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Polydactyl Cats

Rebecca Schmidt • Apr 26, 2015
If you count your cat’s toes, odds are there is a total of 18, with five toes on each front paw and four toes on each rear paw. If your cat is polydactyl, your cat may have as many as eight toes on any given paw. Most polydactyls have extra toes on their front paws which sometimes resemble thumbs and make your cat look as though it is wearing adorable mittens.

The word polydactyl comes from the Greek origin. Poly – meaning many and daktylos – meaning digits.

When a ship captain gave a white polydactyl cat named Snowball to writer Ernest Hemingway, the captain started an obsession. At Hemingway’s island home in Florida, he collected more than 50 cats. Almost half of them had extra toes. Today polydactyl cats are frequently called “Hemingway Cats”.

President Theodore Roosevelt also had a six toed cat named Slippers.

According to Guinness Records, the title for the cat who has the most toes belongs to Jake, a ginger tabby from Canada. Jake has seven toes on each paw for a grand total of 28 toes. Each toe has its own claw, pad, and bone structure.

Historically, polydactyl was a trait in Maine Coon cats. For a breed originating in snowy Maine, doublewide paws with extra toes functioned as natural snowshoes. At one time, as many as 40% of all Maine Coons had extra toes.

Polydactyl cats got their sea legs by accompanying fisherman on many journeys. They were rumored to be excellent mouse hunters and their extra toes gave them better balance on ships that encountered rough waters.
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