According to legend, the cat is seen before presidential elections and tragedies in Washington, D.C.,[6] allegedly being spotted by White House security guards on the night before the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln.[7] The cat is described as fully black and the size of an average house cat;[8] but witnesses report that the cat swells to "the size of a giant tiger",[4] 10 feet by 10 feet,[9] when alerted.