Question:

Ginger tabby with six toes on each foot!?

by | earlier

Hey! i have a 17 year old ginger cat, this is a big cat! can someone tell me if it is normal he has six toes on each foot (his feet are the size of my palm!) Is it because of his breed or is it just.... well i dunno. Please help would be nice to know after wondering all these years. I heard that he could be a scottish breed of cat?!

Tags:

Report

Answer The Question I've Same Question Too

Follow Question

13 ANSWERS

Sort By: Date | Rating

it's rare, but it's normal.

my aunt had a big cat, and he had an extra paw!
Report (0) (0) | earlier
The cat is poly-dactyl. Live with it.
Report (0) (0) | earlier
More toes to love. It might have problems climbing though.
Report (0) (0) | earlier
this is not normal at all
Report (0) (0) | earlier
We had a cat like that, my mom named her Possum because she had 6 toes It's genetic thing.
Report (0) (0) | earlier
He may be a Scottish Straight (straight ears). I know that inbreeding of Scottish Folds (folded ears) causes abnormal cartilage growth, could have been related to a cat affected by this & inherited it this way. Sometimes extra toes grow for no reason.
Report (0) (0) | earlier
As mentioned polydactylism is not breed specific since it can occur in most any breed or mixed breed for that matter.  Genetically it is a simple dominant gene, so that at least one parent has to be poly.  It has absolutely nothing to do with inbreeding and is not a genetic defect...although in the eyes of some it may not be pleasing...but genetically is not a defect.  The most common breed to express polydactylism is the Maine Coon.  The feral populaton from which the Maine Coon was derived is quite common along the eastern seaboard of the United States and Canada....the most common area being the State of Maine...hence the name Maine Coon...where according to some, the poly populaton could have been as high as 40% in years past.

The six toes that you mention without a dewclaw is less common than most expressions of polydactylism, but is definelty not rare.  The most common form, at least on the front paws is a six digit Maine Coon with an opposable thumb (which they can use to their advanatage), a dewclaw and the standard number of toes (4).  Two sources should you like to learn more would be PolyTrak....a database tracking service for the Main Coon poly and MessyBeast which discusses polydactylism in greater detail and is not breed specific.  Both sites have lots of pictures.
Report (0) (0) |   earlier
unless these extra toes are causing him a problem - in which case take him to the vet - then don't worry - he's not! Extra digits can happen at any time to any animal - it's just one of those things - a mutation of nature - but it doesn't make him any less loveable ... in fact I would feel he was extra special - the buddhists would certainly agree......
Report (0) (0) | earlier
The six toes has nothing to do with a particular breed.  It's a genetic defect called "Polydactylism" or, extra toes.  I think it's quite cute - cats look like they have catcher mitts for paws :)

Odds are your cat's no particular breed - like 97% of the cats on this planet.  Is he solid coloured or does he have a striped pattern to his coat?  If he's solid he'd be referred to as "Red" as orange/ginger is "Red" in cat colours and if he's got a pattern it'd be "Red Tabby".

Then it gets even more complicated than that - if the stripes are vertical it's "Red Mackerel Tabby".  If it's more a pattern of whorls then it's "Red Classic Tabby".  And if he has white in his coat as well as the red then it'd add "...and white" after which ever fits his pattern.

Oh and congrats for being such a great pet owner.  17 is VERY old for a cat so you've obviously been taking very good care of him!
Report (0) (0) |   earlier
Some cats have 6 toes, it's from inbreeding, sadly, and other genetic issues, nothing bad is wrong with him, but it happens a lot.
Report (0) (0) | earlier
What you have is called a American Polydactyl Cats or mitten toed cat and it is rare here is a site for that: http://www.marshu.com/marsh-polydactyl-p... and no it's not a scottish fold cat which looks like this: http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/profiles/ar...
Report (0) (0) | earlier
its genetic its normal it just basicly means your cat id just diffrent from others i would say your cat is very speachial and unique. and scottish breeds are pretty big cats but scottish sclottish folds arent though
Report (0) (0) | earlier
It's not a breed, it's a genetic disorder. It's called a polydactyl cat (translation: Many toes). Any breed, mix, or color of cat can be polydactyl. There's all sorts of myths and rumors about them, but they are simply cats with a genetic disorder causing too many toes (they don't all have six, some have even more). They are definitely not Scottish, as I said, any cat any where can have it.
Report (0) (0) | earlier