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September 8, 2010
As promised last week, this week we’re going to focus on felines of the First Families, which is a fancy way of saying, let’s talk cats! The White House has been home to some magnificent kitties, including one that answered his own mail! Read on to learn more.
FELINES OF THE FIRST FAMILIES
Historians and scientists have discovered that cats began living with people more than 12,000 years ago. In fact, cats started living with people in western Asia right around the time people started learning how to farm. The first cats in America came over with various settlers in the 1600’s, and traveled with their human families all over the country as people moved west (starting kitty families of their own as they went).
Read more about the
history of the cat
In 2007, more than 32 million families provided homes for more than 82 million cats, making them the most popular pet in the country. (Dogs are a close second, at 72 million.) It’s no wonder then that over the years, cats have been companions to the highest leaders in the land, the Presidents of the United States.
These days, cats are
members of the family
Abraham Lincoln, Calvin Coolidge and (of course) Teddy Roosevelt all had cats. The very first Siamese cat in the United States was given to Rutherford B. Hayes as a present from the U.S. Consul in Bangkok, a man named David Stickles. The cat’s name was Siam, and he was not only the first Siamese to live in the U.S., he was the first one to live anywhere outside of Asia.
Read Fun Facts
About Siamese Cats
Siam was not, however, the last Siamese cat to live in the White House. Susan Ford, the daughter of President Gerald Ford, had a Siamese cat named Shan. Amy Carter, the daughter of President Jimmy Carter, had a Siamese named Misty Malarky Yin Yang.
A woman named Louise Sweeney pretended to interview Misty Malarky Yin Yang for a magazine called The Christian Science Monitor. In the article, Misty Malarky (who said you could call her “Yang”) claimed that she was doing a perfectly good job controlling the mouse population at the White House, and that the press was trying to muddy her good name by claiming otherwise. Misty Malarky Yin Yang also appeared in a Purina ad at the age of 10, but then retired from public life.
Amy Carter and
Misty Malarky Yin Yang
The next cat to live at the White House belonged to Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of President Bill Clinton. His name was Socks. He was a tuxedo cat that the family adopted when he was only a kitten. Stately and Remix have a special place in their hearts for Socks, because Socks hosted the White House website for kids.
Socks the Cat
Holds a Press Conference
Socks had proven himself to be a good host even before that though. When the Clintons lived in the Governor’s mansion of Arkansas, Socks used to share his food with a stray Tabby that the family nicknamed Slippers. Once he was at the White House, Socks took the time to answer his fan mail, of which he received quite a lot. Some people who didn’t like the president very much complained that he was using White House supplies to write letters from a cat. However, the first lady, Hillary Clinton, published a book of letters kids had written to the White House pets, and the public seemed to like it a lot. Socks appeared in other books, on television shows, and even on postage stamps in Africa. Things took a terrible turn, however, when the Clintons decided to adopt a big brown Labrador named Buddy. According to Hillary Clinton, Socks “despised Buddy from first sight, instantly and forever.” The two fought like, well, like cats and dogs. Getting the two animals to get along proved so impossible that when the Clintons left the White House, Socks went to live with President Clinton’s secretary. He lived to a very old age, and was hopefully very happy in his new home.
The last cat to live in the White House to date belonged to George W. Bush. Her name was India “Willie” Bush, after one of the President’s favorite baseball players, Texas Ranger Ruben Sierra, whose nickname was “El Indio.” India liked to hide all over the White House, but she could be coaxed out with her favorite snack, tuna flavored kitty treats.
It just goes to show, people will do anything for their pets, and presidents are no exception. Next week we’ll tell you all the good tales of dog tails that have kept tongues wagging in Washington. We can’t wait! See you then.
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