Polydactyl Rex

Relax you Jurassic Park aficionados; the term polydactyl isn’t a reference to a newly discovered dinosaur.  Simply put, it’s a cat, a cat with extra toes. 

Now when my daughter, Mary, was little she had a polydactyl cat she called Daisy.  So it was no surprise when the other day she got a polydactyl kitten.  When she found out it had those extra toes, she took it as a sign.

The condition of polydactlylism is a genetic mutation that results in extra toes on one or more paws. Some people call these cats mitten cats; some call them Hemmingway cats in reference to the writer Ernest Hemmingway who loved these cats so much that he basically collected them.  To this day on the grounds of his Florida home, now a museum, many polydactyl cats still roam freely.

The origin of these cats is a bit cloudy. They can be found mainly on the east coast of the United States, Southwest England, and Wales. Sailors prized these cats thinking they were good luck.  Why you may ask?  My hypothesis is this… Ships have rats and mice, which is not such a good thing on a ship.  Polydactyl cats have giant paws with extra toes—and nails.  If you were a mouse and you saw those paws coming at you, you got down on your little mousey knees and said your prayers—right before you jumped ship.

Most Polydactyl cats have at least six toes on the front paws making it appear as if they have thumbs.  What’s more is that a particularly intelligent cat can actually learn to use these pseudo-thumbs much as we humans do. Polydactyl cats have a manual dexterity that can be, frankly, amazing.  I’ve seen Daisy catch things in one hand and open doors. 

This little hyper kitten may end up being quite a handful for Mary.  Then again, she could teach him to fetch the paper and open tight pickle jars.  If she really set her mind to it maybe she could even teach him to clean his own litter box.  That would work for me.

Before I close I would like to mention two giveways given my blogging buddies Maggie and Maddie.  They create the most charming Santas and I know anyone would just love to win one!  Check them out!

http://offmyrocker-maggie.blogspot.com/  and  http://santaandthemrs.blogspot.com