arniejolt
10-19-2007, 03:21 PM
Ernest Hemingway didn't coin the phrase "You can never have too many cats" but he could have...
For ten years, Ernest Hemingway lived and wrote at his Key West home, in the company of his exotic six-toed cats. After he died in 1961, the cats stayed on and the privately-owned house opened for tours, part of the coveted Key West experience.
And things were pretty much the way for about 40 years - until a complaint from a disgruntled volunteer brought in the federal government, and investigators from the U.S. Department of Agriculture who insisted they have jurisdiction over the cats, CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports.
The complaint was about some of the cats, now numbering nearly four dozen, roaming off the property, which it turns out they were entitled to do since Key West has no leash law.
But once USDA got involved, it argued Hemingway cats were "exhibits" and needed the special protection of the same federal laws governing a zoo or circus.
Cara Higgins is an attorney for the Hemingway House and its feline population.
“They’re not sold, they're not transferred, they’re not moved, they’re not disrupted, they’re not eaten,” Higgins said. “I can’t imagine why the USDA, why the federal government, would have an interest in a handful of local cats.”
First, USDA wanted the cats rounded up nightly and caged, according to the Hemingway House's CEO, Mike Morawski.
“Our vet who comes on the property weekly thought that was extremely traumatic for any of our cats, much less the cats that have lived on this property the last 10 to 15 years of their life,” Morawski said.
You can read the rest at CBSNews (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/19/eveningnews/main3386902.shtml).
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Punk Rock: Sank into Swamp
New Wave: Sank into Swamp
Grunge: Caught Fire, Fell Over, Sank into Swamp
The Metal: Strongest in these Woods but Still Looking for a Bride with Huge Tracks of Land
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For ten years, Ernest Hemingway lived and wrote at his Key West home, in the company of his exotic six-toed cats. After he died in 1961, the cats stayed on and the privately-owned house opened for tours, part of the coveted Key West experience.
And things were pretty much the way for about 40 years - until a complaint from a disgruntled volunteer brought in the federal government, and investigators from the U.S. Department of Agriculture who insisted they have jurisdiction over the cats, CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports.
The complaint was about some of the cats, now numbering nearly four dozen, roaming off the property, which it turns out they were entitled to do since Key West has no leash law.
But once USDA got involved, it argued Hemingway cats were "exhibits" and needed the special protection of the same federal laws governing a zoo or circus.
Cara Higgins is an attorney for the Hemingway House and its feline population.
“They’re not sold, they're not transferred, they’re not moved, they’re not disrupted, they’re not eaten,” Higgins said. “I can’t imagine why the USDA, why the federal government, would have an interest in a handful of local cats.”
First, USDA wanted the cats rounded up nightly and caged, according to the Hemingway House's CEO, Mike Morawski.
“Our vet who comes on the property weekly thought that was extremely traumatic for any of our cats, much less the cats that have lived on this property the last 10 to 15 years of their life,” Morawski said.
You can read the rest at CBSNews (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/19/eveningnews/main3386902.shtml).
-----
The Metal: Unabridged Version
Punk Rock: Sank into Swamp
New Wave: Sank into Swamp
Grunge: Caught Fire, Fell Over, Sank into Swamp
The Metal: Strongest in these Woods but Still Looking for a Bride with Huge Tracks of Land
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c342/ARNie00/kokoroscanherosig.jpg
my deviant gallery
http://arnie00.deviantart.com
