Six-toed cats vs. the U.S. Department of Ag
By Gina Spadafori
July 29, 2007
We’ve linked to stories about this fight before, but for the life of me I just don’t understand why the U.S. Department of Agriculture is putting any time into hassling the Hemingway cats … as opposed to … oh, I don’t know … puppy mills, food safety, agribiz reform, etc., etc. From the L.A. Times:
KEY WEST, Fla. — The notion that Charlie Chaplin is putting on a show as he snoozes on the Hemingway Home and Museum veranda — well, that’s enough to make a cat laugh.
But neither the fluffy feline, named for the Little Tramp because of his tuxedo-like markings, nor his 46 companions lazing around the late author’s estate are likely to be amused if the U.S. government succeeds in designating them an animal act and restricts their freedom.
Pampered cats, some of them descendants of Ernest Hemingway’s six-toed pet Snowball, have had the run of the leafy compound for generations.
They are named for the writer’s wives, fictional characters, Hollywood friends and colleagues. Zane Grey and Truman Capote often can be found napping in the flower beds between the villa and the pool. Archibald MacLeish prefers the cool tile floor of the master bathroom. Emily Dickinson seems indifferent to the camera flashes catching her in repose on a predecessor’s tombstone, rarely bestirring herself from the limelight.
Fed organic cat food, tended weekly by a visiting veterinarian, and petted, photographed and cooed at by adoring tourists, the cats have become a beloved quirk of this Key West landmark.
But the languid lifestyle of the Hemingway Home cats is threatened by proposals from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that they be treated like performers in a zoo or circus. The feds want the museum to obtain an animal exhibition license, which would require staff to “protect” the felines from contact with spectators and cage them after their daily “performance” ends when the front gate closes at 5 p.m.
Read the rest.
This is the kind of thing that makes me want to scream! There seems to be a massive disconnect between what ‘we the people’ want the gov. to do and what it does, I wish we could get back to some kind of reasonable accountability and common sense. And again, why can’t the ptb leave the cats alone if they are not being abused? Ugh, words fail.
Comment by sb — July 29, 2007 @ 10:03 am
How @)^(*Q#$* pathetic is that. Those cats have always roamed the estate and are very people friendly.
We are originally from the North East, another area where the polydactyl cats are more common. Story is that the sailor that gave Hemmingway his first polydactyl cat also gifted people in the fishing ports of the North East with polydactyl kittens. Growing up I had a sweet little girl with extra toes. Currently we live in FL and again have a polydactyl cat. Sam has 7 toes on both front feet. He truly looks like he has an extra small paw on each front leg. It’s a chore getting that claw that grows between the foot pads so that it won’t grow into his flesh. Our little girl from the past was a stray that had to have her feet tended to by the vet because her claws were imbedded into her poor little feet when we found her. We got our Sam at the animal shelter but I’ve seen on line web sites that sell the polydactyl cats for hundreds of dollars.
Comment by Lilly and Lucy's mom — July 29, 2007 @ 10:34 am
“The Hemingway cats rarely strayed from the 1-acre property surrounded by a 5-foot brick wall until Schultz arrived about eight years ago and established a feral-cat feeding site half a block away, Morawski said. Cats began disappearing over the wall and turning up at the SPCA as captured strays, he said.”
“The only known off-site fatality involved a cat run over after being lured out by the activists, Sands said.”
why are they bothering with the cats? seems to me the activists are the problem and should be the ones getting harassed. common sense says if you put a feral feeding station a certain distance from a property full of cats, they will come . . .
Comment by straybaby — July 29, 2007 @ 10:37 am
U.S. Department of Agriculture, shame on you!
Once again, the things my government do are an embarrisment and simply a big waste of time away from more important issues… food safety!
When I read things like this it makes me want to live in a different country… this is ridiculous beyond words!
Comment by Rose — July 29, 2007 @ 10:37 am
This is insane! An outrage! Leave the kitties alone U.S. Dept. of Ag! Mind your own business!
