Have you ever looked at a cat and thought, "gee, her feet look weird." If so, you were probably looking at a cat equipped with more than the standard number of toes. Most cats have five toes on their front paws and four toes on their rear paws. However, sometimes kittens are born with extra toes. This condition is known as polydactyly.
Sometimes polydactyl cats are referred to as Hemingway cats because the writer Ernest Hemingway wrote about a colony of polydactyls in Florida. Other names include mitten or boxer cats. Some polydactyls have an extra toe that looks like a thumb, and this variety is sometimes known as a thumb cat or cat with thumbs. Some thumb cats can actually use their extra toe as a true opposable thumb to do creative things like pick up stuff.
Polydactyls may have extra toes on just the front paws or on front and rear paws. Some have a different number of toes on each paw. Interestingly, cats never have extra toes on their back paws without having extra toes on their front paws as well. However, cats can have extra toes on their front paws without extra toes on the back.
Apart from their special feet, polydactyl cats are basically just like any other cat. Having extra toes doesn't affect their health or life span. Polydactyly is an inherited trait. In general, the genes that affect polydactyly are dominant, so kittens from a polydactyl mother may have extra toes even if the father does not. Although the offspring from two polydactyl cats are more likely to have extra toes, there's no way to predict how many toes the kittens will have.
If you have a polydactyl, they do require extra foot care. You should pay attention to how the claws grow. The claws on the extra toes have a tendency to curl around and grow into the toe if they aren't trimmed. It depends somewhat on the shape of the toe and where it's located on the paw.
Some people feel that, in general, polydactyls often have a more mellow personality than some other breeds of cat. Although breeding polydactyls can result in more polydactyls, it's not a good idea. In addition to the obvious fact that there are thousands of polydactyl kittens sitting in shelters everywhere, genetics is a tricky thing and trying to breed for more toes can result in deformed cats that can't walk.
If you are thinking of getting a cat, you shouldn't worry about adopting a polydactyl, assuming the cat is healthy in other ways. Kittens with extra toes are adorable with their extra special paws. With a little attention to toe detail, your multi-toed feline can live a long, happy life. |
