Former First Cat Socks has gone to the great Catnip Field in the Sky. He was 19 years old.

Here’s the biography.com blurb about Socks:

Socks the cat joined the Clinton White House while First Daughter Chelsea was a young girl. Chelsea’s piano teacher found two kittens playing under her porch one day. She tried to locate the mother, but was unsuccessful. When the First Lady brought Chelsea for her piano lesson, they noticed the two kittens playing. Chelsea held out her arms and one kitten, black with white feet, jumped into her arms. The cat was named Socks for her distinctive markings. Hillary Rodham Clinton later wrote a book titled Dear Socks, Dear Buddy which includes letters written to Socks and Buddy (the Clinton’s chocolate Labrador retriever) by children from around the world. Since both Bill and Hillary Clinton are allergic to cats, Socks was always Chelsea’s cat. When Chelsea went off to Stanford University, Socks was adopted by Betty Currie, President Clinton’s White House Secretary.

Rest in peace Socks, I always thought you were way cooler than Buddy.