Comment by loldogs — July 29, 2007 @ 10:54 am
your tax dollars at work. thousand of dead pets by mass poisoning, our own food supply compromised, while vital resources are devoted to issues ihat no sane person would consider acting on for even a nanosecond. how much do you want to bet that the perpetrator Schultz is politically connected in some way? that’s the only reasonable explanation for this. around here, we refer to it as the gumba system of government.
Comment by explodinghed — July 29, 2007 @ 11:43 am
I visited the Hemingway house almost a decade ago. I remember how great the polydactyl cats were to see, and how much they did to bring to life the mysterious Hemingway who obviously loved them and would surely want them to continue to live free there at his estate. This brouhaha has been going on for more than a year, and I can’t believe it is still not resolved in the cats’ favor.
The Dept. of Agriculture are morons for pusuing it, but the “animal activists” who started this witchhunt are the real dirtbags.
Let us pray that sanity will prevail.
Comment by elizabeth — July 29, 2007 @ 1:20 pm
Comment by elizabeth — July 29, 2007 @ 1:20 pm
“The Dept. of Agriculture are morons for pusuing it, but the ‘animal activists’ who started this witchhunt are the real dirtbags.”
Not sure I would have used those exact words (G!), but I definitely agree with the sentiment!
Comment by The OTHER Pat — July 29, 2007 @ 1:39 pm
I bet they do…
the government is always wanting to regulate everything.
We all know what a great job they did at regulating the importation of goods from China.
So now, they want to make sure that the Hemmingway cats are “regulated” too.
What more can we say?
Comment by Marcy — July 29, 2007 @ 2:02 pm
Um, hello, are they (Ag Dept) kidding? The proprieters seem to be very responsible (e.g., weekly vet visits, among other things).
Like Elizabeth, I too have been a visitor to Hemingway’s House (as I’m sure others on this forum have), and the article correctly describes the situation. This is the cats’ home: They go in and out of the house and the surrounding grounds (of the home), and are simply mentioned by the docents. Of course, tourists find them interesting, charming, and perhaps part of the mystery that is the man, but I found the the cats to be largely in the background and NOT museum fodder.
Yeah, more effing waste of our precious taxpayer dollars and government employees’ time, energy, and expertise.
Comment by Sandy — July 29, 2007 @ 4:00 pm
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! The cats and their caretakers are doing just fine, thank you, without the interference of the USDA. BTW, doesn’t the USDA have more important matters to concern themselves with? Just asking . . .
Comment by catmom5 — July 29, 2007 @ 7:39 pm
The Hemingway cats are better taken care of than many pets. Dept of Ag, please put my taxpayer $’s to better use protecting our food supply!
Comment by PM Hill — July 29, 2007 @ 9:12 pm
This is assinine. Is there no one in the government with common sense? Ag good sense of priorities?
Ahhhhhhh, now I get it! Keeping this Hemingway cats issue on the docket means more trips to Key West for USG personnel. Nothing like working at a vacation spot.
Maybe it’s time for Senator Durbin to set the government folks down and have them explain exactly WHY these cats merit all this attention. Oh yes, bring in Senator Byrd and let HIM tell these folks to get real.
Comment by Lynn — July 29, 2007 @ 10:42 pm
Oh holy hairball Catman! Hasn’t the USDA got better things to do, like monitoring puppymills to make sure they’re in compliance with the Pet Welfare Act?
Comment by Deb — July 30, 2007 @ 3:00 am
Comment by PM Hill — July 29, 2007 @ 9:12 pm
“The Hemingway cats are better taken care of than many pets. Dept of Ag, please put my taxpayer $’s to better use protecting our food supply!”
Comment by Deb — July 30, 2007 @ 3:00 am
“Hasn’t the USDA got better things to do, like monitoring puppymills to make sure they’re in compliance with the Pet Welfare Act?
Yup, the same operations that would be the ONLY ones allowed under the recently shelved AB1634 in California.
