R.I.P. Socks

Menandcats.com reader Ari alerted me to the fact that Socks, the Clintons’ cat, passed away on February 21st. Socks lived to the ripe old age of 20 but had been battling throat cancer for the past few months. Socks was originally rescued by Chelsea Clinton, and lived in the governor’s mansion in Arkansas followed by the White House. Apparently the Clintons’ personal secretary, Betty Currie, was so taken with Socks that she asked to be his caretaker after the Clintons left the White House. Socks continued to live with Betty – who regularly cooked chicken for him – until his death.

Unfortunately, Socks is the second cat of a former President to pass away in 2009. India, George W. Bush’s cat, died in January.

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Photo by: Marcy Nighswander / AP

Love is all around

I’m glad I have the lovingest cats ever. They adore each other, and they love their humans. And I’m glad I have a husband who loves me and loves cats!

Happy Valentine’s Day to you and your favorite humans and furry friends.  And if you’re single and pet-less, now is the purrfect time to find yourself a loving, loyal companion from your local animal shelter!

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Man’s Life Saved by Cat!

Or, as the Times in Johannesburg, South Africa put it, “Cat gets man out of deep doo-doo.”

TAIPEI – A stray cat has saved the life of a man who fell into an open toilet and was stuck there for two days, a newspaper reported.

The Merit Times said Liu Young-hui, 68, a scavenger living on government welfare in a village in Tainan County, south Taiwan, is recovering following the incident early this week.

Liu, who lives alone, slipped and fell into a hole in the ground that he used as a toilet and was stuck there for two days.

He was saved after one of a dozen stray cats he fed regularly with leftovers showed up at the door of a neighbour and kept meowing until he followed him to the back of Liu’s house.

The neighbour found Liu in the pit in human excrement and pulled him out with the help of other villagers.

They contacted a funeral parlour because they thought Liu was dead but when the undertakers arrived they found he was breathing and took him to hospital where he regained consciousness and is now recovering.

Another kitty cord-chewer!

I was reading the blog of Tober, an orange tabby library cat, when he blogged about how he likes to chew on cords! Just like my Charley-cat, who chews on anything he can get his little teeth on. And yes, I do use bitter apple, and cord covers galore, which does cut down on the chewing – although sometimes he’ll chew on things I never thought he would chew on (like chairs).

It’s so hard to stay mad at our furry cord-chewers, though, isn’t it?!

Tober:

Sometimes I get lonely when my coworkers go home for the night, and I have to find things to do to keep myself occupied. Sometimes I nibble on a plant, or I knock Craig over, or I dump Christine’s inbox into the recycling bin. . . but what I like to do the most is chew on cords. Cords are fun to chew. They feel nice in my teeth, and they wiggle and squirm so I can hunt them. But apparently chewing on the cords is a Very Bad Thing To Do.

When I chew on cords, it causes a flurry of activity around the office. Today was very exciting: Pat took the cord off of her computer and threw it away, Linda rearranged all of her furniture, and Christine crawled around on the floor with lots of black tubes. Assistant Boss Karen was frustrated with me, but I’m very charming, and she couldn’t stay mad at me for long.

Because I am in Big Trouble I am not getting any treats and no one will get my dot out for me to hunt. Most of the tasty cords have been hidden from view–at least from human view–or wrapped up in black tubes. My officemates said that I was getting a supply of cords for Christmas, which they would hide in the closet.

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