what's wrong with my cat?He has seven toes!?

Question

I just got a cat about a month ago.When I first got him I noticed he had 7 toes on both front paws.Is there something wrong with him?

Answer 1

WHAT IS POLYDACTYLY?

Polydactyly, or extra digits, is a common trait among cats, particularly it seems, among Celtic cats and cats on part of America's Eastern coast and South West Britain. This distribution may well be linked. Except for Twisty Cats, polydactyly is not a product of bad breeding. It is simply a naturally occurring genetic variation and, as noted later on, polydactyly is found in fossil reptiles - meaning that five digits might be the abnormal form! Only one form of polydactyly is known to be harmful.

In a 1967 issue of Britain's "The Cat" magazine, Mary Collier of Axminster, Devon wrote Can any readers of THE CAT give me any information about 6-toed cats, sometimes called 'Boxers' or 'Boxing Cats'? I have recently acquired a very fine kitten of this type [...] What I particularly want to know is their district or origin, or country if outside the British Isles and the date they may first have been recognised." In February 1978, the Daily Mirror carried a series of letters on polydactyl cats. Jennifer Wellstead, of Penzance, Cornwall, had asked if any other readers had cats with 6 toes on each paw. A "Mrs I" of Kettering, Northants, replied that 6-toed cats were favoured as witches' familiars of witches. Mrs Farley, of Havant, Hampshire, said she had 6 cats, 3 of whom had 6 toes and 2 had 4 toes on each foot in place of the ‘normal’ 5. She added that a recent litter had produced one kitten with 7 toes, 4 with 6 toes and 2 with the normal number of toes.

Polydactyly (six or seven toes) varies from the classic "mitten cat" through to cats which simply have more toes than normal, but no "thumb". A correspondent to the New Scientist noted that the innermost extra toes on the front paws are often opposable and some cats use them with quite startling proficiency to manipulate small objects with almost human dexterity. Some owners of polydactyl cats joke that their cats are more intelligent because of this and represent the next stage in feline evolution - the ability to open cartons and cans unaided.

Answer 2

Cats With 7 Toes

Answer 3

Usually cats have five front toes and four back toes, but "polydactyl" (latin for "many digits") kitties have six toes and in some cases, even seven toes. Rather than a particular breed, polydactyl is a dominant genetic trait, like the genetics for a tabby pattern. Only a cat with extra toes can parent another cat with extra toes.

The extra toes occur mostly on the front paws, where they look like thumbs, but they may appear on the back paws as well, making the back paws look unusually wide. This is sometimes referred to as ‘double pawed’. There's a picture of a seven-toed cat on this site: http://cats.about.com/od/felinegenetics/a/polydactyl.htm
You can see from this photo why these cats are sometimes called "Mitten Cats".

They are also sometimes called "Hemingway Cats" because the writer Ernest Hemingway had a cat with six toes (legend says it was a Maine Coon Cat given to him by a ship's captain) whose descendents are protected by his will. There are about 30 polydactyl cats living at the Ernest Hemingway Museum and Home in Key West.

Some people think that extra-toed cats are more intelligent, or more affectionate, than cats with only the "normal" number of 18 toes. So enjoy your special feline friend!

Answer 4

No, there is not anything wrong with him, and he will be better off with more toes.

My neighbor has a kitten with three toes and it doesn't affect the cat in any way.

It's better to have more than less. It just happens even in humans.

Rest, your cat doesn't know the difference and will be perfectly happy and healthy.

Answer 5

It's okay to have seven toes on your cat. It's called polydactle and it is just cute on a cat, not harmful

Answer 6

No, there's nothing "wrong" with him; he just has polydactyly, which is common in domestic cats. The only thing you have to watch out for is that the claw in the extra toe doesn't get caught on things; it's best to have it removed, because it doesn't retract like the other claws. I once had a cat with seven toes on his front feet and 5 on the back; he was just your average goofy, cute kitty.

Answer 7

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
what's wrong with my cat?He has seven toes!?
I just got a cat about a month ago.When I first got him I noticed he had 7 toes on both front paws.Is there something wrong with him?

Answer 8

Totally normal. It's called polydactilism. I have one cat with seven on each front paw, and one with six. They usually only have the extras on the front paws. My one cat with the seven is funny - it's almost like he has thumbs and can grab stuff! Best cat I ever had. You are lucky............p.s. - one thing I notice is that they both have a little more trouble with carpetting - lol - so I do trim their claws from time to time.

Answer 9

one of my cats has 7 toes on each paw, and another has 6 toes on each paw. One of them is sixteen years old and both are very healthy. There's nothing wrong with your kitty... he's just unique!

Answer 10

No , nothing is wrong , it was just the way he was born . My mom's little dog had an extra toe on his left foot. We went to the vet and they said it was just the way he was born. So dont worry and love and enjoy the cat . They are the greatest things. And please remember to get your cat shot's and get him fix. Hope this helps.