I keep thinking about how skewed this all is. Let’s take the cats and put them all in little wire cages because some animal activists decided this was somehow “better” for them. Let’s outlaw Responsible Breeders whose dogs live with them in their homes as valued family members and only permit commercial operations that treat dogs as $$$-producing commodities.
Are things messed up or what?
Comment by The OTHER Pat — July 30, 2007 @ 5:17 am
It sounds like the museum could put up some cat fencing netting (practically invisible, not permanent) around the compound, and meet the requirements of the USDA. The Purrfect fence company needs to contact this museum. Otherwise, you’d just run the place like you do a safari park, and I assume this is being done already to prevent visitors from stealing cats. Since it’s not a permanent addition, I’d think the fence wouldn’t affect the house’s status, but they’d have to negotiate that with the historical society. The cats would be protected from animal activists (a real concern), but wouldn’t have their routines altered one wit.
The USDA inspectors that I dealt with at an old job were happy to see cats kept in shelter situations with room to roam, as opposed to the smaller cages. All the USDA has required in this instance is that the cats be in escape proof areas, which should stop activists from getting them killed. The rules in the Animal Protection Act cover how large an enclosure must be (minimum size), but I don’t remember a maximum size limit.
The first USDA contact with the museum that insisted that small kennels must be used sort of messed up on that one. I doubt the San Diego Wildlife park is rounding up the zebras every night, after all.
Comment by Compcat — July 30, 2007 @ 8:25 am
Does anyone know just who these so-called Animal Activists are? What’s their goal? Put them in cages or in a shelter?
I too have been to Hemmingway’s house, and those cats are healthy, well taken care of, and pretty mellow for the most part.
Comment by Andrea 2CatMom — July 30, 2007 @ 10:05 am
I found this blog that sheds some interesting additional angles:
http://catdefender.blogspot.co.....-west.html
Not sure I agree with everything he says, but it’s an interesting article nevertheless.
Comment by The OTHER Pat — July 30, 2007 @ 10:22 am
I’ve visited the place. I have to recommend seeing the sunset at Key West if you have the chance. I parked near the estate and walked past it on my way to lands end…
I have indoor cats, sympathize with the Clara situation, and always worry about cats wandering in the yard…
Nontheless, cats are smart. In this case it is the government and the activists causing a hazard to the cats. Expecting a nightborhood cat not to show up at a neighborhood feeding station is a bit like expecting a politician to avoid a good PR situation.
Chip them, or tatoo the ear, so they are not picked up along with the - certainly many loose cats - in that part of Key West…
A number of those cats were quite talented and there was a bit of an act put on for the sunset crowd to support the feeding station.
Certainly we should cage the activists and politicians to keep everyone safe from them…
Comment by steve a — July 30, 2007 @ 11:45 am
Comment by steve a — July 30, 2007 @ 11:45 am
“A number of those cats were quite talented and there was a bit of an act put on for the sunset crowd to support the feeding station.”
Are you referring here to Debra Schultz (the activist who’s setting up feral feeding stations and trapping the Hemingway cats)? Or do you mean the museum is putting on the “sunset act”?
Comment by The OTHER Pat — July 30, 2007 @ 1:20 pm
why aren’t the activists caging the feral cats? basically they are caring for them in a similar manner as the Hemingway cats, except the Hemingway cats are receiving better care. Don’t the ferals risk death also by running free and even less contained than the Hemingways?
Comment by straybaby — July 30, 2007 @ 2:05 pm
Methinks Schultz needs a straightjacket. Talk about idiotic thinking.
As for the USDA……if they haven’t got anything better to do with their time than make a huge case out of this, then they should also be straightjacketed.
Is there no one able to see the big picture anymore?
Comment by Lynn — July 30, 2007 @ 2:58 pm
Some activist have very strange motives . Some would like to see the end of pets and all farm animals we would all be vegans . I was with one once at a meeting and she started telling about this idea . She was telling it to a group of dairy farmers.
The USDA would be better off enforcing the Animal Welfare Act esp. surrounding the hell holes called puppy mills.
Comment by thomas — July 31, 2007 @ 6:57 pm