Sockington the Cat Rules With Overwhelming Acclaim

Sockington fans already know that the handsome and talented gray and white Domestic shorthair kitty has overwhelmingly captured the hearts of social networking-savvy cat fanatics. Heck, I would bet my bottom dollar that in the world of cyberspace, his name might become synonymous with the word "Twitter"! So who woulda thunk that simple homeless kitty -- discovered outside a Boston subway station in 2004 by an ardent cat lover -- would capture such outlandish attention? But did you know that the number of followers for the Twitter-crazed kitty, Sockington, grew to 10,000 between its inception in 2007 and January 2009? Once, the Sockington Twitter account was even featured to the "recommended feeds" list in February 2009. The addition to the list prompted new users to flock to the site, adding 500 to 5,000 followers a day; its popularity was established. But just in case there are a few folks out here that are not already familiar with Sockington's amazing talent, I just had to write about it after I was overjoyed at the exciting news that Sockington's Twitter account recently clocked in at 1.5 million readers (and still counting)! Of course, it goes without saying that Petside is one his devoted followers. With its rapidly spreading expansion, even the British newspaper, The Independent, called the kitty "Twitter's latest megastar". So I thought that sharing a bit of background leading up to Sockington's acclaim would be of interest. While his real age remains a mystery, devoted fans of Sockington, aka Socks or Sockamillion, are well aware that he has become one of the most famous cats on the Internet. He regularly receives love letters, notes, toy mice, and birthday cards from Internet-surfing female kitties, who are smitten. Mr. Sockington owns Jason Scott, a 39-year-old historian and computer administrator, but they do not share living space. Instead, Sockington makes his home with Jason's ex-wife and her two other cats in Waltham, Massachusetts. However, Jason does have "visiting rights" in order to catch up with any news breaking tweets Sockington has to offer. Jason, who is obviously literate in the ancient and difficult language of Kitty Speak, has been typing away to keep Sockington's Twitter account updated on a regular basis. I find it totally amazing that Jason can so easily translate intricate tweets such as, "stalk stalk stalk AND WHAT HAVE WE HERE deadly pillow enemy BANZAIIIIIIIII CRASH oh no busted PILLOW ATTACKED FIRST run run run" into English. In fact, these famous tweets got me hooked! But the story doesn't end here! Jason also "speaks" for two of Sockington's feline companions Pennycat (aka Pennsylvania) and Tweetie, a rescue kitten, whose resemblance to Sockington is so remarkable that he has been dubbed with the nickname "Sockelganger". Tweetie's story has successfully brought the plight of feral cats to the attention of his readers and also has presented a great fundraising opportunity for The Animal Center in Newtown, Connecticut from where he was adopted. Jason has already had offers to commercialize Sockington and he is presently selling Sockington T-shirts. However, in an interview about a year ago, he commented, "People have come asking Socks to endorse products or speak about causes... what a cat has to do with the war in Darfur?" But on June 22, 2009 Jason created a "SocksArmy" Twitter account: his outlet for announcing various causes and requests for charity. Although a few months later, he made is clear that Sockington would not endorse products. But keep your eye out for further exciting announcements. There are plans in the works for Jason to write a book about Sockington. And until then, visit SocksArmy and Sockington's Twitter Page. Are you already a Sockington fan, and if not, do you plan to visit his Twitter site? Leave a comment and let us know! Photo credit: Wikipedia