Theodore Roosevelt. The 26th president had two six-toed cats named Slippers and Tom Quartz (the latter was named after a character in a Mark Twain book). Slippers was known for sleeping sprawled out in the middle of hallways, causing guests of a state banquet to walk around her on one occasion.
President Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)
Lincoln was quite the cat person, even rescuing three motherless kittens while visiting General Grant during the Civil War. He regularly played with kitties to relieve stress during his presidency—a favorite de-stressing technique of cat lovers, even today.
While George W. Bush was president, he had three dogs and a cat at the White House. Among the canines was Spot Fetcher, an English Springer Spaniel and the offspring of George H. W. Bush's dog, Millie.
Abraham Lincoln is considered to be the first President to have cats as family pets in the White House. In the modern era, the Fords and Carters had cats too. The Clintons' cat Socks was a rescue, having come from Chelsea's piano teacher, who found two stray kittens under her home.
But there have also been a few felines that have called 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. home, though not in over 10 years. Not been since George W. Bush, with his pet India, has there been a cat in the White House, but Bush Jr.
Billy, or William Johnson Hippopotamus, (Before 1927 – October 11, 1955) was a pygmy hippopotamus given to U.S. President Calvin Coolidge. Captured in Liberia, he was given to Coolidge by Harvey Samuel Firestone in 1927.
President Dwight Eisenhower greets Dzimbo, a 440-pound baby elephant, 1959. President Dwight Eisenhower greets Dzimbo, a 440-pound baby elephant, a gift from the French territories in west-central Africa in 1959. Dzimbo made his permanent home at the National Zoo.
Top prize for the oddest (and perhaps most dangerous) First Pet went to John Quincy Adams, who is said to have kept an alligator in the East Room. So much for the calming embrace of animal affection after a tough presidential day.
Cornell Feline Health Center
President Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865) was known as an avid cat-lover. He had two cats while he was in the White House; Tabby and Dixie, and because of his affection for felines, he would also bring in strays.
India "Willie" Bush (July 13, 1990 – January 4, 2009) was a black Shorthair cat owned by former U.S. President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. She lived with the Bush family for almost two decades.
The family of John F. Kennedy brought pet hamsters Debbie and Billie; a gray cat, Tom Kitten; and a canary, Robin, to the White House.
Jack originally was on the Lincoln's dinner menu, but Tad became fond of the bird and pleaded with his father to spare Jack's life. President Lincoln relented, and Jack became part of the Presidential household.
Johnson, Bishop Doane, Fighting Bob Evans, and Father O'Grady; Maude the pig; Josiah the badger; Eli Yale the blue macaw; Baron Spreckle the hen; a one-legged rooster; a hyena; a barn owl; Peter the rabbit; and Algonquin the pony. President Roosevelt loved the pets as much as his children did.
And otherwise ruthless conquerors like Alexander the Great, Julius Ceasar, Napoleon, and Hitler are said to have been scared to death of cats.
Dogs are the most popular presidential pets.
The Obamas had two Portuguese water dogs, Bo and Sunny. The Bidens adopted a new puppy, Commander. Their dog Champ died in June, and Major was rehomed.
A Zamorano-Leonés donkey, the same breed as Royal Gift. Royal Gift was the name George Washington chose for the Spanish jack that King Charles III of Spain gave to him in November 1784. The prized animal arrived at Mount Vernon one year later.
President Theodore Roosevelt had the most pets owned as a president at 48. He owned a few strange pets, including a black bear, a badger, a hyena, and even a three-legged rooster. That list of "pets" is just the tip of the iceberg!
Over the course the Clinton administration, Socks, a black-and-white cat, served as First Pet of the United States, a title she reluctantly shared during the later years of Bill's presidency with Buddy, a chocolate Labrador Retriever. The two animals notoriously did not get along.
Thomas Jefferson received a pair of grizzly bears as a gift from Captain Zebulon Pike in 1807. The bears arrived at about the same time as Pike's letter (October 1807) explaining that he had acquired the male and female cubs in the southern region of the great Continental Divide.
Presidential Pets (1860-1921) President William Howard Taft's cow, Pauline, poses in front of the Navy Building, which is known today as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Pauline was the last cow to live at the White House and provided milk for President Taft (1909-13).
Presidential Pets (1860-1921) President Benjamin Harrison (1889-93) gave his grandchildren a pet goat named His Whiskers. One day, while pulling the president's grandchildren around in a cart, His Whiskers took off through the White House gates.
president, Benjamin Harrison served our nation from 1889 to 1893. It was widely known that President Harrison had a fondness for animals, including the marsupial of choice…the opossum. While in office, President Harrison was known for having two pet opossums in the White House.
Billie and Debbie were Syrian hamsters who were United States presidential pets in the care of Caroline Kennedy during the presidency of her father John F. Kennedy. They joined the First Family at the White House in January 1961.