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vodka
06-02-2009, 22:16
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt205/vtinc/oh-la-laday10transframe3worded.jpg

Micah fostered at 7days young, is one of three 'Polydactyl' felines in this litter of four. Normal cats have five toes on each front paw and four toes on each hind paw. Polydactyl cats may have as many as seven digits on front and/or hind paws, and various combinations of anywhere from four to seven are common, although each of the front and rear paws are typically the same. Polydactyly is most commonly found on the front paws only as is the case with Micah and polydactyly of all four paws being less common. It is rare for a cat to have polydactyl hind paws only. Polydactyly is a congenital abnormality, usually genetically inherited as an autosomal dominant trait with incomplete penetrance. Polydactyly is not life-threatening nor usually not even debilitating to a cat and unlike canines, all claws are left in place. Some polydactyl kittens initially have more difficulty in learning to walk and climb than normal animals, however in some cases, it appears to improve the dexterity of the animal. For example, a common variation of polydactyly with six toes on the front paws, with two opposing digits on each, (comparable in use to human thumbs) enables the cat to learn and perform feats of manual dexterity generally not observed in non-polydactyl cats, such as opening latches on some cabinets, doors and windows. As yet, no impediments have been noticed with Micah, Paskra or Kylak and Paskra, Kylak and Kiho are all variations of 'claw' in my native Ukraine tongue.

KayJay
06-02-2009, 23:45
KITTEH SAIDS I HATEZ BORDEURS.

KayJay
06-02-2009, 23:53
Seriously though, how old is that cat? It's very cute. And do you really have to feed baby cats with a milk bottle like that? Is it cows milk or cat milk?

vodka
07-02-2009, 00:02
I framed the photo first to highlight the title and secondly, to lighten my hand as it's really difficult to take a photo without your hand when you're bottle feeding :lol:

Micah is now 2.5wks young and most of the kittens i foster from work ARE bottle fed with the milk bottle pictured. As for the milk, it's a feline powder milk formula and they're bottle fed for four weeks from when they're one day young ;)

Jo
07-02-2009, 02:42
Awww! That was an intersting read to, you learn something new every day as they say :)

Canon Bob
07-02-2009, 08:24
Here's a shot of Wincey (died last year just short of her 19th birthday) who was also Polydactyl. The only time that she seemed challenged by the extra bits was when walking across loop-piled carpet and the extra claw would occasionally get caught. The "thumbs" are visible in the shot.
(I'll remove the image if required)
Bob
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa20/CanonBob/wincey1b.jpg

matty
07-02-2009, 08:58
ive changed the image to a link as the image is outside the forum rules for sizes, ifyou resize to 800px then you can relink, thank you

RogDen31
07-02-2009, 10:13
I had a black and white cat called tigy tiger he had an extra claw waaay back when i was a lad in the 60's.

always had dogs since

photon
07-02-2009, 11:40
Another polywotsit: old Toto in his final month. Affectionately known as Foghorn Leghorn for the "thumbs-up", and General Fat To-Tum ("general factotum", geddit?) when at his full weight. He could catch mice by dive-bombing them from a field gate.

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/2692/imgp9002400x600pp7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

vodka
07-02-2009, 16:58
'Awww! That was an intersting read to, you learn something new every day as they say'
i learn something new every foster family Jo ;)

Here's a shot of Wincey (died last year just short of her 19th birthday) who was also Polydactyl. The only time that she seemed challenged by the extra bits was when walking across loop-piled carpet and the extra claw would occasionally get caught. The "thumbs" are visible in the shot.

Nearly 19yrs is a great innings for Wincey Bob and that's a beautiful photo of her ;)

i could tell you about my Josie my cat and her mice when i was a kid Photon.......but it's to early in the morning :lol:

i like dogs RogDen and if i had one, it would be a boxer.......but i couldn't t be bothered exercising it :D

Janice
07-02-2009, 19:36
My cat Lucy has extra toes on her front feet. She has a claw on each of her toes and a claw in the gap between her extra toes too!

On her back feet she has a claw up her legs which grows into a disc if we dont clip it.

So altogether she has 22 claws!! No wonder she is a good mouser!!

Apparently Americans say that polydactyl cats were originally from their country. But the truth is that British sailors thought these cats were lucky so they took them on their voyages and therefore they ended up in America!! :D :lol:

vodka
08-02-2009, 08:56
ENGLISH polydactyl felines are quite common aren't they and i thought my fosters were special :(

Janice
08-02-2009, 15:31
ENGLISH polydactyl felines are quite common aren't they and i thought my fosters were special :(

Your fosters ARE special.. because you foster them and that's a very admirable thing to do. :thumbs: