Barbara and Jenna Bush with India the Cat

India the Cat Miss Beazley and Barney Halloween 2007 (cropped)

India "Willie" Bush (July 13, 1990 – January 4, 2009) was a black Shorthair cat owned by former U.S. President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

and

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

Laura Bush Laura Lane Welch Bush (''née'' Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American teacher, librarian, memoirist and author who was First Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009. Bush previously served as First Lady of Texas from 1995 to 2000. ...

. She lived with the

Bush family The Bush family is an American dynastic family that is prominent in the fields of American politics, news, sports, entertainment, and business. They were the first family of the United States from 1989 to 1993 and again from 2001 to 2009, and w ...

for almost two decades.

Biography

The Bushes acquired India, an all-black, female

American Shorthair The American Shorthair (ASH) is a breed of domestic cat believed to be descended from European cats brought to North America by early settlers to protect valuable cargo from mice and rats. According to the Cat Fanciers' Association, in 2020, it ...

, in late 1991 or 1992 when their twin daughters Barbara and

Jenna Bush Jenna Welch Bush Hager (born November 25, 1981) is an American news personality, author, and journalist. She is the co-host of ''Today with Hoda & Jenna'', the fourth hour of NBC's morning news program ''Today.'' Hager and her fraternal twin sist ...

were nine years old. India remained with George and Laura Bush once their daughters left for college. The cat moved with the Bushes to the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

from the

Texas Governor's Mansion The Texas Governor's Mansion is a historic home for the governor of Texas in downtown Austin, Texas. Designed by prominent architect Abner Cook, it was built in 1854 and has been the home of every governor since 1856. Governor Greg Abbott and F ...

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

in early 2001 following Bush's inauguration as President. Despite living at the White House with the First Family, India had been largely overshadowed in the media by two of the Bushes' higher profile

Scottish terrier The Scottish Terrier ( gd, Abhag Albannach; also known as the Aberdeen Terrier), popularly called the Scottie, is a breed of dog. Initially one of the highland breeds of terrier that were grouped under the name of ''Skye Terrier'', it is one o ...

Barney Barney may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barney (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Barney (surname), a list of people Film and television * the title character of ''Barney & Friends'', an American live actio ...

and

Miss Beazley Miss Beazley (October 28, 2004 – May 17, 2014) was a Scottish Terrier which belonged to former U.S. President George W. Bush and former U.S. First Lady Laura Bush. Miss Beazley's father, a Scottish terrier named Clinton, was born on ...

. However, she's seen in the "Barneycam" videos produced by the White House staff around Christmas time, her first being ''Where in the White House is Miss Beazley?'', where she was referred to as "Willie". The dogs received significantly more media attention from the

White House press corps The White House press corps is the group of journalists, correspondents, and members of the media usually assigned to the White House in Washington, D.C., to cover the president of the United States, White House events, and news briefings. Its o ...

during the Bush presidency. The Bush family cat made an appearance in the March 2008 ''

Architectural Digest ''Architectural Digest'' is an American monthly magazine founded in 1920. Its principal subjects are interior design and landscaping, rather than pure external architecture. The magazine is published by Condé Nast, which also publishes internati ...

'', as "Willie", in the

East Sitting Hall The East Sitting Hall is located on the second floor of the White House, home of the president of the United States. First used as a reception room for guests of the president (the Lincoln Bedroom and the Queens' Bedroom were originally offices of ...

of the

. India died at the White House on January 4, 2009, at the age of 18. In a statement to the press regarding India's death, a spokesperson for First Lady observed that the family was "deeply saddened by their cat's death", and went on to say "India was a beloved member of the Bush family for almost two decades. She will be greatly missed."

Controversy in India

There was some controversy reported in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

as some people were upset with the cat's name. In July 2004, demonstrators in the southern Keralian city of

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

denounced the cat's name as an insult to the nation of India, and burned an

effigy An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...

of President Bush in protest. The Bushes did not change the cat's name in response to the demonstrations, as their cat had been named after the baseball player

Rubén Sierra Rubén Angel Sierra García (born October 6, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. Sierra goes by the nicknames ''El Caballo'' and ''El Indio''. Over 20 seasons, Sierra played for the Texas Rangers (1986–92, 2000–01, 2003), O ...

, who was nicknamed "

El Indio El Indio (Spanish for 'The Indian') may refer to: * ''El indio'', a 1939 Mexican drama film * ''El indio'' (1953 film), by Filipino director Eddie Romero * El Indio Gold Belt, a mineral-rich region across the Argentina–Chile border * ''El Indi ...

" during his time with the Texas Rangers when Bush owned the team. The name "India" had reportedly been given to the family cat by their daughter

Barbara Bush Barbara Pierce Bush (June 8, 1925 – April 17, 2018) was First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993, as the wife of President George H. W. Bush, and the founder of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. She previously was ...

References

External links

Official Biography at WhiteHouse.gov

{{DEFAULTSORT:India (Cat) 1990 animal births 2009 animal deaths George W. Bush administration controversies India–United States relations United States presidential cats

Biography

Controversy in India

See also

References

External links