Published Jan 10, 2025
William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum / Clintonlibrary.gov
Americans are mourning the recent death of President Jimmy Carter, who was loved especially for his kindness and the extensive humanitarian work he did after his 1977 to 1981 presidential term.
A cute fact about President Carter was that he had a Siamese cat with a quirky name: Misty Malarky Ying Yang. What a mouthful! This Siamese was one of many cats who have occupied the White House with presidents and first ladies throughout American history.
Here is a roundup of cats who lived with 11 presidents in the White House.
1. Misty Malarky Ying Yang Carter
The White House Historical Association / Whitehousehistory.org
The Siamese cat’s name was so unique that Gabor Szabo played an original instrumental composition called Misty Malarky Ying Yang on his Faces album. And there’s something else surprising about the cat’s name: Misty is a female name, but MMYY was actually a male!
Misty belonged to Amy, the president’s daughter, and she and her cat were very close. The Siamese often sat in on Amy’s violin-playing sessions and meowed to contribute feline music, and the cat reportedly would sometimes sleep in Amy’s dollhouse.
2. Willow Biden
@willowfirstcat / Instagram.com
In January of 2022 – a year after he took office – President Joe Biden and First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, introduced the new “First Cat” to the nation. Willow, a female gray tabby, is named after Jill Biden’s hometown of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. Dr. Biden met the cat at a farm on the campaign trail. The cat jumped on stage while she was speaking, and it seemed meant to be.
Willow, who particularly enjoys lounging in the solarium at the White House, has become a celebrity in her own right. Willow even has her own Instagram page called “willowfirstcat.” Jill Biden also wrote a picture book called Willow the White House Cat.
3. India Bush
George W. Bush Presidential Library / Georgewbushlibrary.gov
The name of President George W. Bush’s cat, India, ticked off some people in India, who considered the cat’s name an insult to their country. Nonetheless, India had been part of the Bush family since 1991, which was a decade before the younger Bush took office (2001-2009.) Nicknamed “Willie,” India was quite an introverted cat, and content to let her White House canine siblings – Barney and Miss Beazley – get most of the spotlight. India especially loved the White House library.
4. Socks Clinton
William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum / Clintonlibrary.gov
First Cat Socks lived in the White House with his canine brother, Buddy, during the presidency of Bill Clinton (1993-2001). Bill and Hillary Clinton adopted Socks as a stray when they lived in Arkansas.
The black and white tuxedo had a cute, stubby mustache, and he was very photogenic. Socks appeared in many photos in presidential settings, like on the chair at the president’s desk in the Oval Office, at the podium in the White House press room, and on the White House lawn among Easter eggs.
In memory of this royal cat – who was euthanized in 2009 due to cancer – you can buy a socks ornament from The White House Historical Association here, and a plush Socks toy here.
5. Shan Shein Ford
Gerald R. Ford Library / Ford.utexas.edu
Before Gerald Ford became president, he and his wife, Betty, gave their teenage daughter, Susan, a miniature Siamese cat in 1973. The cat, Shan – whose full name was Shan Shein, named after a Chinese town the Fords had visited – moved into the White House with her family when Ford became president in 1974.
Shan the Siamese had cattitude! She had a disdain for Ford’s gregarious golden retriever, Liberty, and spent her days trying to avoid the dog. Shan seemed to prefer the company of women but loved the president; she often rubbed against President Ford’s legs and enjoyed sitting in his lap. Shan would hide under the bed in the Lincoln bedroom when Susan was at school.
Shan was very displeased when her family went on a skiing trip to Colorado, and reportedly bit the president and first lady on the leg when they returned. (I can just hear the cat saying: I will not be ignored, humans!)
6. Slippers and Tom Quartz (Theodore Roosevelt)
Theodore Roosevelt Center / Facebook.com
Known for being a quirky, larger-than-life character, is it any wonder that President Theodore Roosevelt – who was in office from 1901 to 1909 – had a practical zoo of animals? Slippers and Tom Quartz, the Roosevelt family’s two cats, shared their human family with numerous horses and dogs, guinea pigs, two kangaroo rats, a flying squirrel, and even a snake named Emily Spinach. Wow!
