Snowball - Hemingway's six-fingered cat

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Ernest Hemingway is a personality not fully disclosed. Even of all his written works, only a small fraction has been published, and 10 thousand pages of text are still waiting to be presented to the reader. But the name of this American writer is remembered not only in connection with literature. He had many other hobbies, one of which was a boundless love for cats.

The appearance of a kitten

This story began in 1920, when young Ernest came to the island of Key West, which is located near the state of Florida. This place sunk into his heart, so eleven years later he bought a house here, which became the abode of the writer until his divorce from his second wife, Pauline. Here he created some of his best works - "Farewell to arms!" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls". The writer's two sons also grew up in this house.

It was here that an unusual kitten appeared, which was brought for Ernest from Boston by his friend, Captain Stanley Dexter. The cat was a Maine Coon. But his main feature was that he had six fingers on his front paws. In general, such cats were often kept on ships, becausesuperstitious sailors believed that they brought good luck.

What was the name of Hemingway's six-toed cat

This little ball of fur marked the beginning of a long cat story in the writer's life. He became known as Hemingway's first six-toed cat. The writer did not choose a name for him for long. He was white, which explains his nickname - Snowball, and in English - Snowball. The writer immediately fell in love with him. This difference should be told separately, and now a few words about the Maine Coon breed itself.

Biological reference

The breed of these cats originated about 150 years ago on farms in Maine, hence the name, which literally translates as "Manx raccoon". They really look like this animal in large size and fluffy tail. Maine Coons are semi-longhaired cats. Their characteristic feature is the tufts of wool at the tips of the ears, like a lynx. The body of the Maine Coon is muscular, knocked down, the muzzle is rectangular, with developed cheekbones. Coat color varies, black tabby is the most popular.

If we talk about the nature of raccoon cats, then they can rightly be called gentle giants. They are immensely affectionate and peaceful. They love the company of the owner very much, but at the same time they need some personal space. This is a manifestation of such a feature of them as independence. Despite their size, Maine Coons simply love acrobatic stunts. Ernest Hemingway's six-toed cat, Snowball, was just that. It is not surprising that this breed is one of the most sought after in the world after the Siamese and Exotic.cats.

Unfortunately, there is no clear photograph showing Ernest's six-fingered cat in all its glory, but there is an image of a kitten that looks like two drops of water like the famous Snowball.

Polydactyly

The fact that Snowball is a six-toed cat is not fiction or legend. He really had 6 toes on his front paws. How can such a deviation be explained? Scientifically, this is called polydactyly. This phenomenon occurs not only in cats, but also in humans. In addition, there are six and seven fingers, but normally a cat should have five on the front paws and four on the back.

Polydactyly is not a disease, but a gene mutation. Moreover, this trait will always be dominant, so almost all cats whose father was a six-toed cat will also have an extra finger. This also applies to the second and third generations.

Ernest Hemingway's other cats

Six-fingered cat Snowball became the first, but not the last pet of the great writer. Ernest Hemingway became so imbued with love for cats that soon there were already about twenty cats walking around his estate. Moreover, they were of all stripes: thoroughbred and not, huge and miniature, black, white, striped. Perhaps they reminded him of other felines, the graceful lions he met during the African hunting season. True, Ernest had the most sentimental feelings for his cats.

One dayHemingway had to shoot Willy the cat when he got hit by a car so that he would not suffer. He wrote the following about this in a letter to a friend: "I had to shoot at people, but I have never shot at someone whom I have known and loved for eleven years now. And especially not at the one who purred with two broken legs."

Snowball and his descendants

Hemingway's six-fingered cat became the founder of a whole dynasty, which now lives in the famous house in Key West. There are more than forty descendants of Snowball. Everyone has one or two extra toes on their paws. In general, seventy representatives of the cat family live and live in the house-museum.

The great writer initiated one interesting tradition: he gave each cat or cat an original name in honor of famous personalities. For example, at one time Harry Truman, Marilyn Monroe, Winston Churchill lived under the same roof. And although the writer has long been dead, the museum staff follow this example. So Sophia Loren, Charlie Chaplin, and Pablo Picasso live on Key West.

There is a whole cat cemetery near the estate, where dead cats are buried, including the legendary Snowball, Ernest Hemingway's first six-toed cat.

Thousands of tourists from all over the world visit the island not only to get acquainted with the life of the American writer, but also to look at the unusual descendants of Snowball. This six-toed cat of Hemingway, whose name is undoubtedly known to fans of the writer's work, became the founder of a whole polydactyl family, which pleasesvisitors with their purrs.