Sometimes we encounter “bigfooted” cats, which upon closer inspection, have extra toes. Usually, cats have five toes on each front foot and four on each back foot. Yet polydactyly (literally “many fingers”) is a genetic anomaly that results from a spontaneous mutation of a single gene. Once in a cat family, this gene may become dominant in a way that manifests itself variably.

There seem to be pockets of cats throughout the United States where the polydactyl trait becomes very common. Three years ago my wife and I were in Key West, Fla., and had the pleasure of visiting Ernest Hemingway’s house. For years, polydactyl cats have roamed and reproduced on the Hemingway premises, apparently propagating the polydactyl trait in each subsequent generation.

Becky Duval, Oakland, Maine, holds her cat, Mooch. Duval thinks her cat might have the world record for toes with 28.

An interesting side note is that these cats also have a strange early-onset decay problem in their teeth, which I had heard about from some of my Florida colleagues. When I was there, I asked the hostess if I could pick up some of the cats and examine them; sure enough, all I had heard about these Hemingway cats was true: Polydactyl indeed, with rotten teeth …

The presence of extra toes does not seem to inhibit polydactyl cats in any way. As a matter of fact, folk tales often credit polydactyl cats with greater-than-average hunting success. Some of my clients even claim that their polydactyl cats are smarter than other cats. Ship captains sailing to the New World deliberately selected these cats for their voyages. The Puritans came with these cats on their vessels in the 1600s, and to this day there seems to be quite a few pockets of polydactyl cats in New England and the maritime Canadian provinces to this day. Boston and Halifax, Nova Scotia, are said to have impressively large populations of these cats.

According to the July 2002 issue of Catwatch, a publication by the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, the Maine coon cat, a breed descended from generations of hearty New England stock, was frequently a polydactyl. Polydactyl cats comprised 40 per cent of the original unregistered Maine coon cat populations.

Breed associations, concerned that the presence of polydactyl cats might harm the soundness of the breed, historically have been reluctant to allow polydactyl cats to be shown in championship competition.

The purebred pixie bob is also often a polydactyl breed. These pixie bob polydactyls have recently been accepted by the International Cat Assn. for championship status.

Polydactyl cats have no more medical problems than their standard-footed counterparts. Except for the occasional ingrown nail that needs treatment, they are as sure-footed as any other cat. To avoid the ingrown nails of cats, it is suggested by veterinarians that the toenails of these cats be trimmed every two to three months as regular maintenance.

Chris Duke is a veterinarian at Bienville Animal Medical Center in Ocean Springs, Miss.