Why So Many Six-Toed Cats Live At The Hemingway House

Ernest Hemingway was, in the minds of many, the last of a particular breed of man's man. He was a Pulitzer and Nobel prize winner. After being turned down by every branch of the military on account of his poor eyesight, he worked as an ambulance driver during World War I, then as a reporter during the Spanish Civil War and World War II, coming within spitting distance of the Normandy Landings and leading a French Resistance militia. More than half a century after he took his own life on July 2nd, 1961, he remains the quintessential 20th century icon of liquored up American masculinity, and his writing lives on as an inseparable aspect of western culture.

Oh, and six-toed cats are named for him because they have totally overrun his house.

Yes, it's super weird but totally true: his home in Key West, which now exists as a museum dedicated to the writer's memory, is home to a multitude of six-toed cats. What's going on there?

Well, while most cats only have five toes on each front paw and four on each back paw, there exists a genetic abnormality called polydactyly, in which cats are born with extra toes.

And according to the Hemingway Home museum, that was the case with Hemingway's cat Snow White, aka Snowball, which the author received as a gift back in the 1930s.

From what can be gathered about Snow White's life, the kitty was down for whatever, and he spread his genetic whatnots all across Key West, making sure not to forget that sweet, sweet polydactyly gene. As a result, dozens of cats now residing at the Hemingway Home all either possess extra toes or are very likely to pass the trait on to their offspring.

Fortunately, polydactyly isn't dangerous, and it doesn't usually cause the cats any pain or other health issues. Which is good, because some cats with the condition have more than just six toes: the Guinness World Record holders are a pair of felines who have a total of 28 toes instead of the 18.

Also called "mitten cats," "thumb cats," or, appropriately, "Hemingway cats," these animal X-Men have a storied history. According to The Straight Dope, they may have been a rarity for years, due to their perceived association with witchcraft leading to a whole lot of cat hunting. Sailors, however, apparently thought that they brought good luck, and a trade route between England and Massachusetts seems to have been what brought them to the United States and gave them an over-toed foothold, genetically speaking.

Today, the cats of the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum live a series of nine charmed lives each. Following the tradition initiated by Hemingway, all of the sweet kitties are named after famous people, with museum staff deciding new additions' names by vote. Past names have included Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe, and "Hairy" Truman.

The cats also receive top of the line care, undergoing annual checkups on top of weekly wellness checks from a local veterinarian, and even safely riding out destructive hurricanes. Still, it's an unwritten law of nature that any house with pets numbering in the double digits is going to wind up with a well-intentioned neighbor calling the authorities, and in the early 2000s, that's exactly what happened. According to NPR, a visitor to the Hemingway museum called in a complaint, citing concerns about the welfare of the house's multitude of many-toed cats.

The situation escalated into a federal case, and its eventual outcome led to a bonkers moment in feline history: it was decided that since the cats drew interstate business to the museum, their wellbeing fell under the jurisdiction of the federal government. Which means that when it comes to the cats of Hemingway House, Uncle Sam has the authority to show up and demand that one of them needs more belly scratches, yes he does, under penalty of fines or imprisonment.

#Cats #Hemingway

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