Hemingway house cats get to stay.
Score one for the cats!
The federal government has agreed that the famous six-toed cats that roam the grounds Ernest Hemingway's Key West home can stay, ending a five-year feline feud. The feds had threatened to remove the animals, that have called the house home for almost 75 years, because the house did not have an "animal exhibition license" and couldn't qualify for one because the cats "were not enclosed."
As if you could enclose a cat.
Here's today's story, from Associated Press.
KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — The famed six-toed cats at Ernest Hemingway’s island home aren’t going anywhere.
The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum announced Thursday it reached an agreement with the federal government that lets the 50 or so cats continue roaming the grounds, ending a five-year battle that could have resulted in them being removed or caged.
The cats descend from a cat named “Snowball” given to the novelist in 1935 and freely wander the grounds of the Spanish colonial house. All the cats carry the gene for six toes, but not all show the trait.
The home is where the Nobel prize-winning author wrote “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “To Have and Have Not” and is one of the most popular visitor attractions in the Florida Keys.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the agreement. It had threatened to fine the museum $200 per day per cat — about $10,000 — saying it didn’t have the proper animal exhibition license and couldn’t qualify for one, primarily because the animals weren’t enclosed.
The museum has installed a fence to keep the animals on the one-acre property.
From 2003 until October 2007, a series of meetings between USDA and museum officials proved fruitless, said Michael Morawski, president and CEO of the museum.
Finally, about a year ago, Morawski and a USDA deputy administrator agreed to hire an independent animal behaviorist to make recommendations. Dr. Terry Curtis, from the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine, said in a report that the cats appeared “well-cared for, healthy and content” and suggested the special fence that was installed.
“We’re excited we found a solution that protects the health and welfare of the cats while preserving the historical integrity of the Hemingway Home and Museum,” Morawski said. “That’s been our whole goal since we were notified by the USDA in 2003.”
Morawski said the museum has spent more than $250,000 for lawyers and the fence and continues to question the need for the permit. The courts might have to settle that question.
“The cats have been living on the grounds for years and we’re not a zoo, carnival or amusement park,” he said.
ANGIE BRENNAN, a Sun-Sentinel page designer,
lives with four dogs and one boyfriend. And has a lifetime of animal stories to share.
DIANE LADE, a reporter on the Sun-Sentinel's Help Team, has lived with cats, dogs, reptiles, fish, an iguana, and an armadillo.
CYNDI METZGER, editor of the Sun-Sentinel's Outlook section, is smitten with Bella, her poodle who regularly ignores requests to sit, stay and get off the ivory-colored sofa. 
JOHN TANASYCHUK, a Sun-Sentinel lifestyle writer, has lived with cats as long as he can remember. He and his partner currently share their home with three.
Comments
The "special fence" in the AP article was donated by Purr...fect Fence. A link to their site is on the Hemingway Home's CATS page.
Posted by: Matt Hough | October 1, 2008 9:01 AM
Thanks for the heads up, Matt. Who knew that you could fence cats?
Here is the link for the rest of you:
http://www.purrfectfence.com/
I may do a separate post on it in a few days.
Posted by: Diane Lade | October 1, 2008 11:04 AM