The 72-year-old Rolling Stones guitarist has revealed, as a child, he developed a real love of animals, but his late mother Doris was not a fan of pets in their home.
Keith had a pet mouse and a cat and to this day he is convinced his mum sent his beloved pussy to a watery grave.
Speaking to the Radio Times magazine, the 'Gimme Shelter' rocker said: ''It must have been p***ing her off more than I realised. She just said, 'It's gone away.' I did a painting of the cat and wrote MURDERER under it and put it on her door. I called it Gladys. It was a traumatic time.''
Despite the trauma, Keith is still a big animal lover and continues to keep dogs but two of his canine pals have died.
The musician - who now has two mutts - said: ''At the moment I only have two, because two died. They reached the end of their string; and they looked at me and said, I'm leaving now.' I did love them.
''You know, you cuddle up if you find yourself alone or whatever.''
The Rolling Stone guitarist believes that pets are a natural addition to a home and that they give him a healthy sense of space and time.
He explained: ''I've always thought animals are a natural part of a house. But you also have to know that ... I mean, you know me, I'm going to hang on forever! But you need to know, 'I'm going to see this pup die.' It gives you a sense of space and time.''
Keith and his mother Doris were very close throughout his life and he can remember vividly the moment she died and his struggle to come up with something poignant to say to her.
Recalling her passing: ''She said, 'Why me Keith?' And I said, 'You're 93, Mum.' That was the best line I could come up with. And she said, 'This morphine's not bad, you know. And those were her last words to me.''
Keith is the star of a new BBC Two documentary, 'Keith Richards: The Origin Of The Species', which will be aired on 9pm on Saturday (23.07.16) about his life growing up in post-World War II Kent with his mother and father Herbert.
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