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Becky
The Sun Also Rises on a House Full of Cats
by Becky - July 10, 2007 - 5:49 PM

slkdjfIf you haven’t heard–or didn’t read when we first reported–”about 50″ cats live in Ernest Hemingway’s former Key West home. Papa’s cats are special–all descendants of a cat named Snow White he was gifted in 1935, they each have the “sixth toe gene” and they’ve now also successfully dodged the law; though it’s illegal in Key West to have more than four cats per household, city officials stepped in to exempt the house from such a regulation.

The new ordinance reads in part, “The cats reside on the property just as the cats did in the time of Hemingway himself. They are not on exhibition in the manner of circus animals. … The City Commission finds that family of polydactyl Hemingway cats are indeed animals of historic, social and tourism significance.”

Congrats, cats! I wonder if I can view the six-toed commune on Google Earth…

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Comments (3)

  1. ME-OW!

    I have a friend whose first orange cat was named Sunny-D, and when she begat a six-toed offspring, named him Pauly-D for his polydactyl goodness.

    Or was is a girl kitty, Polly-D?

    purrrr

    posted by Johnny Cat on 7-11-2007 at 12:00 am

  2. Hemingway House is well worth the tour price if you’re ever down on Key West. The cats really do own the place; they are the only permanent residents on the property. Around the house is a tall brick fence with additional “cat-netting” along the top to prevent them from migrating out and eating the chickens across the street. The most famous of the kitties there is Charlie Chaplin, who is not a polydactyl but who has a pretty distinctive fur pattern and likes the attention he gets.

    posted by Cathy on 7-11-2007 at 6:09 am

  3. I’ve seen the six-toed cats! My sister actually has a scar from a scratch she received from one of them.

    Another attraction of the Hemingway House is the Picasso sculpture residing there. Picasso was a good friend of Hemingway’s, and he made the sculpture as a gift. Seeing as how Picasso wasn’t exactly well known for his sculpture, that was pretty nifty to see.

    posted by Amanda on 7-11-2007 at 7:15 pm

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