diff --git a/.vscode/settings.json b/.vscode/settings.json
index 6bc562d..65a02e9 100644
--- a/.vscode/settings.json
+++ b/.vscode/settings.json
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 {
-    "python.pythonPath": "${workspaceFolder}/venv/bin/python",
+    "python.pythonPath": "${workspaceFolder}/venv/bin/python3",
     "editor.formatOnSave": true
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/cathpy/core/align.py b/cathpy/core/align.py
index 3131c26..08fd3c7 100644
--- a/cathpy/core/align.py
+++ b/cathpy/core/align.py
@@ -93,24 +93,24 @@ class Sequence(object):
                 LOG.warning("Explicitly changed the segment start/stop from strings to numbers "
                             "when retrieving residues. Consider specifying the option 'parse_segments_as_numbers'")
         else:
-            segs=[NumericSegment(1, len(self.seq_no_gaps))]
+            segs = [NumericSegment(1, len(self.seq_no_gaps))]
 
-        current_seg_offset=0
+        current_seg_offset = 0
 
         def next_seg():
             nonlocal current_seg_offset
             if current_seg_offset < len(segs):
-                seg=segs[current_seg_offset]
+                seg = segs[current_seg_offset]
                 current_seg_offset += 1
                 return seg
             else:
                 return None
 
         # theoretical length according to segment info vs length according to sequence
-        seg_length=0
+        seg_length = 0
         for seg in segs:
             seg_length += seg.stop - seg.start + 1
-        actual_length=len(self.seq_no_gaps)
+        actual_length = len(self.seq_no_gaps)
 
         if seg_length != actual_length:
             # should this be a warning? (with 1-n numbering as fallback?)
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ class Sequence(object):
         """Returns sequence position (ignoring gaps) of the given residue (may include gaps)."""
 
         seq_to_offset = self.seq[:offset+1]
-        if re.match(seq_to_offset[-1], Sequence.re_gap_chars):
+        if re.match(Sequence.re_gap_chars, seq_to_offset[-1]):
             raise err.GapError(
                 "Cannot get sequence position at offset {} since this corresponds to a gap".format(
                     offset))
@@ -327,12 +327,12 @@ class Sequence(object):
         # features
         if meta_str:
             meta_parts = meta_str.split()
-            for f in meta_parts.split('=', maxsplit=1):
-                if len(f) == 2:
-                    meta[f[0]] = f[1]
+            for key_index, kv in enumerate(meta_parts):
+                if '=' in kv:
+                    _key, _value = kv.split('=', maxsplit=1)
+                    meta[_key] = _value
                 else:
-                    LOG.warning(
-                        "failed to parse meta feature from string %s", meta_str)
+                    meta[key_index] = kv
 
         return({'accession': accession,
                 'id': id_with_segs_str,
@@ -438,7 +438,7 @@ class Sequence(object):
     def seginfo(self):
         """Returns the segment info for this Sequence."""
         segs_str = '_'.join(['-'.join([str(s.start), str(s.stop)])
-                             for s in self.segs])
+                            for s in self.segs])
         return segs_str
 
     def apply_segments(self, segs):
@@ -460,7 +460,7 @@ class Sequence(object):
         acc = self.accession
         startstops = [(seg[0], seg[1]) for seg in segs]
         seq_range = '_'.join(['{}-{}'.format(ss[0], ss[1])
-                              for ss in startstops])
+                             for ss in startstops])
         seq_parts = [seq[ss[0]-1:ss[1]] for ss in startstops]
 
         subseq = Sequence(hdr="{}/{}".format(acc, seq_range),

diff --git a/tests/align_test.py b/tests/align_test.py
index 4edd457..fea0551 100644
--- a/tests/align_test.py
+++ b/tests/align_test.py
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ import unittest
 from cathpy.core.align import (
     Align, Correspondence, Residue, SegmentBase, NumericSegment, StringSegment, Sequence,)
 
+from cathpy.core.error import GapError, OutOfBoundsError, SeqIOError
+
 from . import testutils
 
