Polydactyl Cats Trivia Quiz

Answer: False

Polydactyls are fairly common in Southwest Britain, America's East coast, and Celtic areas, to name a few. They are also fairly well-known in the US, made famous in part by Hemingway's interest in them. They also used to account for nearly 40% of the Maine Coon breed, before the trait was deliberately bred out of them.

Answer: False

The most dominant form of polydactyly is harmless, although there is a less common form that indicates other genetic physiological problems with the cat.

Answer: Freak Cats

They are called Hemingway cats because Hemingway had many of them. They are called thumb cats because many of them sport an "opposable" thumb that some of them can use to manipulate objects much as a human would use a thumb. Mine will actually hold objects in his "hands."

Ok, my husband calls our cat a freak, but in a loving way, and it's not a common nickname for the breed.

Answer: True

There are six-fingered humans.

Answer: False

One of the other names for a polydactyl cat is Cardi-cat, originating from Cardiganshire, in Wales.

Answer: False

Polydactyly is more common in cats than other animals, perhaps because the location of the genes on the chromosomes make them more likely to mutate.

Answer: True

A couple definitions:

heterozygous -- only one gene out of a pair selects for a certain trait
homozygous -- both genes in the pair select for the same trait

This explanation refers to the most prevalent, and harmless, form of polydactylism.

If both parents are polydactyl, the kittens will most likely be polydactyl as well, whether the parents were hetero- or homozygous polydactyl. If both parents are heterozygous for the trait, then 3/4 of the kittens should have extra toes.

If one parent is homozygous polydactyl, and the other parent is normal footed, all kittens will be heterozygous polydactyl (possessing extra toes).

If one parent is heterozygous polydactyl, and the other is normal footed, then half of the kittens will be heterozygous polydactyl.

Since it only takes one gene selecting for polydactyly to give a cat extra toes, the polydactyl gene is dominant over the "normal-footed" gene.

Answer: claw issues (ingrown nails, etc.)

My polydactyl, Ptero (as in ptero-dactyl, heehee), has some issues with two of his claws. The toes that would normally be the innermost toes, on the sides of the feet (what would pass for a "thumb" in a "normal" cat), is between the rest of the foot and his thumb, so when he scratches, it does not get stropped. I have to clip those two myself (which is not fun) to make sure they do not curve all the way around into his feet. I've considered having those two toes declawed, and in fact, if I lived in the UK, this would be the only circumstances under which I could declaw my cat, legally, and then only the affected toes.

Interesting, huh?

Answer: breed standards made no allowance for extra toes

Polydactyls made up about 40% of Maine Coons, but the trait was almost completely bred out, and only recently have attempts been made to recover it. Cat show associations still do not allow polydactyls to win awards.

Answer: Yes

There have been photographs and reports of polydactyl leopards, although it seems to be caused by a different gene than that of the domesticated cats. There are also unconfirmed reports of unusually large, thumb-footed tigers, although these may be exaggeration.