So this cat had kittens in the outdoor plumbing at my dad's hardware store. I've managed to catch about half of them and brought one home for myself. I noticed tonight that he has an "abnormal" number of toes. I've tried to take pics of them with only limited success. Has anyone seen anything like this before? I've yet to check if the siblings are the same way. Both front paws have 2 "thumbs," both with pads and claws.

6/3/2008 10:06:55 PM

I think it is relatively common. I swear I just saw another picture of someone else's cat like that on here y-day. I think they called it polydactyly (apologies on spelling)

6/3/2008 10:10:15 PM

6/3/2008 10:12:59 PM

^^thanks

^lol

6/3/2008 10:14:34 PM

Quote :

""

you have lovely fingernails Jeff

6/3/2008 10:18:03 PM

Those are a working man's nails, son!

6/3/2008 10:19:23 PM

"Hemingway Cats"

its a genetic defect that is most likely related to some inbreeding...kitty's fine

not that abnormal

http://cats.about.com/od/felinegenetics/a/polydactyl.htm

[Edited on June 3, 2008 at 10:22 PM. Reason : link]

6/3/2008 10:20:16 PM

I don't know much about cats, but I'm surprised he's (possibly) inbred since the parents are feral, live in a town, and presumably have their choice of mates? I really don't know.


[Edited on June 3, 2008 at 10:23 PM. Reason : -->

6/3/2008 10:21:39 PM

Don't worry about the extra toes, just love the kitty and make sure you don't feed him after midnight.

6/3/2008 10:55:55 PM

Why not? I was just gonna leave him some food. He's gone from being completely wild to being my bff in just 6 hours. It's amazing. He's very affectionate. So far I've counted 22 toes. I think he's only supposed to have 18. He's gonna be an epic hunter with his mutant powahs. He's already a great climber.

6/3/2008 11:41:18 PM

Quote :

"Why not? I was just gonna leave him some food."

it's based on a movie.

6/3/2008 11:56:03 PM

Quote :

"just love the kitty and make sure you don't feed him after midnight."

lol, yeah

and name him Gizmo.

6/4/2008 12:01:36 AM

I named him "Stormy"

6/4/2008 1:08:27 AM

polydactyl

6/4/2008 1:36:06 AM

One of my cats has gimpy toes. Not an extra one, just funky lengths. She's also dumb as a doorknob so I'm contributing it to kitty Downs Syndrome.

6/4/2008 3:59:53 AM

HEY BEARDAWG

can i get a kitteh?!

6/4/2008 6:27:14 AM

lol

6/4/2008 8:13:52 AM

you can search for the extra toes cat on petfinder

http://www.petfinder.com/search/search.cgi?animal=Cat&breed=Extra-Toes+Cat+(Hemingway+Polydactyl)&preview=1&exact=1

i noticed that a long time ago....

6/4/2008 8:37:04 AM

I have a gray female and two blacks that I haven't sexed or counted toes on; at least the gray is also polydactyl. They're located in Andrews, NC. Free to a good home.

6/4/2008 7:12:44 PM

I've seen kitties like this back when I interned at a vet clinic back in high school, and at Carrboro Plaza Vet where I work now. One lady swears that her cat uses her thumbs to grab flies out of the air.

6/4/2008 7:27:53 PM

But $texas to a horrible home

6/4/2008 7:28:51 PM

It's not really a trait I'd want in a cat, I think it looks freaky and yes, it's usually a result of inbreeding.

6/5/2008 7:25:21 AM

Evolution at work. In a few thousand years, cats will be primates.

Quote :

"One lady swears that her cat uses her thumbs to grab flies out of the air."

I don't know what the hell happened last night but my cat went nuts and killed six flies. I don't even know where she got these damn flies from, as far as I could tell there weren't any buzzing around when I went to sleep. I woke up and she's hanging out purring or whatever and there is a pile of dead flies near her. It was a massacre.

6/5/2008 11:59:35 AM

Quote :

"I woke up and she's hanging out purring or whatever and there is a pile of dead flies near her. It was a massacre."

I honestly LOLed.

It was too easy to see my cat doing the same thing

Because of remodeling, the house has been open lots, and we have bugs, and gnats, and mosquitoes, and it's driving me batty. The only good thing about them is they provide my cat (and thus, me) with a great deal of entertainment.

6/5/2008 12:02:41 PM

They really look like opposable thumbs when he's walking. If it's a dominant trait why would it likely result from inbreeding? I'm not great at genetics but I thought inbreeding made it more likely for recessive genes to be expressed? I'm not disagreeing, I'd just like to know more about it.

6/5/2008 3:55:29 PM

i have a polydactyl cat

<3 jekyll-head



[Edited on June 5, 2008 at 11:06 PM. Reason : pr00f]

6/5/2008 10:56:18 PM

my cat has thumbs too. and bobcat blood. he is a desert highland lynx named ziggy. he likes trying to pick up pens.

6/5/2008 10:58:51 PM

We found homes for the three siblings... they all had 22 toes too. The mother went to the vet today to get fixed, de-wormed, and vaccinated and such. We're just gonna release and feed her, she's way to wild (vicious) to make a pet.

6/5/2008 11:40:41 PM

Quote :

"One lady swears that her cat uses her thumbs to grab flies out of the air."

that. is fucking cool.

6/6/2008 7:30:57 AM

Sweet Jesus! They're evolving opposable thumbs; we're fucked now

6/6/2008 9:04:12 AM

I just got a grey polydactl cat (7 toes each front paw, 6 each on the rear) that looks much like that one. You didn't happen to drop the rest off at the Swift Creek Animal Hospital did you?

6/6/2008 10:03:43 AM

well darn
my parents have 2 now. the one is just a kitten too. they've been looking for more. too bad i was a couple days late in seeing this.

6/6/2008 12:18:08 PM

its fairly common. i have seen quite a few cats that have this.

6/6/2008 1:14:28 PM

ive always wanted one, but the kitten i got (Captain Insano) isnt :-(

6/6/2008 2:16:14 PM

I had 2 kittens like that. They grew up and were fine until they played in the road.

6/6/2008 4:06:23 PM

Quote :

"You didn't happen to drop the rest off at the Swift Creek Animal Hospital did you? "

No, I found homes for all of them and released the mother after I got her from the vet today. She's fixed and has all her shots.

6/6/2008 11:54:25 PM

give it to marko

6/7/2008 12:26:08 PM

Those cats can grab on to your fingers mad accurately. It's crazy how able they are.

Reminds me of the Beggin' Strips commercial where the dog says, "I'd get it myself but I don't have ttthhhuuummmbbbsss!"

6/7/2008 5:57:18 PM

this is like the cutest kitten ever ps.

6/7/2008 8:05:37 PM

"I believe I speak for the entire human race when I say, 'Holy fuck,'" said Oceanographic Institute director Dr. James Aoki, noting that the dolphin kitten has a cranial capacity 40 percent greater than that of humans. "That's it for us monkeys."

6/7/2008 9:15:31 PM