by M Dee Dubroff

Created on: August 14, 2006   Last Updated: December 02, 2010

Ernest Hemingway was first encouraged to visit Key West, Florida on the advice of fellow writer, John Dos Pasos whom he met in Paris during the mid 1920s. He and his wife, Pauline made their home there for several years, and here Hemingway developed his routine of writing very early in the morning when the temperatures were at their coolest. He worked mostly on a war story that he had started on their passage to Key West, and when it was published in 1929 it was entitled "A Farewell to Arms."

Ernest Hemingway was a man who not only knew how to write well, but also how to pick his four-legged friends. An unabashed cat-lover, he found felines to be pure of spirit and filled with a sense of wonder and independence. As the story goes, Hemingway made the acquaintance of an old sea captain who had an unusual six-toed cat. When he left Key West for parts unknown, he presented the cat to Hemingway as a departure gift. This original tomcat may have been a Maine Coon, but whatever it was, the creature had extra toes. (The term polydactyl is Latin for "many digits.")

Today approximately 60 cats (about half of them polydactyl) make their permanent home at the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum in Key West, and their care and presence are protected by the terms in his will. Some of these feline residents are descended from the original many-toed feline, and carry the fanciful monikers of movie stars and even some of the characters from Hemingway's books.

Polydactyl is a trait and not a breed, and it comes from a dominant gene. Only a polydactyl cat can parent another polydactyl. These cats are known for their very sweet dispositions and make ideal companions for their two legged owners. (They don't feel superior because they have more toes either!)

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