Socks, Clintons’ cat at White House, dies

BALTIMORE – Socks, the White House cat during the Clinton administration who waged war on Buddy the pup, has died. He was around 18.

Socks had lived with Bill Clinton’s secretary, Betty Currie, in Hollywood, Md., since the Clintons left the White House in early 2001.

Currie confirmed Socks’ death Friday evening and said she was “heartbroken.” She did not give details.

Socks had reached his late teens – an advanced age for a cat – when reports surfaced in late 2008 that he had cancer and Currie had ruled out invasive efforts to prolong his life.

Socks was what feline-lovers call a tuxedo cat – mostly black with white down the front and belly and on his feet, suggesting a fashionable dandy in a black satin evening jacket with a snowy shirt peeping out. He had markings that looked a bit like a mustache and goatee.

After the Clintons left in early 2001, Socks lived quietly with Currie, sometimes making appearances at programs held by pet welfare groups. Landau said Socks enjoyed sitting in the sun and that Currie doted on him, cooking him special chicken dinners.

Buddy the chocolate retriever, meanwhile, made the move with the Clintons to Chappaqua, N.Y., but he was struck and killed by a car the following year.