The White House has a purr-fect addition.
“Meet Willow!” first lady Jill Biden announced on Twitter early Friday, adding heart emojis along with photos of the 2-year-old, green-eyed, gray and white tabby.
The first lady named Willow after her hometown of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.
The fawning feline caught Jill Biden’s eye after interrupting her remarks by jumping on stage during a 2020 campaign stop in Pennsylvania, spokesman Michael LaRosa said.
“Seeing their immediate bond, the owner of the farm knew that Willow belonged with Dr. Biden,” he added.
Jill Biden had said after her husband was elected in November 2020 that the couple would bring a kitty to the White House, but the feline arrival had been delayed.
Last month, the White House said the cat would come in January.
“Willow is settling into the White House with her favorite toys, treats, and plenty of room to smell and explore,” LaRosa said.
Willow joins Commander, a German shepherd puppy President Biden introduced in December as a birthday gift from his brother James Biden and his wife, Sara.
Before Commander, the Bidens had two other German shepherds, Champ and Major, at the White House.
But Major started misbehaving after arriving in January 2021, including a pair of biting incidents.
The White House had said the 3-year-old rescue dog was still adjusting to his new home, and he was sent back to the Bidens’ Delaware residence for training.
After consulting with dog trainers, animal behaviorists and veterinarians, the Bidens decided to send Major to live in a quieter environment with family friends, LaRosa has said.
Champ died in June at age 13.
The last cat to take up residence in the White House was India, who belonged to George W. Bush.
Willow is one of only a dozen feline inhabitants of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, according to the Washington Post.
Andrew Hager, historian for the online Presidential Pet Museum, attributes the disparity to the often different personalities of presidents and felines.
According to Hager, presidents are usually extroverted, a trait they share with pooches.
“I always think that some of it is the fact that cats are a little bit less trainable,” Hager told the newspaper. “So it’s harder to bring a cat to a news conference and have it sit there and look cute.”
President Abraham Lincoln was the first commander-in-chief to have cats — Tabby and Dixie — in the White House, the Washington Post reported.
Other executive felines include Misty Malarky Ying Yang, a Siamese owned by Jimmy Carter’s daughter Amy, and Bill Clinton’s black-and-white cat Socks, who occasionally was taken for walks outdoors on a leash.
With Post wires
