06 January,2009 08:36 AM IST | | Agencies
"The president, Mrs Bush, Barbara, and Jenna are deeply saddened by the passing of their cat India ("Willie")," press secretary Sally McDonough said in a statement.
"India was a beloved member of the Bush family for almost two decades. She will be greatly missed," she said.
The black American Shorthair, which lived with US President George W Bush and his wife at the White House, died on Sunday.
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India was named by Barbara Bush after a former Texas Ranger baseball player, Ruben Sierra, who was called "El Indio," but the cat was called "Willie" or "Kitty" by the family.