"A cat has emotions of absolute loyalty: Humans may hide their emotions for some reason, but cats don't." - Ernest Hemingway

On the island of Key West (Key West), the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys, there is a two-story white building where Hemingway once lived.

Nearly a hundred cats live in this quiet small building, they are called "Hemingway cats". When tourists visit Hemingway's former residence, they often can't help but touch the cute cats.

Hemingway cats can come and go freely in this small building, which is a paradise for cats.

They can take a comfortable lunch break on the chairs in the garden, or they can run and have fun in front of and behind the house. The bed left by the owner has become their most comfortable "nest".

After Hemingway's death, they became the real owners of the house. In 2003, the U.S. Department of Agriculture demanded that the cats be kept in cages and the height of the courtyard walls should be raised on the grounds that the cats were exhibits in the former residence. But the managers of the former residence believe that these cats are not exhibits, but the owners here.

The two sides fought over the Hemingway cat for four years, until the Hemingway House took the U.S. Department of Agriculture to court in 2006, demanding a fair ruling. In 2007, the City of Key West revised local regulations to recognize the cats as legal occupants, not as exhibits.

The cats in the Hemingway House are said to be descendants of a six-toed cat named Snowball. Snowball was Hemingway's first cat.

In 1935, a captain who liked to chat with Hemingway gave Hemingway a kitten with six toes as a gift, and Hemingway named it "Snowball".

There was a saying at the time that six-toed cats brought good luck, and Hemingway was adventurous. Going to sea and hunting is commonplace, so Hemingway kept snowballs.

Of course, this may just be a joke from the tour guide of the former residence, but it is an indisputable fact that Hemingway loved cats.

"If there is a cat, there will be another cat!" - Hemingway.

Hemingway, a new cat lover, loved his cats so much that he kept Snowball in his Florida home. With the passage of time, Snowball's cats and grandchildren continued to grow.

There were more and more cats in Hemingway's house, and at most, there were thirty cats. And Snowball's six-toed genetics also continued. Later, the cats in Hemingway's former residence were all six-toed because of genetic inheritance.

Like many cat parents, Hemingway was also a "baby madman", and he recorded many stories about cats in the family.

He also often joked with the cats at home. There was a cat named Tester who was very afraid of badgers. Hemingway deliberately shouted "Badgers are here" in front of Tester, and then saw Tester quickly flee under the sheets. There is a cat in the house named Little Kitty, Hemingway called it "the most beautiful cat in the house".

A cat named Uncle Wolfer, "good-looking and soft, is a grinding goblin". It can be seen from Hemingway's records (Diary of a Cat Slave) that cats brought Hemingway a lot of joy, and only cat owners can truly experience that kind of happiness.

The days they spent together were full of sweetness and passion. In Hemingway's life, cats were everywhere.

Hemingway loved his cats very much. Whether it was eating or resting, his cats were free to jump on the dining table, desk, or sleep comfortably in their own beds. Hemingway liked to name cats in the house after famous writers, Hollywood stars, artists and other celebrities. For example, Shelley, Charlie Chaplin, Van Gogh, Shakespeare, etc. After Hemingway's death, the management of the house still followed this naming principle for cats.

The destruction of Hemingway's spiritual world in his later years was the direct cause of his suicide. As a famous writer, the drying up of creative inspiration is the drying up of spirit and life.

In the last moment of Hemingway's life, he did not forget about his cat.

On July 2, 1961, Hemingway ended his great life with a shotgun. In his will, the senior "cat slave" made the final arrangements for his furry children: "The cats are the owners of this courtyard, they can enjoy everything here. They can play at will, and can rest on the bed for fun, and can meditate on the future in the study!".

"Good night, my kittens." Hemingway's last words to the world.