Saturday, February 21, 2009

R.I.P. Socks the Cat, Former First Feline

Socks the Cat takes a question from the press

Socks the Cat, the First Feline during the Clinton administration, has died. The former First Cat was put to sleep on Friday. Socks was 20 years old and was reported to be suffering from throat cancer.

Socks was rescued as a stray by Chelsea Clinton, Bill and Hillary's daughter, and lived with them in the Arkansas governor's mansion and then ascended to be the nation's First Cat when Bill Clinton was elected president.

Although Socks maintained the demeanor of a regular house cat, government insiders said that Socks had a keen knowledge of history and foreign policy, and was in fact the main architect of the Dayton peace accords that ended the war in the former Yugoslavia. Socks received many cards and letters from around the world, but for national security reasons was allowed to answer only with card containing a simple note and a paw print.

Socks wrote several books under various pseudonyms, including "Feral Cats in the Late Ottoman Empire" and "Mouse Catching Evolution and Practice in the Colonial American Agrarian Economy."

After the Clintons left the White House, Socks was cared for by Betty Currie, Bill Clinton's longtime secretary, and was said to be an advisor to Hillary Clinton in her run for the White House last year.

The final wishes of Socks the Cat are unknown at this time.

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