SOCKS, 19

The cat that lived in the White House during the Clinton Administration died Friday. WCSH reports:

Socks had been suffering from cancer of the jaw. The cat lived in Washington with (Bill) Clinton's former White House secretary, Betty Currie.

Socks was the grand marshal of a parade in 2002, and was a fixture on the White House lawn with Buddy, the Clintons' dog.

Curry said she planned to have Socks cremated.

RIP, kitty.

GLOW-IN-THE-DARK CATS

See them for yourself. AFP reports:

South Korean scientists have cloned cats by manipulating a fluorescent protein gene, a procedure which could help develop treatments for human genetic diseases, officials said Wednesday.

In a side-effect, the cloned cats glow in the dark when exposed to ultraviolet beams.

A team of scientists led by Kong Il-keun, a cloning expert at Gyeongsang National University, produced three cats possessing altered fluorescence protein (RFP) genes, the Ministry of Science and Technology said.

"It marked the first time in the world that cats with RFP genes have been cloned," the ministry said in a statement.

"The ability to produce cloned cats with the manipulated genes is significant as it could be used for developing treatments for genetic diseases and for reproducing model (cloned) animals suffering from the same diseases as humans," it added.

And it looks really cool.

GRIM REAPER KITTY

KB points out this story, and we can't resist. The Associated Press reports on Oscar the Death Cat, straight outta Providence, R.I.:

Oscar has the uncanny ability to predict when nursing home patients are within hours of death.

The two-year-old cat has curled up beside 25 people at a Rhode Island nursing home in their final hours.

A doctor at the home says the feline isn't one to make too many mistakes. Oscar has proven so accurate, he has gotten his own wall plaque and an essay coming out in tomorrow's New England Journal of Medicine.

The furry grim reaper grew up in a third-floor dementia unit.

The staff there is so convinced of his ability, they will call family members once he has chosen someone.

It's so nice to be chosen.

CAT LIVES 35 DAYS WITHOUT FOOD, WATER

It's the "Hey, Martha" story of the day, from Hendersonville, N.C.

Eric Congdon, owner of a motor-sports business, recently cracked open a crate from China and saw something move in the corner. A closer look revealed a cat -- in sorry shape, but alive.

The Associated Press asks:

How could China survive for so long on no food and water?

"Usually we say that animals can only survive a few weeks without food and only a few days without water," said Raleigh veterinarian Michelle Misavage. "The theory is that cats have such good kidneys their bodies adjust to the lack of water and somehow they received small amounts of moisture from condensation."

One of Congdon's employees plans to adopt the cat, now named China. We are reminded of the late, great Cashew, named in honor of the local delicacy. Such a good cat he was.

CAT EXPERT KILLED BY CAT

James R. Richards was director of the Feline Health Center of the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. He knew his cats. He even lived with one.

He died early, at age 58. The money quote from The New York Times explain everything:

Dr. Richards died of injuries he sustained in a motorcycle accident on Sunday. According to Sgt. Kelly Daley of the New York State Police, he was thrown from his motorcycle after he tried without success to avoid hitting a cat that had run into the road.

We love cats, but we know the ugly truth: If they could operate motorcycles, they'd run us down like dogs.

MARYLAND CAT KILLER RETURNS

Robert Tomlin, 22, was convicted last month of killing a kitten by tossing it into an outdoor fire pit. The crime happened last July outside the home he shared with his girlfriend, Kelli Green.

At the time she told cops that she and Tomlin argued; she fled, and when she returned she found Tomlin had thrown her four newborn kittens in the fire pit. Green later recanted, but she said she'd called it quits with Mr. BBQ Kitty.

Apparently she changed her mind about that one, too. The Associated Press reports Tomlin is back in jail, accused of violating probation by moving back in with Green -- and her five cats:

Tomlin could be jailed for up to 18 months, the suspended portion of a Nov. 13 sentence that included three years of supervised probation. The terms of Tomlin's probation included a provision that he have no contact with animals or pets.

No hearing date on the probation-violation charge has been set.

Tomlin pleaded guilty Nov. 13 to one count of aggravated animal cruelty stemming from a sheriff's deputy's report that the remains of a kitten were found in a smoldering outdoor fire pit at the house Tomlin shared with Green on July 2. As part of a plea bargain, the state dropped a second-degree assault charge alleging that Tomlin had hit Green.

At his sentencing Tomlin told the judge: "I committed a horrible crime, sir ... You will never see me in this court again." He was right about the first part.

AWW, CAT KILLERS FEEL BAD

The two men known locally as the CU cat killers have their defenders, though we do not know why this should be so.

