Thursday, September 8, 2011

Ernestina Hemingway - Our Polydactyl Cat


Just a quick post to introduce you to the baby of the house.  "Ernie" is a polydactyl cat with extra toes on each of her paws.  She actually has little "thumbs" on her front feet which makes her two times the menace of  the other cats ~ she can open drawers and latches like a person!  I'm baby-proofing several cabinets now.  I did try to get a better photo of her feet, but she kept swatting at me so I'll wait until the monster is asleep for that.  You can see a bit of her thumb in the second photo.




As for her name, it obviously stems from a beloved and well-known figure in American history.  What isn't quite as well known is that the Nobel prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway had a his house full of these "abnormal" polydactyl cats.  In fact, even decades after his death his home in Florida is still a haven for the descendants of his original six-toed cat that he received as a gift from a ship's captain.  


These type of cats are said to be much more common on the East Coast than here in the West.  I personally hadn't come across one until we adopted Ernie after someone dumped her at our non-pet friends' house.  At the time we had a hard time telling if she was indeed a girl, so I called her Ernie and Mr. MoonCat was calling her "Hemi".  Got a little confusing since we already have a "Hammy" in the house.