<p>There was very little that was safe or conventional in Ernest Hemingway’s life.The great writer hurled himself into danger in three wars, managed to survive two plane crashes on the same big-game safari in remote Africa, and precipitated many domestic dramas with a variety of love affairs in the course of his four marriages. “Moderation” appears to have been one word lacking from his otherwise superb vocabulary, even when it came to cats.<br /><br />The image of the macho big-game hunter and marlin fisherman is hard to reconcile with that of a pet-hoarder, but Hemingway surrounded himself with felines. The author loved the animals and took in so many strays that at one point his house in Cuba, Finca Vigia (Lookout Farm), had 57 cats.<br /><br />Every animal had a name, including such unmasculine monikers as Princessa, Furhouse, and Littless Kitty. Hemingway loved their company when writing, especially when he was alone for lengths of time on the island. He incorporated many favorite pets into his short stories and novels. His loyal, longtime companion Boise merited 35 pages in ‘Islands in the Stream’, including this autobiographical passage:<br /><br />“That night, when he had sat in the big chair reading with Boise at his side in the chair, he had thought that he did not know what he would do if Boise should be killed. He thought, from his actions and desperation, that the cat felt the same way about the man.”<br /><br />But of all the cats in Hemingway’s life, the most famous are those that have taken up residence at his former home in Key West, Fla. In late 1931, Hemingway and his second wife, Pauline, moved into a two-story house on Whitfield Street. It was in Key West that Hemingway established a routine of writing in the morning, and then spending the hot afternoons fishing from the bridges, docks or a boat, or relaxing with friends.<br /><br />It was an extremely productive lifestyle. Over a 12-year span in Key West, he worked on or completed ‘A Farewell to Arms’, ‘Green Hills of Africa’, ‘Death in the Afternoon’, ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’, ‘To Have and Have Not’, and the short stories ‘The Snows of Kilimanjaro’ and ‘The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber’.<br /><br />Felines with extra toes<br /><br />The house in Key West, which the author owned until his death 50 years ago this summer, is now a museum and a permanent home to about 50 cats. But of course, such an extraordinary man would not be associated with just ordinary cats; about half of the animals bear extra toes, typically on their forepaws. Most cats are, like humans, pentadactyls. That is, they have five digits on their forepaws. The so-called Hemingway cats have six digits, with the extra digit the homolog of the human thumb, which gives the paw a mitten-like appearance. When found in felines, the condition, formally known as preaxial polydactyly, is now commonly referred to as a ‘Hemingway cat’.<br /><br />The origins of the cats on the Hemingway grounds are shrouded in legend, and it remains difficult to sort out facts from tall tales in many matters concerning the famous writer. One version of the cat story offered today is that Hemingway was given a six-toed tomcat, Snowball, by a ship’s captain in the mid-1930s, and that all of the six-toed residents are descended from this founding father.<br /><br />Another account is that Hemingway had no house pets at the time and that the six-toed cats are descended from strays that came onto the property from time to time and took up residence after the writer was gone. Cats have long been present in Key West for controlling the rodent populations, and six-toed cats were popular with ship captains and sailors for the same purpose, as well as being considered good luck on voyages.<br /><br />While the origins of the Hemingway House cats remains murky, the cause of their polydactyly is no longer a mystery. Researchers have recently pinpointed the precise mutation in the cats’ DNA responsible for the formation of the extra digit. The story of the origin of Hemingway’s cats is one of finding deep genetic connections among very different animals – from fruit flies to chickens, mice, cats, and yes, even humans. Like Hemingway’s cats and the writer himself, we all have our quirks, some more visible than others. Genetics has made huge strides in understanding the basis of many physical characteristics. In time, we can look forward to learning more about the genetics of deeper mysteries, like the cause of the profound depression that overtook Hemingway and many of his close relatives or, on the brighter side, perhaps some insights into the source of his great talent.</p>
<p>There was very little that was safe or conventional in Ernest Hemingway’s life.The great writer hurled himself into danger in three wars, managed to survive two plane crashes on the same big-game safari in remote Africa, and precipitated many domestic dramas with a variety of love affairs in the course of his four marriages. “Moderation” appears to have been one word lacking from his otherwise superb vocabulary, even when it came to cats.<br /><br />The image of the macho big-game hunter and marlin fisherman is hard to reconcile with that of a pet-hoarder, but Hemingway surrounded himself with felines. The author loved the animals and took in so many strays that at one point his house in Cuba, Finca Vigia (Lookout Farm), had 57 cats.<br /><br />Every animal had a name, including such unmasculine monikers as Princessa, Furhouse, and Littless Kitty. Hemingway loved their company when writing, especially when he was alone for lengths of time on the island. He incorporated many favorite pets into his short stories and novels. His loyal, longtime companion Boise merited 35 pages in ‘Islands in the Stream’, including this autobiographical passage:<br /><br />“That night, when he had sat in the big chair reading with Boise at his side in the chair, he had thought that he did not know what he would do if Boise should be killed. He thought, from his actions and desperation, that the cat felt the same way about the man.”<br /><br />But of all the cats in Hemingway’s life, the most famous are those that have taken up residence at his former home in Key West, Fla. In late 1931, Hemingway and his second wife, Pauline, moved into a two-story house on Whitfield Street. It was in Key West that Hemingway established a routine of writing in the morning, and then spending the hot afternoons fishing from the bridges, docks or a boat, or relaxing with friends.<br /><br />It was an extremely productive lifestyle. Over a 12-year span in Key West, he worked on or completed ‘A Farewell to Arms’, ‘Green Hills of Africa’, ‘Death in the Afternoon’, ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’, ‘To Have and Have Not’, and the short stories ‘The Snows of Kilimanjaro’ and ‘The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber’.<br /><br />Felines with extra toes<br /><br />The house in Key West, which the author owned until his death 50 years ago this summer, is now a museum and a permanent home to about 50 cats. But of course, such an extraordinary man would not be associated with just ordinary cats; about half of the animals bear extra toes, typically on their forepaws. Most cats are, like humans, pentadactyls. That is, they have five digits on their forepaws. The so-called Hemingway cats have six digits, with the extra digit the homolog of the human thumb, which gives the paw a mitten-like appearance. When found in felines, the condition, formally known as preaxial polydactyly, is now commonly referred to as a ‘Hemingway cat’.<br /><br />The origins of the cats on the Hemingway grounds are shrouded in legend, and it remains difficult to sort out facts from tall tales in many matters concerning the famous writer. One version of the cat story offered today is that Hemingway was given a six-toed tomcat, Snowball, by a ship’s captain in the mid-1930s, and that all of the six-toed residents are descended from this founding father.<br /><br />Another account is that Hemingway had no house pets at the time and that the six-toed cats are descended from strays that came onto the property from time to time and took up residence after the writer was gone. Cats have long been present in Key West for controlling the rodent populations, and six-toed cats were popular with ship captains and sailors for the same purpose, as well as being considered good luck on voyages.<br /><br />While the origins of the Hemingway House cats remains murky, the cause of their polydactyly is no longer a mystery. Researchers have recently pinpointed the precise mutation in the cats’ DNA responsible for the formation of the extra digit. The story of the origin of Hemingway’s cats is one of finding deep genetic connections among very different animals – from fruit flies to chickens, mice, cats, and yes, even humans. Like Hemingway’s cats and the writer himself, we all have our quirks, some more visible than others. Genetics has made huge strides in understanding the basis of many physical characteristics. In time, we can look forward to learning more about the genetics of deeper mysteries, like the cause of the profound depression that overtook Hemingway and many of his close relatives or, on the brighter side, perhaps some insights into the source of his great talent.</p>
