21 February,2009 03:24 PM IST | | Agencies
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, since the Clintons left the White House in early 2001.
Currie confirmed Socks' death last evening and said she was "heartbroken". She did not give details, referring calls to the Clinton Foundation office.
The foundation released a statement from the Clintons: "Socks brought much happiness to Chelsea and us over the years, and enjoyment to kids and cat lovers everywhere. We're grateful for those memories, and we especially want to thank our good friend, Betty Currie, for taking such loving care of Socks for so many years."
Socks had reached his late teens u2014 an advanced age for a cat u2014 when reports surfaced in late 2008 that he had cancer and Currie had ruled out invasive efforts to prolong his life.
"It's not a happy prognosis," presidential historian Barry Landau, a friend of Currie's, said at the time.
Chelsea Clinton's pet first appeared in the news in November 1992 after then-Governor Bill Clinton won the presidency and the family was the still in the governor's mansion in Arkansas.
Socks became an early symbol of privacy-vs-media in the Clinton era when photographers got a little aggressive as he took a stroll outside. He made headlines several times since then.
