Cats, Key West, and Hemingway
One word best describes cats in Key West Florida, and that is
“Polydactyl.”
What?
Key West is a small island at the southernmost end of the Florida Keys where it is possible that many of the cats on the island are related.
The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum located in Key West is home to approximately 40 to 50 polydactyl (six-toed) cats.
Cats normally have five front toes and four back toes. About half of the cats at Hemingway’s Home have the polydactyl physical trait, and the other half carry the polydactyl gene in their DNA, which means that the cats that have 4 and 5 toes can still produce six-toed kittens.
Most cats have extra toes on their front feet and sometimes on their back feet as well. Sometimes it looks as if they are wearing mittens because they appear to have a thumb on their paw.
Ernest Hemingway was given a white six-toed cat by a ship’s captain, and some of the cats who live on the museum grounds are descendants of that original cat, named Snowball.
Key West is a small island, and it is possible that many of the cats on the island are related. The polydactyl cats are not a particular breed. The trait can appear in any breed, Calicos, Tabbies, White, Black, etc.
You will be happy to know that routine procedures such as ear mite treatment, flea spraying, and worming are performed at the Hemingway Home and Museum by their Veterinarian, who also administers annual vaccinations, and performs routine animal health maintenance.
Hemingway named all of his cats after famous people, and today they follow that same tradition. Remember, cats are capable of learning and responding to their names, particularly if they have a relationship with the person who calls them.
Polydactyl is a genetic abnormality
Count your kitty’s toes. Odds are she has a total of 18, with five toes on each front paw and four on each rear. If your kitty is polydactyl, however, she might have as many as eight toes on any given paw. The word is Greek, with “poly” meaning “many” and “daktylos” meaning “digits.”
When a ship captain gave a white polydactyl cat named Snowball to writer Ernest Hemingway, that captain kicked off a pretty fantastic obsession for one of history’s most prolific cat guys. At Hemingway’s island home off Key West, FL, he collected more than 50 cats, almost half of whom had extra toes. Thanks to his obsession, today polydactyl cats are frequently called “Hemingway cats.”
You can visit the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum, where the cat colony still thrives — and some of the kitties are descendants of Snowball, Hemingway’s original polydactyl.
Polydactyl cats are such a big deal that they’ve made it all the way to the White House: President Theodore Roosevelt had a six-toed first kitty named Slippers.
Now, no one can agree on which polydactyl kitty actually has the most toes. According to Guinness Records, the title belongs to Jake, a ginger tabby from Canada. He boasts seven toes on each paw, for a grand total of 28. Each toe has its own claw, pad, and bone structure.
The rumor mill also tells of a 32-toed cat named Mickey Mouse who lived in the 1970’s. But instead of polydactyl, he might have had a condition known as “double paws,” in which each paw is actually comprised of two fused mirror-image paws. Having extra toes is complicated!
Historically, polydactyl was a useful trait for Maine Coon cats. For a breed originating in snowy Maine, double wide paws with extra digits functioned as natural snowshoes. At one time, as many as 40 percents of all Maine Coons had extra toes. Though the trait is no longer as predominant in the breed, Maine Coon polydactyl are still recognized as an official breed by many cat fanciers.
Back in the day, polydactyl cats got their sea legs by accompanying fishermen on many journeys. And they earned their keep as they were rumored to be excellent mouse hunters, and their extra toes gave them better balance on ships that encountered rough waters. The cats’ many travels might explain their widespread presence today, predominantly in the United States, Canada, England, and Wales.
Hope you enjoyed more about cats.
Thank you for reading Kitty Village News.
S&B