 LOG = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -401,6 +403,50 @@ ghCHC-fsAK-HP-PK-A----AHG--P--GPa
         self.assertEqual(meta_info.dops_score, 61.529)
         self.assertEqual(meta_info.organism_newick, "((((((((((((((Homo,(Gorilla_gorilla)'Gorilla Gorilla gorilla (1)',Pan)'Homininae Homo (5)',(Pongo)'Ponginae Pongo (1)')'Hominidae Homininae (6)')'Hominoidea Hominidae (6)',(((Chlorocebus,Macaca,Papio)'Cercopithecinae Chlorocebus (3)')'Cercopithecidae Cercopithecinae (3)')'Cercopithecoidea Cercopithecidae (3)')'Catarrhini Hominoidea (9)')'Simiiformes Catarrhini (9)')'Haplorrhini Simiiformes (9)')'Primates Haplorrhini (9)',(((((Mus)'Mus Mus (1)',Rattus)'Murinae Mus (2)')'Muridae Murinae (2)')'Myomorpha Muridae (2)',((Heterocephalus,Fukomys)'Bathyergidae Heterocephalus (2)')'Hystricomorpha Bathyergidae (2)')'Rodentia Myomorpha (4)',((Oryctolagus)'Leporidae Oryctolagus (1)')'Lagomorpha Leporidae (1)')'Euarchontoglires Primates (14)',(((((Bos)'Bovinae Bos (1)')'Bovidae Bovinae (1)')'Pecora Bovidae (1)')'Ruminantia Pecora (1)',((Camelus)'Camelidae Camelus (1)')'Tylopoda Camelidae (1)',((((Pteropus)'Pteropodinae Pteropus (1)')'Pteropodidae Pteropodinae (1)')'Megachiroptera Pteropodidae (1)',((Myotis)'Vespertilionidae Myotis (1)')'Microchiroptera Vespertilionidae (1)')'Chiroptera Megachiroptera (2)',((((Felis)'Felinae Felis (1)')'Felidae Felinae (1)')'Feliformia Felidae (1)',(((Canis_lupus)'Canis Canis lupus (1)')'Canidae Canis (1)',(((Mustela_putorius)'Mustela Mustela putorius (1)')'Mustelinae Mustela (1)')'Mustelidae Mustelinae (1)')'Caniformia Canidae (2)')'Carnivora Feliformia (3)',(((Equus)'Equus Equus (2)')'Equidae Equus (2)')'Perissodactyla Equidae (2)')'Laurasiatheria Ruminantia (9)',(((Loxodonta)'Elephantidae Loxodonta (1)')'Proboscidea Elephantidae (1)')'Afrotheria Proboscidea (1)')'Mammalia Euarchontoglires (24)',(((((((Silurana)'Xenopus Silurana (4)')'Xenopodinae Xenopus (4)',(Hymenochirus)'Pipinae Hymenochirus (1)')'Pipidae Xenopodinae (5)')'Pipoidea Pipidae (5)')'Anura Pipoidea (5)')'Batrachia Anura (5)')'Amphibia Batrachia (5)',((((((Ophiophagus)'Elapinae Ophiophagus (1)')'Elapidae Elapinae (1)')'Colubroidea Elapidae (1)')'Serpentes Colubroidea (1)')'Squamata Serpentes (1)')'Lepidosauria Squamata (1)',(((((((((Poeciliopsis,Xiphophorus,Poecilia)'Poeciliinae Poeciliopsis (4)')'Poeciliidae Poeciliinae (4)',(Fundulus)'Fundulidae Fundulus (1)')'Cyprinodontoidei Poeciliidae (5)')'Cyprinodontiformes Cyprinodontoidei (5)',((((Oryzias)'Oryziinae Oryzias (1)')'Adrianichthyidae Oryziinae (1)')'Adrianichthyoidei Adrianichthyidae (1)')'Beloniformes Adrianichthyoidei (1)')'Atherinomorphae Cyprinodontiformes (6)',((((Astyanax)'Characidae Astyanax (1)')'Characoidei Characidae (1)')'Characiformes Characoidei (1)')'Characiphysae Characiformes (1)',((((Gasterosteus)'Gasterosteidae Gasterosteus (1)')'Gasterosteales Gasterosteidae (1)')'Cottioidei Gasterosteales (1)')'Perciformes Cottioidei (1)',((((Takifugu)'Tetraodontidae Takifugu (1)')'Tetradontoidea Tetraodontidae (1)')'Tetraodontoidei Tetradontoidea (1)')'Tetraodontiformes Tetraodontoidei (1)',((((Danio)'Cyprinidae Danio (2)')'Cyprinoidea Cyprinidae (2)')'Cypriniformes Cyprinoidea (2)')'Cypriniphysae Cypriniformes (2)',(((((Oreochromis)'Oreochromini Oreochromis (1)')'Pseudocrenilabrinae Oreochromini (1)')'Cichlidae Pseudocrenilabrinae (1)')'Cichliformes Cichlidae (1)')'Cichlomorphae Cichliformes (1)',(((Oncorhynchus)'Salmoninae Oncorhynchus (1)')'Salmonidae Salmoninae (1)')'Salmoniformes Salmonidae (1)')'Teleostei Atherinomorphae (13)',(((Lepisosteus)'Lepisosteidae Lepisosteus (1)')'Semionotiformes Lepisosteidae (1)')'Holostei Semionotiformes (1)')'Neopterygii Teleostei (14)')'Actinopteri Neopterygii (14)')'Actinopterygii Actinopteri (14)',(((((Gallus)'Phasianinae Gallus (1)')'Phasianidae Phasianinae (1)')'Galliformes Phasianidae (1)',((Picoides)'Picidae Picoides (1)')'Piciformes Picidae (1)',((((Taeniopygia)'Estrildinae Taeniopygia (1)')'Estrildidae Estrildinae (1)')'Passeroidea Estrildidae (1)',(Ficedula)'Muscicapidae Ficedula (1)')'Passeriformes Passeroidea (2)')'Neognathae Galliformes (4)')'Aves Neognathae (4)',((((Callorhinchus)'Callorhinchidae Callorhinchus (1)')'Chimaeriformes Callorhinchidae (1)')'Holocephali Chimaeriformes (1)')'Chondrichthyes Holocephali (1)',((Latimeria)'Coelacanthidae Latimeria (1)')'Coelacanthiformes Coelacanthidae (1)',(((Alligator)'Alligatorinae Alligator (1)')'Alligatoridae Alligatorinae (1)')'Crocodylia Alligatoridae (1)')'Craniata Mammalia (51)')'Chordata Craniata (51)')'Metazoa Chordata (51)')'Eukaryota Metazoa (51)')'ROOT (51)';")
 
