Hemmingway Cats

[cdubbie]

I heard all the poly cats at the Hemingway museum are descendants of the orignal beloved Hemingway poly cat. I think that is way cool. They get to roam the property and "own" it, as they should be entitled too!

I had a roommate who had an Orange Tabby poly cat - I loved his big feet! I read that all poly cats are originally from New England for they came over during colonial times on the ships that landed in Boston. The orange tabby was from New England, and he is the only one I've seen ever in my neck of the woods.

 

[joecool]

They are not neccessarily related at all. It is a common mutation. The only reason inbreeding causes it is because there is also a bad gene that causes it. When this gene is present, being bred to another with the gene will give problems. But the other gene is harmless, and aside from disqualifying the cat from showing, it is totally indifferent. Basically, polydactyls are healthy cats.

 

[lionessrampant]

Originally Posted by vespacat

I don't, but apparently there are still many polydactyl cats living on Hemingway's estate, which stem back to a cat he received as a gift.

I recently visited the Hemmingway estate....there are hundreds of cats wandering around the property, the vast majority of which are polydactyl. They're also mostly long hairs...must get hot in those Key West summers.

Beautiful, beautiful cats though. A lot of calicos, too