The Cats of the Hemingway Home

Great American writer Ernest Hemingway visited Key West, Florida after his good friend and fellow writer John Dos Pasos suggested he would like the town. His wife's uncle Gus had purchased a new Ford Roadster for the couple so Ernest and his wife, Pauline took up residence there. After a few years they moved into a house on Whitehead Street, into what is currently known as the Hemingway Home and Museum. Today this house has an everlasting legacy, paying tribute to the late great author, but that isn't all. The house is also home to over 60 pet cats, descended from Ernest Hemingway's own cats. Most of the cats are as unique as Hemingway himself. They have a condition known as Polydactylism. In other words, they have extra toes on their feet.

When Ernest and Pauline moved to Key West, it was because they were waiting for the arrival of their new car. They first moved into an apartment above the showroom. It was in this apartment where Ernest Hemingway penned his famous war novel, "A Farewell to Arms." The Hemingways soon made friends in Key West and two years later they moved into a house. According to Hemingwayhome.com, after he'd moved into the house, Ernest made friends with a sea captain who had an unusual pet, a six toed tomcat. When he left Key West , the captain gave the cat to the writer and it wasn't long before there were many more six toed cats on the property. Ernest Hemingway owned the house from 1931 until he died in 1961. But he moved to Cuba in 1939 after divorcing from Pauline. He visited the property often, but the cats all stayed and are still there today.

Ernest Hemingway, like all writers, was neurotic about some things. His neurosis revolved around the 6 toed cats he kept at his house. In order to keep them from straying from his property, the private Hemingway had a red brick fence constructed around the house. According to Insideflorida.com, the brick job created a stir and there are two legends about how the writer acquired the bricks. Neither legend is flattering. Either he got the bricks illegally from a torn up road in Key West and later had to pay back the city, and the other legend has it that Hemingway received the bricks from friends in the Navy after the city council refused to sell him the bricks. Either way, the Hemingway Home is now surrounded by a red brick wall, thanks at least in part to the six toed cats that scale the property.

The Hemingway Home's cats are cared for and fed by caretakers of the museum. Visitors of the museum are not encouraged to feel the cats because they're already fed properly. The cats also have a veterinarian in case they're in need of medical attention. They're treated for fleas, ear mites, and worms and given their annual vaccinations. Unlike in Hemingway's times, most of the cats on the property are fixed, with the exception of a few females and males who are given the responsibility of keeping descendants in the future. The interesting toes of the cats is probably due to inbreeding but the presence of an extra toe doesn't harm the cats in any way. At one time visitors and fans were able to adopt Hemingway kittens but they have stopped adopting them out.

If ever you're in Key West, Florida, you'll want to check out the Hemingway Home, not only to appreciate the heritage of Ernest Hemingway the writer, but also to visit with the descendants of his interesting six toed cats.