Bidens confirm they will be adopting a cat: ‘She’s waiting in the wings’

First lady says couple’s adopted German shepherd Major received training with cats so he is prepared

After months of speculation, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden have confirmed that they will soon be adding a cat to their family of White House pets.

On Friday, the couple discussed the new addition during an interview with Today’s Craig Melvin, where they revealed that the feline will be joining their two German shepherds, Major and Champ.

Acknowledging the “rumours” that the first family was considering adopting a cat, Dr Biden said: “Oh yes. That is true. She’s waiting in the wings.”

As for whether the latest furry addition was the president’s idea, Mr Biden responded: “No,” before adding: “But it’s easy.”

The couple also denied that the cat would be an issue for three-year-old Major, who now has a history of biting incidents, with Dr Biden explaining that the rescue dog was trained specifically to be around cats.

“Well that was part of his training,” the first lady revealed. “They took him into a shelter with cats. And he did fine.”

While speaking with Melvin, the school teacher also denied that Major is a bad dog, despite his behaviour upon moving into the White House.

After confirming that Major is back in the White House after a biting incident in March, the first lady said: “He’s such a sweet, lovable dog. He really is,” before offering to introduce Melvin. “I’ll take you to meet him. He’s probably outside now.”

In March, Major got in minor trouble after it was reported that he nipped a National Park Services employee while he was roaming the White House front lawn.

At the time, the employee reportedly had to briefly leave their role to be checked out by the White House medical unit.

The incident came after the president had defended Major earlier the same month, tellingABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that the rescue pup is a “sweet dog” and that “85 per cent of the people [at the White House] love him”.

“He just - all he does is lick them and wag his tail,” he added.

On Twitter, news that the first family would soon be adopting a cat was met with approval, with one person tweeting: “I’d still appreciate a timetable but this is very important First Cat news.”