+    def test_fasta_with_meta(self):
+        fasta_str = """
+>seq1 bla1 bla2
+TTTTLLASAMLSASVFALTDPPVDPVDPVDPTDPPSSD
+>seq2 key1=value1 key2=value2
+TTTTLLASAMLSASVFALTDPPVDPVDPVDPTDPPSSD
+""".strip()
+
+        aln = Align.from_fasta(fasta_str)
+        seq1 = aln.get_seq_at_offset(0)
+        seq2 = aln.get_seq_at_offset(1)
+        self.assertEqual(seq1.accession, 'seq1')
+        self.assertEqual(seq2.accession, 'seq2')
+
+        self.assertEqual(seq1.meta, {0: 'bla1', 1: 'bla2'})
+        self.assertEqual(seq2.meta, {'key1': 'value1', 'key2': 'value2'})
+
+    def test_incorrect_fasta_headers(self):
+        fasta_str = """
+>seq1/100-200
+TTTTL-LASAM
+""".strip()
+        aln = Align.from_fasta(fasta_str)
+        seq = aln.get_seq_at_offset(0)
+        with self.assertRaises(OutOfBoundsError):
+            residues = seq.get_residues()
+
+    def test_sequence_errors(self):
+        seq = Sequence('seq1', '-TTTTL-LASAM')
+        self.assertEqual(seq.get_res_at_offset(0), '-')
+        self.assertEqual(seq.get_res_at_offset(1), 'T')
+        self.assertEqual(seq.get_res_at_offset(11), 'M')
+        self.assertEqual(seq.get_res_at_offset(-3), 'S')
+
+        with self.assertRaises(SeqIOError):
+            seq.get_res_at_offset(12)
+
+        with self.assertRaises(SeqIOError):
+            seq.get_res_at_seq_position(11)
+
+        self.assertEqual(seq.get_seq_position_at_offset(2), 2)
+        with self.assertRaises(GapError):
+            seq.get_seq_position_at_offset(6)
+
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
     unittest.main()

