Taylor Swift Dropped A New Instagram Clue About Her Possible New Music — Featuring Her Cats

With T(S)-minus 9 full days until April 26, Taylor Swift posted another Instagram hint to pique her fans' ever-growing curiosity. This time, her beloved cats, Olivia and Meredith, were the stars of the show, in an image that included a filter with some sort of glitter in the upper left corner. What was the same as all her previous teases was the photo's simple caption: "4.26" — the day that can't come soon enough for Swifties everywhere.

Just days ago, the singer, of course, got fans all in a frenzy when mysterious countdown clocks appeared on Instagram, on her official website, and on billboards around the world precisely at midnight on April 13. Swift also transformed her social media aesthetics, swapping out her reputation-era's somewhat darker, snake-filled imagery with that of pastel colors, clouds, palm trees, rainbows, and hearts. Swift's bios, as well as all of her subsequent social media captions, have also included the impending date, "4.26."

While it's fairly obvious — though as yet to be explicitly confirmed — that April 26 will undoubtedly bring about the gift of a new Swift single and a new album to follow soon afterward, true to form, the 10-time Grammy winner is keeping fans guessing. Beginning on April 13, Swift began rolling out clues, but what they mean, of course, is still anyone's guess. Everyone can pretty much agree, however, that whatever Swift has in store, it will blow her Swifties' minds.

After first uploading a mysterious Instagram photo of a diamond-encrusted heart on April 13, Swift followed up in subsequent days with even more technicolor, pastel-hued imagery, including a pair of colorfully manicured hands, what appears to be a close-up shot of pink tulle fabric, the aforementioned shot of Olivia and Meredith, of course, and, most recently, another heart, this one, more aqua in color, though still containing gem stones and pearls.

Could these be snapshots from an album cover or perhaps a music video? Maybe. Will anyone have an answer before April 26? Probably not. So, until then, fans can only theorize what kind of underlying message Swift is trying to convey. Chances are, however, this type of imagery will be pervasive throughout her next era of music.

And a new era of music is almost certainly on the horizon. While accepting the iHeartRadio Music Award for tour of the year on March 14, Swift told the audience: “I love your passion, I love your attention to detail, I love how much you care. I love seeing all the things you’re posting online. I just wanted to let you know that when there is new music, you will be the first to know.”

Swift has given fans plenty to decode — and they've certainly been busy concocting TS7 theories since early this year. After Swift posted a tree-filled image with stars plastered across the sky (and included only palm trees in the caption) back in February, her followers immediately knew none of it could have been coincidence. Twitter users @annaandmitch even predicted — months ago — that a new single could be coming on April 26 AKA Arbor Day (hence all the trees), by counting the number of stars included in the picture (i.e. 61 stars = 61 days until the single drop date. And what date was 61 days from when the pic was posted? Yep, April 26.)

Fans will surely be on the edge of their seats to see what clues Swift will drop next.