Harry the cat with 27 toes

Normal cats have a total of 18 toes, with five toes on each front paw and four toes on each hind paw; polydactyl cats may have as many as seven digits on their front and/or hind paws. Tiger, a Canadian polydactyl cat with 27 toes, was recognised by Guinness World Records as having the highest number of toes on a cat.[1] (However, unofficially, this title goes to Mooch, a 28-toed American polydactyl cat from the New England state of Maine. Mooch's owners, Bob & Becky Duval, have submitted evidence to the Guinness Book of Records.[2]) Various combinations of anywhere from four to seven toes per paw are common, and the number of toes on either the front or rear paws is typically the same. Polydactyly is most commonly found on the front paws only, it is rare for a cat to have polydactyl hind paws only, and polydactyly of all four paws is even less common.

The nickname "double-pawed cat" is a misnomer since there is a specific double paw condition, although this condition may be interrelated with polydactyly.[3]

Feline radial hypoplasia (see squitten) is a mimic of polydactyly and is considered a severe condition. Radial hypoplasia may cause the formation of extra jointed toes, but it is not a result of the Pd gene normally associated with polydactyls. It thus does not cause the "mitten cat" or "thumb cat" condition where the extra toes occur separated from the normal ones just like a dewclaw, usually associated with an additional pad which makes them look like an underdeveloped foot sticking out near the base of the normal toes. Rather, radial hypoplasia-related extra toes are immediately adjacent to the normal ones, giving the cat overly large, flat feet — colloquially known as "patty feet" or "hamburger feet". Though this looks less serious than true polydactyly (as the feet appear "normal" apart from having one or two extra toes), breeding such cats will eventually result in severely crippled offspring. Cats used in polydactyl breeding programs can be screened by x-ray for indicators of radial hypoplasia, and cats suspected to have radial hypoplasia should not be used for breeding.
This type of polydactyly is not life-threatening and usually not even debilitating to a cat. Some polydactyl kittens initially have more difficulty in learning to walk than normal animals; however in some cases polydactyly appears to improve the dexterity of the animal. For example, a common variation 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 or catching objects with a single paw.

Cats usually "file down" their nails, thereby removing the outer layer. However, some of the claws of polydactyl cats are in awkward positions, so they are not able to trim them down by scratching. If proper trimming is not done, then these claws could grow into the cat's flesh and cause infection.
Harry has a fantastic life he lives with four other cats who all adore him and a dog, the fact that he is pure white makes him even more unique than ever. We would challenge anybody to find another cat like him, we adore him :-)

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• paradactal
• unusual
• strange
• 27
• toes
• funny
• Feet
• Harry
• Cat
• Humour
• Weird

[angtasker]

They are so amazing I could watch Harry all day he is so funny I panicked when we first got him thinking he would need lots of operations, but as long as we keep his nails trimmed he will be fine. When i got home from work today the xmas tree was on the floor and he was lying in the middle of it with tinsel in his mouth. We should start on own polydactyl cat club we have 3 here already, what do you think girls??

[angtasker]

It is brilliant that Harry has a new friend just like him what is your kittys name?

Harry now has his own fb page, sad I know ha ha x

[mcrem32]

My youngest cat actually has 9 arms with 3 paws of each one, with 11 toes on each paw, with 3 claws coming out of between each toe!?!?

[SuperFacebookguy]

My youngest cat actually has two paws on each front leg

[ravencassidy]

My Cat Mufasha ( Mooey for short) has all four feet polydactyl. He has 22 toes total, 5 each on the front feet, and 6 each on the back feet. they are not thumbed, they are paddy style and it is very rare to have a polydactyl with all four feet.

[Deeandsteve1]

6 on each paw. Sorry x

[Deeandsteve1]

I forgot to say our kitty has 5 toes on each paw. X

[Deeandsteve1]

Hi, wow your cat does have allot of toes. I have a polydactyl kitten he has 24 toes, 6 on each paw. He is so cute. Check out my vid 'kitten holding pencil' I am new so please be the first to subscribe to my channel and see more of this cute kitty. Love your arty stuff I am also into drawing and glass engraving. Thanks.