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Polydactyl Cats
What is a polydactyl cat? Most breeds of domestic cats have five toes on each of their front paws and four toes on each hind paw, for a total of 18 toes altogether. A polydactyl cat is a cat with more than usual number of toes on one or all of its paws as a result of a genetic mutation. Polydactyl cats are actually quite common and can be found at most animal shelters. There is some controversy over whether polydactylism is a trait or a breed. Polydactyl cats have extra toes because of a dominant gene which would suggest it is a trait. However, American polydactyl cats can be registered with the breed society if one parent is polydactyl which suggests it is a breed.
Other nicknames include Hemingway cats, boxing cats, mitten cats, thumb cats, six-finger cats, and Boston thumb cats. Where did they come from? Polydactyl cats probably came to the United States on ships in the Colonial Period. Sailors valued these cats for their climbing and hunting abilities which aided in controlling shipboard rodents. Some even considered them to be extremely good luck when at sea. It is believed that the appearance of these cats spread widely to other areas as a result of cats carried on ships originating in Boston. The prevalence of polydactylism among the cat population of various ports correlates with the dates when they first established trade with Boston which supports this theory. Why "Hemingway" cats? Ernest Hemingway is one of the more famous lovers of polydactyl cats. It is believed he was given a six-toed cat by a ship's captain. After his death in 1961, his former home in Key West, Florida, became a museum and a home for his cats; it is currently home to approximately sixty descendants of his cats (about half of which are polydactyl). Because of his love for these animals, Hemingway cat, or simply Hemingway, is a term which has come to describe polydactyls.
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Hemingway's House
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This intel was contributed by dmsky
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May, 2012
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