Header parsing problems when whitespace in Fasta header
cath-align-scorecons crashes when there is a space in the header line. The fasta file 

```
>seq1 bla
TTTTLLASAMLSASVFALTDPPVDPVDPVDPTDPPSSD
>seq2 bla
TTTTLLASAMLSASVFALTDPPVDPVDPVDPTDPPSSD
```

produces the following output (when I remove the space in the headers it works normally)

```
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/home/clemens/miniconda3/lib/python3.7/site-packages/cathpy/core/align.py", line 32, in __init__
    hdr_info = Sequence.split_hdr(hdr)
  File "/home/clemens/miniconda3/lib/python3.7/site-packages/cathpy/core/align.py", line 283, in split_hdr
    for f in meta_parts.split('=', maxsplit=1):
AttributeError: 'list' object has no attribute 'split'

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/home/clemens/miniconda3/bin/cath-align-scorecons", line 45, in <module>
    aln = Align.from_fasta(args.in_file)
  File "/home/clemens/miniconda3/lib/python3.7/site-packages/cathpy/core/align.py", line 889, in from_fasta
    aln.read_sequences_from_fasta(fasta_io)
  File "/home/clemens/miniconda3/lib/python3.7/site-packages/cathpy/core/align.py", line 1062, in read_sequences_from_fasta
    seq = Sequence(current_hdr, current_seq)
  File "/home/clemens/miniconda3/lib/python3.7/site-packages/cathpy/core/align.py", line 34, in __init__
    raise err.GeneralError('caught error while parsing sequence header: '+hdr)

```
tests/align_test.py::TestAlign::test_fasta_with_meta tests/align_test.py::TestAlign::test_sequence_errors
tests/align_test.py::TestSequence::test_apply_segments tests/align_test.py::TestSequence::test_create_segment tests/align_test.py::TestSequence::test_create_sequence tests/align_test.py::TestSequence::test_pdb_coords_hdr tests/align_test.py::TestSequence::test_pdb_numeric_coords_hdr tests/align_test.py::TestSequence::test_pdb_numeric_coords_hdr_fails tests/align_test.py::TestSequence::test_sequence_lower_case tests/align_test.py::TestSequence::test_sequence_methods tests/align_test.py::TestSequence::test_split_hdr tests/align_test.py::TestCorrespondence::test_synopsis tests/align_test.py::TestAlign::test_aln_add_gap tests/align_test.py::TestAlign::test_copy_aln tests/align_test.py::TestAlign::test_incorrect_fasta_headers tests/align_test.py::TestAlign::test_meta_summary tests/align_test.py::TestAlign::test_parse_pfam_stockholm tests/align_test.py::TestAlign::test_pir tests/align_test.py::TestAlign::test_read_fasta_fileio tests/align_test.py::TestAlign::test_read_fasta_filename tests/align_test.py::TestAlign::test_read_fasta_str tests/align_test.py::TestAlign::test_read_stockholm_file tests/align_test.py::TestAlign::test_read_stockholm_gzip_file tests/align_test.py::TestAlign::test_remove_gaps tests/align_test.py::TestAlign::test_write_sto