President Joe Biden and his wife Jill recently adopted a cat named Willow to live with them at the White House. Willow is carrying on a long tradition of presidential cats. With Presidents Day coming up next week, you'll want to have some cat trivia ready for your Presidents Day celebrations.
Abraham Lincoln was an avid cat lover, and became the first president to officially keep them as pets, although cats were employed as casual mousers at the White House even before then. When a reporter asked the First Lady, Mary Todd Lincoln, if the president had any hobbies, she replied, "Cats." Rutherford B. Hayes’ wife, Lucy, was the owner of the first Siamese cat in America. Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter also had Siamese cats in the White House, which belonged to both president's daughters. Socks Clinton (pictured) was a media sensation. Socks had the run of the Oval Office during Bill Clinton's administration, and answered letters from children. He was also the subject of several books and a video game. Read the stories of these and other cats who called the White House home at Smithsonian.