Meet A Cat With 26 Toes
Des the polydactyl cat may be a record holder in the UK. Why? He has 26 toes. (A polydactyl cat is a cat that has more than the usual number of toes on one or all of its paws.)
His front paws have 7 toes each and his rear paws have 6 toes each. Des’s owner said that she found the cat on her doorstep and the first thing that she noticed was his big paws. She says that: “he is a bit temperamental - if you know him you are okay but Des can be quite quick with his paws and leave a nasty scratch because he has so many claws.”
There is confusion over just who is the world’s record holder for a polydactyl cat. The world record may belong to a cat named Mickey Mouse that had 32 toes. But there are doubts about this 1974 record because Mickey had a “double paw” condition and may not have been a pure polydactyl. In 2002, the Canadian Press reported that a cat named Bobbi had 28 toes, so he may be the real record holder.
(Thanks Irene)
June 13th, 2007 at 9:37 am
I need to recount my Yankee boys, but I think at last count it was 24. He’s not keen on having his front ones counted, you’d think it was a National Security issue. lol!~ I love his big mitts, adds a bit of extra character to his already interesting style.
June 13th, 2007 at 9:48 am
My poly, Ernie, has 24 toes….7 on each of his front feet and 5 on each of his back feet. Not a record holder…..but I love his big mitts! And he’s learning to use those big paws to his advantage.
June 13th, 2007 at 10:28 am
I just love that little gotee he has!
June 13th, 2007 at 10:38 am
One of my dogs has an extra toe on both rear paws. I always have to remind the groomer, otherwise she forgets to trim those nails.
June 13th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
i had a wonderful feral poly, whom i lost to FeLV last year. he had 24 toes, and used them to ravage the back door screen. he was a great cat though and i sure do miss him.
June 13th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
So much for the 10 base number system.
June 13th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
I have a 24-toed polydactyl, too. He has six toes on each foot, front and back. Figment, however, is not at all temperamental ;)
June 14th, 2007 at 10:01 am
can you imagine what a pain in the butt it’d be to trim his nails?
March 30th, 2009 at 7:32 am
i have a 9 week old puppie that has 7 toes on each back paw,is this unuseal for a dog?
April 23rd, 2009 at 3:24 pm
I have a Kitten, he is only 3 weeks old and have 6 toes in each paws ( front and back), he is very temperamental