A Farewell to Cats

Ernest Hemingway fell in love with polydactyl (six-toed) cats after he was given one by a ship’s captain.

Now the descendants of his cats live free on the property of his former home turned museum in Key West. Well, the forty to fifty feline residents have lived without regulation until recently — the USDA has been locked in a federal case with the museum over the licensing and care of the cats.

“The exhibition of the Hemingway cats is integral to the Museum’s commercial purpose, and thus, their exhibition affects interstate commerce,” [Judge Dubina] said. “For these reasons, Congress has the power to regulate the Museum and the exhibition of the Hemingway cats via the AWA.”

This is one piece of history that will be a little harder to preserve.

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Caroline Kangas calls both Seattle and San Francisco home (though she currently resides in the latter). She recently received a mouthful of a liberal arts degree from the University of San Francisco and can be found selling pirate supplies at 826 Valencia or wandering the streets with her diva of a french bulldog, Elle.

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