Cat with 6 toes

[Cuban Longtails]

It's likely easier to find homes for a six toed cat than regular cats, same with bob-tails vs. regular tails (novelty thing? Some just want something different than the norm).

I hope they make a great family of mousers for you!

 

[chickbea]

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I heartily agree, raindrop!
My cat has six toes (her thumbs are actually opposable!), and she came from a barnful of cats that are all polydactyl. Sadly, they are a dime a dozen, as all stray cats are.
Another thing you may want to consider - some of the toes are often not as large as they should be, or have double or malformed claws. My cat had a big claw coming out of a little toe between her thumb and the rest of her paw, but it had no muscle control to it, so she couldn't retract it properly and it frequently poked her pad. On the other side, in the same place, she has a double claw stuck together. On the advice of my vet, I had the one claw removed when she was spayed. I left the double one, but I wish now I'd had it removed also because it is hard to cut - the quick ends in two different spots but the claws are fused together.
PLEASE NOTE: I do not believe in declawing for any reason other than medical. She was spayed and declawed on the same day; the spay didn't seem to bother her, but her paw was sore for days and she was just miserable. I can't imagine doing that to all of a cat's toes. I don't want to start a debate but I thought I'd mention that...

 

[tink]

I have a six toed cat and he is almost 18. I have heard that they originally came from the Hemmingway's....... My only advise is make sure you watch the claw on that sixth toe because it won't touch the ground to get naturally worn down and it will grow back up into the pads on their feet. Just clip it about every two months and it will be fine.
Tink

 

[Guitartists]

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Yup, that is what I have heard also.

 

[priszilla]

I think I reas the w orlds record is 28 toes on one cat-LOL

 

[Cara]

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We inherited a 28-toed cat when we moved into our old house, the last owners left him behind. There was a horrible overpopulation and roaming pet problem in the area, and every cat was black and white. We couldn't find him a home, nobody wanted him.

 

[silkiechicken]

In humans, polydactally is a dominant trait! Wouldn't be surprised if it was so inmost other animals too.

 

[Dodgegal79]

I had a wild tom that had 6 toes on all his feet. My momma cat had a litter, I have kept one. My vet finds him rare in that all his toes have bones and the claws can all pull themselves in. I guess a lot of cats have claws that don't function. My 6 toes guy has Patella Luxation, which is not common in cats at all, but i believe the cause is all the extra tendons running down the front of his back legs. He has gotten better with age, I did not want to spend $900 a knee to have him fixed. He can run and jump just fine, he just has a bit crooked legs. I had kittens from the same litter with 7 toes some feet, but there was nothing but skin and a little claw so I cut those toes off at 2 days old, beings they would be like back dewclaws on a dog and get caught and rip off. They are becoming more common, just like orange tabby females. I think its a throw back to their ancestors.

 

[patandchickens]

Yes, it's a dominant trait in cats as well (possibly incompletely dominant, since the number of extra toes tends to be higher on average if you cross 2 polydactyls than if you cross one with a normal-toed cat). Hence its local abundance in some places, e.g. Ernest Hemingway's home in Key West. I believe this is one of the genetic traits that people have looked at the geographic/historical distribution of and inferred where the gene first arose, but I don't remember the answer

Does not really have anything to do with inbreeding at all.

They're neat cats but really no different than any other, until you start getting to like 7 or 8 toes per paw

Many shelters and rescues do find them easier to adopt, for novelty value I guess. I have no doubt that some dimwits probably do breed polydactyl kittens intentionally, but until there are NO more healthy friendly cats and kittens being euthanized in shelters I think that is mindbendingly irresponsible. If someone's making money on it they are either a world class marketing genius or not spending much of any money on veterinary care for their, uh, product

Pat, who had a cat once with only 4 toes on one foot (apparently born that way, no 'thumb' toe), but I've known many polydactyls and they're mostly real nice cats same as any others

 

[country freedom]

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I don't know where you are, but, where I live (S. Indiana), my vet informed me that I couldn't get Autumn spayed until she had weaned her kittens at six weeks old. I told my vet I'd be calling him back after my kittens were weaned at ten weeks old. I wait that long so I can make sure the kittens are weaned, litter-trained, and socialized by a houseful of children and other animals totally for new homes. Yes, I also name certain kittens, and by ten weeks old they come when called.