Someone with an obvious shouting problem left this comment on a News-Leader editorial that called for criminal prosecution of the men:

I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT THIS CAT WAS NOT A HOUSE CAT! ALSO THAT THEY DID NOT KILL THIS CAT FOR THEIR OWN ENJOYMENT, ALSO THEY FELT EXTREMELY BAD FOR WHAT HAD HAPPENED! ALSO THEY DID NOT "STONE" THE CAT NONE OF THEM "STONED" THE CAT... SO IF YOU ARE GOING TO SAY RUDE AND MEAN THINGS ABOUT THESE MEN PLEASE KNOW YOUR STORY BEFORE YOU OPEN YOUR MOUTH...PLEASE!! I ALSO KOW FOR A FACT THAT THE WORDS THAT ARE ON THIS FOURUM ARE CUTTING THROUGH THE HEARTS OF THOSE MEN AND THERE FAMILY... AND THAT BOTH MEN REALLY DO LOVE ANIMALS... THEY FELT IT WAS BETTER TO HELP THE CAT THAT WAS HALF DEAD RATHER THAN LEAVE IT IN THERE FOR SOMEONE TO DROP ONE OF THOSE 50 POUND PLATES ON THER HEAD!! SO PLEASE WATCH YOUR WORDS!!

Words are cutting through the hearts of the cat killers? They feel extremely bad for what they've done? Good.

CAT KILLERS GET WRISTS SLAPPED

If these were kids we would insist on plenty of counseling to figure out the roots of their sick-bastard behavior. But because they're adults, two employees of Springfield's City Utilities will instead lose some pay and do 80 hours of community service for stoning a cat at work. They will not have to publicly answer the question: What in hell were you thinking?

According to a report in the News-Leader, one worker got a 30-day suspension and a demotion. The other can't be promoted for a year.

From the story:

Last Tuesday, CU launched an inquiry into allegations that its employees had stoned a cat to death. ...

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 753, the union that represents the two employees, conducted its own investigation last week and "two members stepped forward (to note) that they probably did something that was inappropriate," said Brad Stokes, IBEW Local 753's business manager.

"(The local union) has a code of excellence and we expect members to (live up to it)," Stokes said. "They have stepped up and apologized for that. They'll suffer the consequences as a result of that."

They apparently will not suffer any sort of criminal prosecution for stoning a cat to death. Neither will their names be released; a CU spokesman referred to a "personnel situation like this" in refusing to divulge the names. An earlier brief in the paper said the killing took place "at a CU facility." Where?

KITTY CONUNDRUM

Jim Stevenson stands accused of killing a cat with his .22-caliber rifle. The Galveston, Texas, resident isn't some sick, punk-ass kid. He's a bird lover and a published author, founder of the Galveston Ornithological Society.

But even if he isn't good for the Nov. 8 shooting with which he's charged, Stevenson is a cat killer. The Houston Chronicle reports that Stevenson admits to shooting two dozen cats on his property.

He also insists he does not hate cats. From the story:

"It has come across in articles that I hate cats and that's just not true," Stevenson said in an interview at his home today. "I actually like cats in the house. I have friends I visit and I play with their cats in my lap."

Feral cats, however, are another matter. Stevenson told the newspaper that it's not illegal to shoot feral cats, and if they're on his property, they're fair game.

But the Nov. 8 shooting happened this way, according to the Chronicle:

Stevenson was arrested last week after a toll booth worker at the San Luis Pass Bridge said he heard two shots and saw Stevenson driving away in a white van.

The bridge employee, John Newland, said he and other toll-takers feed the cats that gather around the bridge and consider them pets. Newland said he found the cat, which already had a limp from an earlier shooting, dead after he heard shots.

Police arrested Stevenson several miles from the bridge as he drove toward his home.

Problem for Stevenson: A pet cat isn't considered feral.

Stevenson loves his birds. Understood. But how'd you like to have an outdoor cat and be this guy's neighbor?

MEOW MEOW MEOW MEOW

In Pennsylvania, that could be considered harassment. The Associated Press reports:

Jeannette police charged a 14-year-old boy for "meowing" whenever he sees his neighbor, 78-year-old Alexandria Carasia.

The boy's family and Carasia do not get along. The boy's mother said the family got rid of their cat after Carasia complained to police that it used her flower garden as a litter box.

The boy testified Tuesday that he only meowed at the woman twice. Carasia testified, "Every time he sees me, he meows."

The boy's defense attorney, David Martin Jr., argued that the charge (misdemeanor harassment) should be dismissed.

"This should never have been filed," Martin said. "This is not something that police should be wasting their time with or wasting the court's time."

Jeannette District Judge Joseph DeMarchis decided to wait 90 days before ruling. DeMarchis said his decision will be based on how the boy and his neighbor get along in the meantime.

Meow.