Tom Brady: ex-NFL star and kids add two kittens to the family - what did he say on Instagram?

Former NFL star Tom Brady has welcomed two new fur babies into his house, apparently after his daughter asked for them.

Brady, who is a seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback, appears to be enjoying his retirement by taking on a new role for himself as he’s now a cat dad. The 45-year-old, who announced he was officially retiring earlier this month after a career spanning more than two decades, proudly showed off his new additions - two Siamese kittens - on a video posted to his Instagram stories on his official social media page on Wednesday 15 February.

The video, which was shared with his 13.6 million followers, shows the two kittens play- fighting together as they settle into their new home. The Asian kitties, which both have light-coloured fur and dark features, camouflaged well into the room they were in which had a white marble floor and white fluffy rug.

The video had the caption “Vivi wins again” and a heart emoji, suggesting that it was Brady’s  and ex-wife model Gisele Bündchen’s 10-year-old daughter Vivian Lake Brady, who persuaded him to bring the kittens into his home. He also revealed that the cats had previously been cared for by an animal shelter in Tampa Bay, United States.

Tagging The Humane Society of Tampa Bay, a nonprofit organisation which provides shelter for homeless and at-risk animals, in his post Brady wrote “@humanesocietytampa they are in good loving hands now”. Brady and his daughter volunteered at the shelter throughout his final NFL season.

“The thing his little girl loves the most”

Brady also thanked his former Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammate Logan Ryan and his wife Ashley Bragg Ryan for their part in the adoption in his post. He said: “Thanks to @loganryan and @coolmombreezy this is what my mornings are like now,” along with two laughing faces and two heart emojis.

Ashley Ryan also posted a photo of her, her husband, Tom Brady, and his children all volunteering at the Tampa Bay Humane Society on her Instagram page earlier this month. Brady has two other children; 15-year-old John Edward Thomas Moynahan who he shares with actress Bridget Moynahan, and 13-year-old Benjamin Rein Brady who he also shares with Bündchen.

In the caption she said she was writing “my Tom Brady story” and went on to describe the time they spent volunteering together. “The dad who volunteered at the animal shelter with his kids throughout an entire football season. The one where he bonded with his kids over naming puppies and bottle feeding kittens. The one where he silently showed up every other week to make a difference for his family and his community,” she said. She added that the picture was taken in August, and that Brady and his visited the shelter every other week to volunteer.

Explaining Brady’s motivation behind visiting the shelter in the same post, she wrote: “It wasn’t about publicity, fundraising or recognition. It was about being a human being. It was about Tom taking the very thing his little girl loves the most and turning it into an opportunity to spend time together. It was about Tom reaching out to his friend, asking how to get involved, helping his community by giving something far more meaningful than money.. his time.”

It seems Vivian fell in love with the two Siamese cats during one of her visits and wanted to take them home.