Why do some cats has six or seven toes in the front paw?

Answer 1

They are known as polydactyl......

A polydactyl cat is a cat that has more than the usual number of toes on one or all of its paws. In animals including humans, polydactyly (or polydactylism, also known as hyperdactyly) is the anatomical abnormality of having more than the usual number of digits on the hands or feet. Polydactyly is a congenital abnormality, usually genetically inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. Polydactyly is not life-threatening and usually not even debilitating to a cat, in fact in many cases it actually improves the dexterity of the animal. The condition seems to be most commonly found in cats along the eastern coast of the United States and in South West England.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polydactyl_cat

It is not a result of inbreeding and in fact the cats that generally have polydactylism are not all purebred, but regular barn cats, house cats and stray cats and pure breds. It is a simple genetically inherited trait and any kind of domestic cat can have it. With the right ancestry.

Answer 2

Normally cats that have six toes are from the east coast or west coast, the history I've read on is they mutated an extra toe because they came over on ships and needed extra toe to help them catch mice and fish off of the boats. There are many cats on the east coast of canada and the states with six toes, it's actuall quite normal around seacoast areas to find cats with six toes. There is a name for but I forget it. But if you llook up any feline website and ask the question they'll explain much better than I just did. It's really interesting, so surf up a storm and read about it. Purina has a good website on felines.

Answer 3

These kittens and cats are called 'Polydactyls' or more commonly known as mitten kittens, or Hemingway Polydactyls after, you guessed it, Ernest. He was a tremendous cat lover and was given one from a ships captain. This cat started breeding freely on his estate in Key West, Florida and he ended up with quite a few of these cats. If you look up why this occurs you'll have some say inbreeding, mutations, or that it was selective breeding.

The real reason is a plain and simple 'genetic variation'. This is quite normal, does not affect anything else with the cat, and there is nothing wrong with this kind of cat.

Quite often, they are considered very good luck in certain cultures and you would be blessed to have one. Some polydactyl owners believe that these cats are smarter than their 'average' feline counterpart, thus polydactyls being more evolved than 5 toed cats.

Answer 4

It's genetic. I once fostered a kitten with 7 toes on each front paw and 6 toes on each back paw. It was amazing the way he could pick toys up!

Answer 5

I think it's a mutation. My cat, Made has 6 toes on each front paw. It's so adorable when they're young!

Answer 6

I think it must be genetic..My mom has a cat named Toes cause she has many more claws on her front paws but then she has two kittens that have the same...their names are Foots and Feets.

Answer 7

It's a genetic mutation that gets passed on from one generation to another.

Answer 8

because they are genetic mutations
perhaps the parents are siblings or parent/child?
perhaps the mother was bred too young or too often?
perhaps there is something in the environment/food of the mother animal that could cause genetic mutation

Answer 9

Genetic mutation.

Answer 10

There was an awesome answer to this question and I hope she gets best....but for my two points...I'd like to say...
I have a cat like that, and his brother is not like that.
My cat's name is Thumb-purr. My daughter named him....She is so smart!