U.S. PRESIDENTS AND THEIR CATS! by Yvonne Saxon

 

 Of all the pets that have come with Presidents to the White House, I believe the cats have stolen the show! Martin Van Buren's tigers really did until Congress made him give them to a zoo, and Coolidge's lion cubs for a time, but the real stars were the domestic cats!

The first president to have a cat in the White House was Abraham Lincoln. Because the Lincolns left their dog in Springfield, Illinois when they moved to Washington, Secretary of State William Seward gave them two cats. Tabby and Dixie took up residence in August of 1861. Mary Todd Lincoln, when asked by a reporter about Lincoln's hobbies, commented with one word: cats. Lincoln was said to have quipped once that Dixie was smarter than all the members of his cabinet!

Rutherford B. Hayes and First Lady Lucy Hayes were given a Siamese cat in 1878 by the American Consul in Bangkok. Siam, according to records, was the first Siamese cat in the United States. Unfortunately she fell ill within nine months, and even though the President's personal physician was called in, his treatment of fish, oysters, cream, duck, and chicken didn't help, and she didn't recover.

At a diplomatic core dinner in 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt escorted the wife of the Hungarian ambassador on tiptoe around his cat Slippers, sleeping in the middle of the hallway, so as not to wake it.

Of Calvin Coolidge's four cats, Tiger, also known as Tige, wandered away from the White House occasionally, but in March of 1924 his disappearance was reported in the press! Radio stations in Washington enlisted the public's help in finding him. Tige was returned safe and sound after being found in a Navy building half a mile away.  

Tom Kitten, Caroline Kennedy's cat, was only in the White House for a short time. Because the cat triggered President John F. Kennedy's allergies, he had to be moved to a different house.

The second Siamese cat to inhabit the White House, Shan, came with Susan Ford, the daughter of President Gerald Ford. When Susan was at school Shan spent her time with First Lady Betty Ford or hiding under the bed in the Lincoln bedroom.

President Jimmy Carter's daughter also brought her cat to live with her at the White House. Misty Malarky Ying Yang, a Siamese, made headlines when he came down the Grand Staircase during a State Dinner in 1977, passing President Carter and Mexican President Jose Lopez Portillo.

Chelsea Clinton's cat Socks was "a recurring favorite of press photographers who once baited Socks with catnip to lure him outside of the White House," even holding him up for photos. After that, President Bill Clinton sent a stern message to the press not to touch the tuxedo cat again!

President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush's cat India, a black short-hair cat, kept a low profile in the White House behind the Bush's two Scottish terriers. However, India would appear in videos during the holiday season and in 2007 came out on the White House lawn at Halloween dressed as a wizard,

At a campaign stop in 2020, a tabby cat jumped up on the stage where Dr. Jill Biden was giving a speech. The First Lady and President Biden adopted Willow, named after Willow Grove, Pennslyvania, Dr. Biden's hometown.