Ernest Hemingway always appreciated a good story. The legend of the seafaring “gypsy cats” was no exception.
In the bars and boat docks near his Key West home, Hemingway heard tales of six-toed cats with magical powers. Superstitious ship captains brought them onboard for good luck and safe passages. Less superstitious captains brought them along to catch the rats.
When Captain Stanley Dexter heard the author was interested in the feline gypsies, he gave the famous author one of his own. Hemingway’s sons Patrick and Gregory named the kitten after a famous movie star of the time—Snow White.
And from Snow White came the rest of the clan, litter after litter of gypsy cats. Hemingway was rumored to have as many as 150 cats between his homes in Key West and Cuba.
Today the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum is home to approximately 60 polydactyl (six-toed) cats, most believed to be Snow White’s descendants. The polydactyl cats have full run of the author’s famed residence.
Cats normally have five front toes and four back toes. About half of the cats at the museum have the physical polydactyl trait but they all carry the polydactyl gene in their DNA, meaning the “normal” cats can still produce six-toed kittens.
Polydactyly is an autosomal dominant trait, meaning that a polydactyl gene inherited from one parent is sufficient for a kitten to develop extra toes, but the gene does not always express itself in the offspring. Polydactyl cats are also known as conch cats (no doubt a reference to their Key West connection), thumb cats, boxing cats, snowshoe cats, mitten-foot cats and Cardi-cats (not a reference to a certain female rapper, but instead to Cardinganshire, a small town in Wales where the cats were especially present).
Most cats have extra toes on their front feet and sometimes on their back feet as well, some cats at the home have seven toes. Sometimes it looks as if they are wearing mittens because they appear to have a thumb on their paw.
The polydactyl cats are not a particular breed. The trait can appear in any breed, Calicos, Tabbies, Tortoise Shell, White, Black, etc. They vary in shapes, sizes, colors and personalities.
This genetic abnormality is most commonly found in cats along the East Coast of North America and in southwestern England and Wales. Intelligent minds disagree as to whether the mutation originated in New England or in actual England, but there is a consensus that it was spread largely by cats transported on ships sailing out of Boston. Sailors reportedly thought polydactyl cats were lucky, and the cats were prized for their superior climbing and hunting abilities, which helped control rodent populations onboard.
Hemingway named all of his pets after famous people, a tradition that’s still followed today. The Hemingway Home’s app lists each cat’s name, birthday, and favorite spot to hang out. If you’re looking for Gertrude Stein, you’ll likely find the Tortoiseshell on the walkway near the staff housing.
To keep Snow White’s legacy alive, the staff allows one kitten to produce a litter each year. After that the rest of the animals are spayed or neutered.
The cats receive regular treatment at the museum from a local veterinarian. The first of the month means flea and heartworm treatments. Vaccines are administered annually. The cats have health insurance, complete with a dental plan. Some make it to age 22 thanks to the quality of care they receive.
There’s even a special cemetery just for the cats. Today, the cats that cross over the rainbow bridge are cremated—one of the last bodies buried in the cemetery belonged to Marilyn Monroe. There are miniature gravestones on the museum’s grounds commemorating the lives of such feline celebrities as Willard Scott, who died at age 12 in 1988; Errol Flynn, who was only 6 when he died in 2005; and Gremlin, who lived for 19 years before his death in 2005 — and the museum honors that tradition today.
A sign at the front gate asks museum visitors not to pick up the cats. “You may pet them, you may talk to them, you may ask them for consultation. But you can’t pick them up.”
In addition to fans of Hemingway’s books and storytelling, there are visitors who come for the architecture (the home has the only basement in the Florida Keys), for the lush subtropical gardens, for the history, and then there are those who just come for a little bit of time with the cute, multi-toed kitties.
“Maybe 30 percent of customers say ‘I’m just here for the cats” .
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