What kind of animal did Bill Clinton have during his first term in office?

Socks, who was born in 1989, was a stray adopted by Chelsea Clinton, when Bill Clinton was governor of Arkansas. Socks, the cat who won international fame during his years in the Clinton White House, even had his own online fan club, appeared at animal charity events and was one of the subjects of then First Lady Hillary Clinton's book, "Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids' Letters to the First Pets."

Bill actually had to ask reporters to "leave the poor cat alone" as they would try to lure him closer using catnip to get better pictures.

Socks even generated some controversy during his stay at the White House. Indiana representative Dan Burton had an issue with the fact that constituents liked Socks so much they were sending him mail and since most of the letters were from children, the White House would respond from Socks. Burton was questioning why the taxpayers were paying for Socks’ postage. Obviously, nothing became of Burton’s inquiries and Socks continued to answer his mail.

Socks was euthanized on February 20, 2009 after suffering cancer of the jaw. It was estimated Socks would have turned 20.