Hemingway’s Pussies Are Safe!

I know, I know, I had no idea they were in danger either. But rest assured, Ernest Hemingway’s felines — or, the offspring of his felines, anyway — have been given the all-clear to stay put at his famed Key West home.

There are approximately fifty cats that roam the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum. All of the furry little lovebugs descend from Snowball, a pussycat given to Papa in 1935. Interestingly, Snowball had six toes, and all of her progeny carry this gene as well (though some don’t sport the extra digit).

Apparently, the pussies were just minding their own business, doing innocent, fun kitty stuff, when the federal government swooped in and threatened to remove the cats, saying the popular landmark didn’t have an animal exhibition license (and, paradoxically, didn’t qualify for one since the animals were not enclosed). They even went so far as to say they would fine the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum $200 per day per cat (about $10K daily) if the felines weren’t removed.

For nearly four years, museum officials have been meeting with the US Department of Agriculture in a vain attempt to settle the matter of the cats’ fate.

Finally, last year, the two parties agreed to hire an independent animal behaviorist, who found the pussycats “well cared-for, healthy, and content.” He also suggested the installation of a special fence to keep them on the museum’s one-acre grounds.

Michael Morawski, the CEO of Hemingway’s home (where he wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls and To Have and Have Not) said the museum has spent more than $250,000 on legal matters and the fence, in order to protect the cats and keep them as an integral part of Hemingway’s history. Morawski still questions the need for a special permit, and this is an issue that will more than likely be settled in court. With their new fence, the kitties are within the law and happier than ever.

Here’s to the determined people at the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum, for their dedication to upholding the legacy of one of our greatest writers.

And here’s to the gaggle of six-toed pussies, who can at last frolic happily and eat bugs in peace.

 

Story Source Yahoo News | Image Source The Pet Blog

September 26, 2008 | Filed Under Newsies 

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