I've been in the same situation having knowledge that I shouldn't have and have refrained from asking questions where I know the answer for 2 reasons.. the biggest reason is that if my T lied about something, I would be devastated and would not know how to handle it. The other reason being that if I'm going to ask a question, I'd rather ask something that I don't know so that I get even more info.

I completely understand wanting to bond over something! And here is a thought.... let's say you have a bad day...you could tell her about it and say, "thankfully, I was able to cuddle with my cat and that put me in a better mood. " Then talk about how important the cat is to you and then show her a picture of your cat and see her reaction. Then in the moment you could say," wow, seems like you like cats as much as I do, do you have a cat yourself?

I dunno, just an idea...good luck!!