White House press secretary Jen Psaki is already predicting President Joe Biden's pet cat will be a viral sensation even before its arrival.
"I don't have any update on the cat," Psaki told reporters during a daily briefing via the Hill. "We know that the cat will break the internet, but I don't have any update on its status."
President Biden said he and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden planned to bring their two German shepherds, Major and Champ, as well as a cat to the White House during an exclusive interview with CBS Sunday in November.
The Bidens would be the first first family to have a feline pet in the White House since former President George W. Bush's administration in the early 2000s, according to the New York Times.
"I'm also wondering about the cat, because the cat is going to dominate the internet whenever the cat is announced and whenever the cat is found," Psaki said during a virtual question-and-answer session with constituents on her Twitter account in January.
Psaki's comment comes shortly after the Bidens' dogs were sent back to the family's home in Wilmington, Delaware after an incident involving aggressive behavior at the White House last week.
CNN reports Major, the first rescue dog to live in the White House, had what was described as a "biting incident" with White House security last week, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed.
Initial reports indicated that Major and Champ, a 13-year-old dog that has slowed down physically due to his advanced age, were both sent back and will remain at the Biden family's home in Wilmington.
However, Michael LaRosa, the first lady's spokesman, told USA TODAY in an email that the two dogs will return to the White House after Dr. Biden returns from traveling.
"With the first lady traveling for three days, Champ and Major went to Delaware to stay with family friends," LaRosa wrote.
Major, 3, has been known to display agitated behavior at times, which includes jumping, barking and "charging" at staff and security members, sources with knowledge of the situation told CNN.
A source familiar with the pets told CNN the two dogs prefer to remain together, which President Biden has acknowledged publicly, noting that part of the reason for adopting Major was to give Champ a companion and keep the older dog active.
"We got Major, he's a rescue dog. We asked the vet, 'What can we do to keep Champ going?' and he said, 'Get him a young dog.' They're buddies," President Biden told the media on Valentine's Day while walking the two German Shepherds unleashed on the North Lawn via CNN.
Champ and Major moved into the White House from Delaware less than a week after President Biden's inauguration on January 20.
Photo: Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz/Flickr