As for the two cats, who must have been unusually tolerant felines? They were colorful characters, too. Slippers, a bluish-gray tabby, had six toes (called a polydactyl), and he had a regal attitude. During a formal White House dinner, Slippers took a nap right in the hallway where dignitaries were walking to the dining room. The dinner guests had to just step around the feline.
Named for a fictional cat in a Mark Twain story, Tom Quartz was feisty and big on cattitude! He bullied Jack, Roosevelt’s terrier, and terrorized the poor dog.
“Tom Quartz is certainly the cunningest kitten I have ever seen,” President Roosevelt wrote in a 1903 letter to his son, Kermit. “He is always playing pranks on Jack, and I get very nervous lest Jack should grow too irritated.”
Appropriately, Tom Quartz had a special fondness for politicians, and he grew attached to the House speaker and a senator.
7. Valeriano Wyler and Enrique DeLome (William McKinley)
Presidential Pet Museum / Presidentialpetmuseum.com
As a journalist, I chuckled when I saw that President McKinley had a parrot he named Washington Post. And, I was intrigued to read that First Lady Ida McKinley had an Angora cat (name unknown) who gave birth to four kittens, two of which the McKinleys kept. These kittens, the runts of the litter, were named after foreign political leaders: Valeriano Wyler, the governor of Cuba, and Spanish Ambassador Enrique DeLome.
Disclaimer: There is some dispute about whether the McKinleys actually owned these kittens, or if they were a myth. Who knows? History is full of tall tales that become harder to prove or disprove as more time goes by.
8. Mittens and Puffins (Woodrow Wilson)
@carlthesphynx / Instagram.com
President Woodrow Wilson, amid the stress of leading the nation during World War I, had two cats to provide feline comfort: Mittens and Puffins. These two cats joined a curious collection of White House pets during Wilson’s presidency, including a ram named Old Ike.
Little is known about Mittens and Puffins, but rumor has it that the mischievous cats liked jumping on the dining room table at the White House – leading to frequent water spritzing.
9. Siam Hayes
Siam stuffed animals in the Museum Store / Facebook.com
President Rutherford B. Hayes, in office from 1877 to 1881, not only had a Siamese cat, but reportedly the first Siamese in the United States! David B. Sickels, the American consul in Bangkok, gave a female Siamese cat to the president and his wife, Lucy, as a gift in 1879. The cat had a long journey to America, and was first shipped to Hong Kong.
The first lady initially named the cat Miss Pussy, but Lucy Hayes changed the name to Siam when she observed the gorgeous blue-eyed cat’s regal air. Sadly, Siam’s life was shortened when she became ill just a few months after arriving at the White House.
10. Tiger and Blacky (Calvin Coolidge)
Library of Congress / Loc.gov
During the Roaring 20s, President Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929) surely had roaring fun at the White House with his zoo of animals, both common and exotic. Accompanying numerous dogs, a few canaries, and even wild animals like raccoons were two felines: Tiger and Blacky. Tiger, often called “Tige,” was a tabby who liked to explore outside and reportedly went missing. Blacky liked to stay at home, and he had a fondness for elevators. Blacky would wait for the elevator doors to open, then run in and nap on the cushioned bench.
11. Tom Kitten Kennedy
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum / Jfklibrary.org
President John F. Kennedy’s vast lineup of animals – including several dogs, horses, hamsters, birds, and a rabbit – including just one cat named Tom Kitten, who belonged to Kennedy’s daughter, Caroline. But, Tom Kitten – a gray feline with yellow eyes who was introduced to the media in January 1961 – didn’t live long at the White House, due to JFK’s allergies. When Kennedy (1961-1963) was around the cat, he would sneeze and his eyes would water. So, Tom Kitten went to live with Mary Gallagher, a White House staff member. Caroline would visit frequently. When JFK was traveling, Tom Kitten would come to the White House to visit.
