The Cats

Tigger (R.I.P.)

Tigger - was a frequent visitor at the Curry House and one of the most delightful and charismatic cats I've ever known. Because the Key West weather is so tropical, many homes and businesses keep their windows and doors open. This allows the cat population to travel freely throughout the city. It would be futile to attempt to limit the free movement of the Key West cats. We knew Tigger liked the Curry House because he visited us nearly every day. He was never allowed in the guest rooms, but he was known to follow guests to local restaurants, and then follow them back afterwards. One summer he was injured and sat on the second-floor landing sofa for 3 days recovering. He was an amazing cat. In March of 2006 he was hit by a speeding scooter, and died very quickly. We believe that he lived around here for about 9 years and seemed very happy and healthy all that time.

The Fox Cat - Timid but gorgeous!

Tigger is not the only cat that passes through the Curry House from time to time. There is a cat that looks like a cross between a fox and a lemur - with reddish hair, a bushy tail and mane, and large yellow/green eyes. A mysterious white cat has been seen, but very infrequently. And finally, there is a very timid cat from next door, which happens to be a polydadctyl cat.

"Our own" polydactyl cat!

We are fortunate enough to have one of the polydactyl cats visit us regularly. We believe this cat lives next door to the Curry House, but have not confirmed this. It appears that this cat has a sixth digit on each paw. The third picture shows why these cats are often called "boxers" or "boxer cats".

Real Hemingway Cats

These pictures were taken during a tour of the Hemingway House. Can you guess which cat is called Charlie Chaplin? The cat in the second picture is one of the polydactyl cats, or six-toed cats.

Polydactyl Cats
The following text is an excerpt found in an interesting web article:
"Polydactyly, or extra digits, is a common trait among cats, particularly it seems, among Celtic cats and cats on part of America's Eastern coast and South West Britain. Polydactyly is not a product of bad breeding. It is simply a naturally occurring genetic variation. Polydactyl cats are known by various names - "mitten cats", "thumb cats", "six-finger cats", "boxers" or "boxing cats", and "Hemingway cats". The latter is because of writer Ernest Hemingway who made his home on the small island of Key West, Florida. He shared the island with nearly 50 cats, including a 6-toed polydactyl given to him by a ship captain; the cats bred and the polydactyl trait became common, hence polydactyls are often known as "Hemingway Cats". Hemingway's colony of cats was free-breeding with the local cat population and the ratio of polydactyl cats to normal-toes cats was about 50/50. Another story suggests that the cat given to Hemingway was a female double-pawed cat and that the polydactyl cats on the island came from 19th century ships' cats."

The oddest looking cat in Key West!

We've been told that iguanas are not indigenous to the Keys. However, this "apparently" wild iguana visited us one warm day during the summer of '04.