and enjoys stroking Linnéa, buying her toys and feeding her treats – but only if she’s been a “good kitty”.

Linnéa, who lives in Sweden, is part of the kittenplay community, a growing subculture of people who love to dress up and role-play as cats.

She says, “I’ve always been a cat-lover. Growing up, I had a cat who I adored and I was devastated when she died. I now have a black male called Nyx. I named him after the Greek goddess of the night, and my own cat name “Nyxiel” is inspired by that, too.”

Linnéa, who works as an undergraduate nurse, first came across kitten play four years ago. She explains, “I stumbled across some kitten-play images when I was scrolling through Instagram. I thought it was cute and sexy, so I looked it up on Google and messaged fans of the festish I’d found on social media. They explained all about how it worked and told me where I could buy kitten gear online. They also explained about ‘kitten space’ – where you find yourself naturally falling into the mindset of a cat. You think and act exactly like a cat, so you can forget about reality and completely relax.

DEAL-BREAKER

“Kitten space really appealed to me and my personality is just like a cat’s. I relate mostly to the Maine Coon breed – they’re very calm and gentle, but very spoiled. I see myself more as a kitten – playful and naughty.”

Soon afterwards, Linnéa bought her first set of ears and a tail for £76, which were black and white.

“I would wear them in the bedroom for my boyfriend at the time and we’d take some pictures, but it didn’t go further than that,” she reveals.

It wasn’t until she met her now-boyfriend Richard that her kitten-play lifestyle stepped up a gear. She says, “We met through a dating app and I introduced him to kitten play. I knew he was very openminded, so I wasn’t too worried. It’s a lifestyle I can’t live without and it would be a deal-breaker if he hadn’t been into it.”

Thankfully, Richard was curious to know more. Linnéa reveals, “A few dates into our relationship, he came over to my apartment, where I dressed up in my gear and we had kitten-play sex. At first, I swapped between talking and communicating in purrs and meows. I loved being playful and disobedient, biting and scratching a little.

“Richard really enjoyed the experience, but we still have plenty of ‘normal’ sex too, which is just as great.”

With Richard already a pet owner – he has a German

Shepherd called Nikki – he easily slipped into the role of becoming Linnéa’s owner, too.

“He has a dominant and caring personality, so it fell very naturally together,” she says.

KITTED OUT

Richard, also a nurse, moved into Linnéa’s flat last Christmas, and they now spend most of their weekend and days off engaging in kitten play.

“I’ll spend the whole day in my gear and I’m not allowed to communicate in human language,” explains Linnéa, “I crawl around the apartment and I eat my meals from a bowl on the floor. At first, Nikki the dog would look at me like I was weird. Now she’s used to it, same as my real cat, Nyx.

“Sometimes, I get disobedient and naughty, but Richard won’t give me a treat until I start behaving. For my birthday last year, Richard bought me a custom-made tail, collar, ears and paws – all in blue, my favourite colour.”

The sexual element of kitten play only plays a small part, and the couple mostly use it as foreplay. “It’s not sexual all the time,” says Linnéa. “Sometimes, I come home from work and just curl up on Richard’s lap and purr. And I can still be a cat without my gear.”

Linnéa never wears her kitten outfits in public, unless it’s for Halloween. She says, “I live in a very small town and I don’t think the locals would understand. But I do wear my collar a lot. My family don’t know about my kitten play, but my closest friends do and we talk openly about what kind of fetishes we’re into. I also have lots of friends in the kitten community online. Everyone’s so friendly and supportive.”

ESCAPISM

Linnéa hopes that by sharing her experience, she’ll help change misconceptions about people who like to role-play as animals. She reveals, “Some people think it’s unhealthy and assume you’re interested in bestiality, but it’s not connected at all. I suffer with a lot of anxiety from my past. I moved to Sweden from Thailand when I was two and got badly bullied at school for looking different. Being a kitten helps me take a break from reality. With my owner taking care of me, I can forget about the real world and just be a cat.”

Richard adds, “I’d already seen some documentaries about kitten play before I met Linnéa. I was intrigued to try it. My first reaction was how cute she looked, all fluffy and cuddly! What turns me on most though is how confident, comfortable and happy she is in her role as a kitten. As her owner, it feels good to be able to give her satisfaction.”

❛I CRAWL AROUND AND EAT MY MEALS FROM A BOWL ON THE FLOOR❜