President-Elect Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden to Bring Cat to White House Alongside 2 Dogs

President-elect Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, will be bringing four more paws into the White House! The soon-to-be first family confirmed to CBS Sunday Morning that they will be adopting a cat when they make the move to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., adding to their furry family members, German shepherds Major and Champ.

The former second lady had mentioned possibly adding a feline friend to the family back in September after the former vice president is inaugurated in January. “Well, I’d love to get a cat. I love having animals around the house,” she told Fox 5 at the time. The last cat to live in the White House was George W. Bush’s pet, a black cat named India. Bill Clinton was also a famous cat owner, as his family brought with them cat Socks.

Biden’s inauguration will also mark the first time in four years that dogs will live in the White House, as current President Donald Trump and his family did not have any pets during their tenure in D.C. The Bidens’ dogs, Champ and Major, will therefore be the first dogs at the White House since the Obama family’s Portuguese water dogs, Bo and Sunny. Major will also make history as the first shelter dog to live at the White House after the Bidens adopted him from the Delaware Humane Association in November 2018, 10 years after welcoming Champ.

Marking the Thanksgiving holiday before taking their place in the White House, the Bidens penned a letter to the U.S. people ahead of the holiday, thanking them for altering their traditions to keep people safe amid the coronavirus pandemic. “Still, like you, our family will hold on to our most important tradition: taking a moment to count the many reasons we have to be grateful,” they wrote, as per CNN.

Thanking frontline workers, educators, healthcare workers, parents and scientists stepping up to another level amid the pandemic, the Bidens said they were grateful for the American people “who do not cower in the face of crisis and hardship but instead come together” to lift each other up. “Most of all, we are grateful for the faith and trust we have been given to continue serving this beautiful, brave, complicated nation as your future President and first lady,” they continued.