Socks the cat was once one of the most popular felines in America. Why you may ask? Because Socks the cat was the principal pet of the Clinton family during former President Bill Clinton’s early years of administration. You’re probably thinking “he’s just a house cat though, I’m sure other American Presidents had pet cats.” While this is true, there was something special about Socks the cat right from the beginning, and he was much more than your average White House cat…
The Clintons adopted Socks the cat in 1991 when he decided to leap right into the arms of their daughter after one of her piano lessons. They just knew there was something special about this cat, and they decided to take him home. He was their only family pet during Former President Clinton’s early administration.
We don’t really know why, but Socks-mania really took off in the early 1990s. Socks the cat was soon taken to schools and hospitals to visit with the students and the residents. He was also featured as the Spokescat for the children’s version of the White House website.
Socks the cat was so popular that many people would send lettermail to him at the White House. He received so many letters that Hillary Clinton decided to publish some of the letters in a book called Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids’ Letters To The First Pets.
Socks was also featured on stamps, and on many television shows and interviews – for example, the Muppets made a puppet version of Socks for one of their episodes. Socks the cat was even the star of his very own video game for Super NES and Sega Genesis called Socks The Cat Rocks The Hill (unfortunately this game was never fully launched or released to video game consoles).
Socks lived at the White House during Bill Clinton’s entire administration, however, he lost his position as the Clinton family’s principal pet in 1997 shortly after they adopted a dog named Buddy. Unfortunately, Socks just couldn’t stand Buddy, and they just never got along as friends. When the Clinton family left the White House in 2001, they took their dog Buddy with them, but they decided to leave Socks with a trusted friend and colleague, Betty Currie.
Socks lived a long a fruitful life, and he passed away in 2009 at the age of 19. Of all of the Presidential pets Socks the cats was one of the most memorable, and we’re sure that his legacy will live on for a long time, just like his Presidential counterparts.
Check out some great pictures of Socks roaming around in the White House and a lot more information about his life HERE (there’s also a bit of information about other Presidential cats on the website too).
Congratulations to one of our past Black Cat Contest winners - Bandit! Click 
