Meow..... It all started with Snowball

If I am being honest...

I have to admit that when we lined up to come into the Hemingway House I was just as excited to see the cats as I was to learn more about the author. Obviously other people feel the same way because the first sign posted is :

It was a good reminder, because they are hard to resist!

It all started with Snowball, a gift to Hemingway from a sea captain friend. The cat had the trait of polydachtalism, a congenital physical deformity having extra (in this case) toes. Not all the cats have this trait, but they all carry the recessive gene that accounts for the number of cats walking around looking like they are wearing mittens.

Currently there are 53 free-roaming cats on the grounds of the homestead---and believe me, they are everywhere! My first encounter was in Hemingways's bedroom. As the tour guide was attempting to point out the rare antiques of the room , up jumped not one, but two pet kitties!

The tour guide jokingly said he might as well quit talking because everyone was just looking at the cats and not listening to him! (Guilty as charged....)

This was just the beginning of the cat search, although no real search was needed.

Showing off the toes

I think his name is Harry

Evidence that this is cats' stomping grounds!

 This is Lucille Ball. The tour guide was proud to know that she is 8 months old and that he was present at her birth.

The cats are well cared for with constant health care and vaccinations.

 This guy was in the gift shop--just jumped right up and started his snack. (The cat bowls are for sale, of course!)

She was napping in Hemingway's writing studio, the one converted from the carriage house.

Not sure of his name, but I'm calling him Santiago, asleep, dreaming of the lions..........

Hemingway had this to say about cats:

"A cat has absolute emotional honesty; human beings, for one reason or another, hide their feelings, but a cat does not."

With all the cats in his life, I think we can say this is an expert observation!

I cannot end this blog without paying tribute to the cat in my life...

George

Coming up...it's Valentine's Week, perfect time to review a Romeo & Juliet production!

Also...career spotlight and poems of love and friendship <3