Socks

Charles William’s presence completely changes Socks’s life—from not having laps to lie on to lights being on at odd hours. The only bright spot in Socks’s life is drinking leftover baby formula. Friends and family come to see the baby, most of whom completely ignore Socks. One day, Charles Williams’s aunt, uncle, and eight-year-old cousin visit and gift the baby a brown bear (later named Brown Bear). The visitors comment that Socks has gained weight, suggesting Bill and Marilyn should put him on a special diet. Meanwhile, the cousin makes cat and dog noises to mess with Socks. Between it all, the visit becomes too stressful for Socks. He flees to hide under the bed, thinking “things were sure to be better at suppertime” (58).

At dinnertime, Bill pours the leftover formula down the drain, and Marilyn feeds Socks half his usual meal, both telling the cat he needs to lose weight. Socks steals a hot dog from the frying pan and hides under the bed. Bill gives up trying to get the hot dog back, warning Socks he won’t get away with something like this again. Uncaring, Socks tears into the hotdog, thinking that “if his owners did not care enough about him to feed him properly, he would live by his wits” (62).