Former Clinton cat 'Socks' dying

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- The Clinton family's former first cat, Socks, is dying from cancer, says U.S. presidential historian Barry Landau.

"His days are numbered," said Landau, a friend of Socks' caretaker Better Currie, who adopted Socks after serving as President Bill Clinton's private secretary.

Until this year, Socks, 19, regularly drew adoring crowds at animal charity events in and around Hollywood, Md., where Currie lives, The New York Daily News reported Tuesday.

Clinton's daughter Chelsea Clinton adopted Socks in 1991 as a homeless kitten in Little Rock, Ark., where he lived in the governor's mansion before moving to the White House.

"He was nothing but a gentleman. He was elegant and a perfect resident of the White House," said author Linda Kulman, a ghost writer on the book "Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids' Letters to First Pets."