Anyone else have a polydactyl cat?

Hi. Four months ago I adopted a black polydactyl cat. Ernie, who is now
about a year old, has 7 toes on each of his front feet and 5 on each of his
back feet. I am fascinated by his big feet! His front paws look like big
mittens. They cause him no problems but he does seem a bit clumsy at times.

Anyone else out there have a polydactyl? How many toes does your cat have?

MatSav...

"Tabs" (RB). A long-haired tabby, probably with Maine Coone ancestors. He
had six toes and seven claws on each front paw, with one of the extra claws
between two of the toes. He loved to drape himself across human shoulders,
like a fur stole :-)

Joy...

I don't, but my daughter does. I'm not sure about the number of toes, but
it sure does make their feet look big, doesn't it?

Pat...

I've always wanted a polydactyl cat but never had one. I call them
"paddlepaws".

jbhajos...

Oh, yeah!!! Our 14 year old Hobo is a big, 17-pound, white
shorthair with hints of Siamese (blue eyes, pale yellow streaks here
and there) who also has 24 toes but there are six on all four paws.
The word "clumsy" has never been in his vocabulary though with age
he's slowing down a bit. We *adore* him and I'm sure you'll enjoy
your Ernie as much. Polys are great fun to have around - I'm glad you
found him. Tell us more about him??

sriddles...

Oh, a he sounds gorgeous. The front-pawed polys aren't all that
rare--we see them at the shelter all the time -- but we've only had a

sriddles...

I took a pic of Yoda's feet a long time ago, I'd forgotten about it
till reading your post. Here's the Yo-man's thumbs:

couple of four-paws.
I really never thought about it, but it turns out that polys crop up in
purebreds too, not just moggies. I'm not sure whether they can be
shown, or whether they're considered pet-quality. But you should see a
Maine Coon polydactyl! Talk about huge feet!

Monique Y. Mudama...

Oscar has the standard issue for toes, but I do have a thing for
polydactyls. They're just so adorable!

Monique Y. Mudama...

Forgot to mention: while Oscar's no polydactyl, she does have large
tufts of fur between her toes, so her paws still look pretty big
compared to the rest of her, especially when she spreads them out to
groom.

jmcquown...

Persia has the usual number of toes, but I love it when she stretches out
her hind leg and spreads her toesies while grooming! :D

sriddles...

Oh, I love that too; especially when Boots does it. Her little tuxedo
feet are always so dainty & white. She has one little black pad and the
rest are pink.

Winnie...

No, but I have a syndactyl cat. Rusty is missing toes in his paws. The
vet said it is genetic
and very rare. So he is special

Monique Y. Mudama...

Rusty is special no matter how many toes he has!

Rusty...

Fang you Antie Monique

Rusty the Liddle Tiger

sriddles...

I have never heard of that, Winnie! But we already knew Rusty was
special. :-)

Rusty...

Fang you!

Rusty the Liddle Tiger

I have a front-paw poly. He's old, and through the years has learned to
use the extra toes as thumbs. He is quite accomplished at opening
cabinet doors. He can wrap his paws around the bathroom doorknob, also,
but isn't quite strong enough to open it.l
My daughter also has a front-paw poly named Ernie. I think 90% of
polydactyls are named Ernie. (for Hemingway, of course).