My aunt has a bunch of cats with 6 toes on each paw. She says it's a common thing in Maine. I wanted to take one home but they were evil nasty kittens.
The regionalism on polydactyl cats is fascinating. At my father's Nature Coast Florida veterinary practice, people commonly call polydactyls "Mississippi Mudcats", and claim the mutation helps them cope with muddy red clay in southing Mississippi and Alabama. The legend is nonsense, but it speaks to a regional rash of polydactyls.
The most notorious regional group of polydactyls in Florida is in Key West. Ernest Hemingway was very fond of polydactyl cats, and the Ernest Hemingway House in Key West maintains a colony of about 50 cats, half of which are polydactyl.
One of my old neighborhoods had many polydactyls. Shadow was born there.
He was so polydactyl that he actually had opposable thumbs on his front feet. He used them to do stuff like grab a pencil out of my hand.
He also could use them to play fetch by himself. He'd stand on his hind legs and throw a fur scrap down the hall, then chase it, bring it back, and throw it again.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2007-06-14 11:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-14 12:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-14 12:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-14 04:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-14 01:11 pm (UTC)great stuff
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Date: 2007-06-14 03:52 pm (UTC)The most notorious regional group of polydactyls in Florida is in Key West. Ernest Hemingway was very fond of polydactyl cats, and the Ernest Hemingway House in Key West maintains a colony of about 50 cats, half of which are polydactyl.
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Date: 2007-06-14 11:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-14 07:41 pm (UTC)He was so polydactyl that he actually had opposable thumbs on his front feet. He used them to do stuff like grab a pencil out of my hand.
He also could use them to play fetch by himself. He'd stand on his hind legs and throw a fur scrap down the hall, then chase it, bring it back, and throw it again.
no subject
Date: 2007-06-15 08:19 pm (UTC)Once he learns to use the can opener, humanity is doomed!