THE BALLOON MAN

The Feds Can Tell Ernest Hemingway's Cats What To Do; Here's Why

By Mark Memmott

from: wkyu.org

December 11, 2012

Kenny Colston

Kentucky Public Radio Frankfort Reporter

Mon December 10, 2012

The Feds Can Tell Ernest Hemingway's Cats What To Do; Here's Why

By Mark Memmott

December 11, 2012

Cats were everywhere. Fifty or so of them. In the house. On the lawn. Sunning themselves on the wall surrounding the property.

Most were six-toed — making them polydactyls. That's different. The cats you usually see have five toes on each paw in the front. Four on each in the back.

They were descendants of Snowball, a present from a ship's captain. A gift to writer Ernest Hemingway. He — Hemingway, that is — died in 1961.

About 10 years ago, a visitor to the Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum in Key West thought something was wrong. Were the cats being treated well? The museum said yes. The visitor, who had doubts, filed a complaint with the feds. It's a complaint that's gone to the courts.

Yes, Hemingway's cats are a federal case.

Now, as Christian Science Monitor correspondent Warren Richey tells NPR's Robert Siegel, a ruling has come down: The U.S. Department of Agriculture can regulate how the cats are treated, judges say. The museum gets visitors from out-of-state. It charges those visitors to see Hemingway's home and the famous cats. Interstate commerce gives Uncle Sam an interest, according to the courts.

read more:

http://wkyufm.org/post/feds-can-tell-ernest-hemingways-cats-what-do-heres-why