Bev and Jerry

Could be any relation to the idea that rabbits' feet are lucky?

Which doesn't answer the question wny anyone would want to make that a "world record" item...

My cat tries to use her paws like fingers, by grasping things and picking them up. They say that polydactyl cats are even better at grasping -- maybe that's good for a mouser. Regular cats seem to get along fine without. Maybe sailors just saw cats using their paws like hands and assumed it made them better mousers?

Polydactyl cats are probably better mousers because when they strike with their paw - there's so much more there. Like the difference of today's baseball gloves versus ones 75 years ago.

Don't know of any songs, but there is a literary tie to these cats - When he resided in Key West, Ernest Hemmingway ended up having many cats, some of which were polydactyl. Because of the number of these cats, the fact that they were on an island and pretty territorial about the Hemingway grounds, the trait has continued on and there are around 25 descendants of his cats on site of what is now a Hemingway museum. Last time I was there 2 years ago, the oldest cat was said to be 29 years old. While I was sitting near it, a small scorpion wandered past and that 29 year old cat streched out it's nearly double sized paw and cleaned the clock of the scorpion faster than I could even see. It ate the entire thing in about a minute - except for the tip of the tail. Clearly this was one 29 year old cat to be reckond with.

I'd love to hear a song about these cats.

pax yall

~Masato

Tony

Now THAT'S my kinda cat. That is if any of the vile creatures were my kinda cat.

Tony

You certainly are welcome to share your view, just remember that some cats are pretty cool and many are loved my many of us at the Mudcat.

"Anyone who doesn't understand protocol, has never dealt with a cat." Robert Heinlein

pax yall

Anymore info?

My cat would scarce survive without a lap to keep her warm.

It seems odd that there seem to be few songs about seafaring cats, since that's one of the few places where cats were truly welcome.

When it comes to cats and Key West, I don't have too much info. There are a lot of cats on the island - With all the artists, musicians, etc living there, the ratio of cats (and dogs) to people is higher that in most cities. It is also a place for indoor/outdoor cats as well as quite a few strays.

Of all the cats outside the Hemmingway House museum grounds, I haven't noticed any with large numbers of toes. Inside the grounds, they usually have around 30 or so cats, if I remember correctly - I've been to Key West so often, I don't take the tour any more - I jsut hand out in the garden a couple times while I'm down there.

I can recall if any of the tourguides have mentioned about how the polydactyl cats got to be there. Presumably, Hemmingway and his wife either brought them with them, or they received them after they moved in.

The Hemmingway Cats are very territorial. It is told that any non H.C. that climbs over the wall can find itself in a nasty fight with several of the H.C.s. That keeps the H.C.s mating with each other and reinforcing the trait. Not all the cat are polydactyl, however.

Key West is famous for being a refuge of wreckers - those pirate-like humans who would occasionally lure unsuspecting boats into the reefs and then claim the salvage rights. Whether these people considiered the cats as lucky hundreds of years ago is anyone's guess.

pax yall

This comes from www.hemingwayhouse.com

There are approximately sixty cats living at the Hemingway Home and Museum. They come in all sizes, shapes, colors, and personalities.

About half of the cats are polydactyl, which means that they have extra toes.

The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum is home to approximately sixty cats. Normal cats have five front toes and four back toes. About half of the cats at the museum are polydactyl, which means they have extra toes. 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 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. Key West is a small island and it is possible that many of the cats on the island are related. Our cats are not a particular breed, but appear to be a combination of various breeds-sort of "Heinz 57" if you will. They are all shapes, sizes, colors and personalities.

The following are some commonly asked questions about our cats:

Q. Who pays for the care and feeding of the cats?

A. The museum is a privately owned business, and the care and feeding of the cats is one of the many expenses of the business.

Q. How many cats live here?

A. There are about sixty cats living at the Hemingway Museum. They come in all sizes, shapes, colors and personalities.

Q. Who feeds the cats?

A. The cats are fed by caretakers of the museum. They are given dry food and their bowls are filled mornings and evenings so they always have food at the several feeding stations throughout the grounds. They are occasionally given treats of canned food or catnip, and a few are given canned food daily due to tooth problems resulting from old age or injury. Well-meaning visitors are not encouraged to feed the cats, since their diet is supervised.

Q. Do you have a veterinarian?

A. Yes, we do. If one of the cats need medical attention, they are taken to the vet by a staff member. Routine procedures such as ear mite treatment, flea spraying, and worming are performed here at the museum.

Q. Do the cats get their shots?

A. Yes, the vet comes to the museum to administer their yearly shots. The whole procedure is somewhat like a "cat rodeo," with cats being rounded up by means of treats, and the vet administering shots as fast as possible with the help of staff members. The job must be done rapidly, since the cats soon sense that something is amiss and will begin howling warnings, and slinking and scurrying in all directions. The vast majority are vaccinated the first day and their names are checked off on a list to avoid confusion. The vet returns the following week to inoculate the few who are missed the first time. ("Cat-trick"-If you gently insert your finger in the cat's ear, he will not move while having a shot. This is very effective in most cases.)

Q. Are the cats fixed?

A. Yes, the vast majority are spayed (female) or neutered (male). There are a couple of females and a few males who are not fixed because we like to have one or two litters of kittens per year. This ensures that we'll continue to have descendants of the Hemingway cat line to replace the few cats who die each year due to illness, old age, or accidents, but keeps the number of cats at about sixty residents.

Q. Do you still have a waiting list for kittens? Do you sell the kittens?

A. No, kittens are no longer available. In the past, before most of the cats were fixed, kittens were sometimes available. This is no longer true, since only replacement kittens are born each year. Those kittens are kept on the grounds to ensure that we continue to have our cat population.

Q. Are the extra toes (polydactylism) caused by inbreeding?

A. Yes they are, putting aside the possible negative connotations, close relationship is the strategy behind cat breeding programs which concentrate on a particular trait. For example, the Siamese breed originated from a pair of cats brought to America around 1890. They became very fashionable in the 1920's and inbreeding caused ill health, so breeders were forced to use more care in mating selection, which results in the breed as we know it today. The cats here on the grounds who are allowed to reproduce do have the polydactyl gene, however, neighboring Toms may visit our queens when they are dating, which may account for the fact that about half of our cat population are extra toed.

Q. Do the cats all have names?

A. Yes, all of the cats are named. Cats are capable of learning and responding to their names, particularly if they have an affectionate relationship with the person who calls them. The museum maintains a complete list of the cats who live here.

Q. Why are there so many cats in Key West?

A. During the shipping days, and before the days of pesticides, cats were kept to catch rats and mice. The weather is mild here and cats can live comfortably outdoors all year around; they are also quite prolific so they are numerous. There are local residents who feed many stray cats and there are a profusion of restaurants and guest houses where the cats can panhandle for hand-pouts. The local Friends of Animals chapter has instituted a "Spay-a -Stray" program to help prevent unwanted kittens.

pax yall