Hemingway House Cats

crazyforinfo

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We just got back from Florida yesterday & we made a special trip Thursday to see the Hemingway Cats.

Charlie Chaplin


Amadea
Here she was covering up her business & later making a bed in the corner.



Archibald MacLeisch


Ragamuffin (not testy as them claim on the site.)


Not sure who this is but she/he was hiding in the bushes.


Not sure who this beauty was either
She was my favorite though.


Spencer Tracy--DH caught a glimpse of this one



Another cutie! We kept missing his paws. Not sure who this is either.


Cat Nap...We think..
 

MoochNNoodles

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I have pics of most of the kitties you got pics of! DH and I went there last year while on a cruise. It was deffinatley my favorite part of the trip! Have you been to their website? They have a few web cams where you can see the cats (and tourists) walking by and things.
 
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crazyforinfo

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Originally Posted by yayi

Thank you for sharing! I just adore the Hemingway kitties!
Originally Posted by CarolPetunia

I've always wanted to visit there -- thanks for letting me live vicariously!
Your welcome! I wish we found more. I didn't realize they had webcams until we got home. We didn't actually do the tour so I didn't get to know the cat's history. I know he said there were 49 with a litter in the nursery. Two males are for mating and the females only have one litter before they are fixed.
Sadly I think the cats I saw 3 years ago past. I saw a few graves from that time. Oh and the guide said they are aggressive to outsiders trying to join their family.
 

natalie_ca

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I didn't know there was a Hemmingway Museum, let alone one that had cats! That's great!

Are they pet cats or ferral cats living on the grounds? How do they keep track of them and stuff?

I read the website and it seems that the cats are really cared for, but are they people friendly and do they have access to shelters in the bad weather?
 
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crazyforinfo

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Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

I didn't know there was a Hemmingway Museum, let alone one that had cats! That's great!

Are they pet cats or ferral cats living on the grounds? How do they keep track of them and stuff?

I read the website and it seems that the cats are really cared for, but are they people friendly and do they have access to shelters in the bad weather?
If you do the tour, the guy will pick up the unfriendly kitty and tell you who to touch or not. None of them responded when I went up to them. They didn't run but they didn't come up for pets or even look at me.

He was just talking about taking care of the cats when we left. I know they have a vet on hand & they get their shots yearly. From what I remember from Katrina, they don't officially have a shelter but some staff members stayed behind to care for them.
 

jenny82

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Thanks for sharing! I was there in March.
I don't remember seeing the cemetary though.
 
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crazyforinfo

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Originally Posted by Jenny82

Thanks for sharing! I was there in March.
I don't remember seeing the cemetary though.
I was thinking of you when we took the pictures. I heard it from the tour guide and we ran back to find it. There was a side path off the deck. Right was the garden and pool. Left is a path that leads to the caged in kitty house and then a down a bit more are the bathrooms. It was just before the bathrooms kinda hidden. It wasn't far from the paw prints in the cement. We would have missed it if I didn't hear the guide mention it.
 

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Oooo! You're so lucky!
My daughter went there a couple of years ago and brought back pictures. I really, really want to go. Maybe we should think about visiting my DH's brother in Florida next year. Hmmmmm........
 

MoochNNoodles

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Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

I didn't know there was a Hemmingway Museum, let alone one that had cats! That's great!

Are they pet cats or ferral cats living on the grounds? How do they keep track of them and stuff?

I read the website and it seems that the cats are really cared for, but are they people friendly and do they have access to shelters in the bad weather?
All the kitties I saw were friendly. I pet quite a few of them. This one did not resist my scritches!
(I did ask if we could pet them first!)



And this one just slept on when I gave him a little rub on the head!




From what I remember, the cats there are decendants of Ernest Hemmingway's cats. They seem to be very well cared for. I believe they tour guide we werer with on our trip said they feed them Eukaneuba (spelling?). Someone asked how much food they go through in a week there and I don't remember the exact number, but it was a lot!
Originally Posted by Crazyforinfo

If you do the tour, the guy will pick up the unfriendly kitty and tell you who to touch or not. None of them responded when I went up to them. They didn't run but they didn't come up for pets or even look at me.

He was just talking about taking care of the cats when we left. I know they have a vet on hand & they get their shots yearly. From what I remember from Katrina, they don't officially have a shelter but some staff members stayed behind to care for them.
I remember them saying that the house is made of the rock the island is made of. And that it's engineering and the building material has made it one of the most stable buildings in the area from huricanes.
 
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crazyforinfo

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Originally Posted by MoochNNoodles

All the kitties I saw were friendly. I pet quite a few of them. This one did not resist my scritches!
(I did ask if we could pet them first!)



And this one just slept on when I gave him a little rub on the head!




From what I remember, the cats there are decendants of Ernest Hemmingway's cats. They seem to be very well cared for. I believe they tour guide we werer with on our trip said they feed them Eukaneuba (spelling?). Someone asked how much food they go through in a week there and I don't remember the exact number, but it was a lot!

I remember them saying that the house is made of the rock the island is made of. And that it's engineering and the building material has made it one of the most stable buildings in the area from huricanes.
Yep they still use the same food. I think it's donated too.
I think the 97 temp kept them from wanting to do anything.
 

MoochNNoodles

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Originally Posted by Crazyforinfo

Yep they still use the same food. I think it's donated too.
I think the 97 temp kept them from wanting to do anything.
Hmmm...it was much cooler when I was there!
I soooo want to go back! If I lived in Key West I'd have to volunteer there! Heck I'd retire in Key West just to be a volunteer!!!
 

taz monkey

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that's so funny. My family has been vacationing in the Keys since I was 8, but I never went to the Hemingway House until last year when my boyfriend and I went by by ourselves. I have pictures of some of the same cats. The big fuzzy orange one was my favorite. and I loved the paw prints in the cement. My cats don't go outside, but I'm thinking about taking a few out on leashes when we get our sidewalk poured this week.
 
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