Conference misery::feline_v1

    OK, I'll start. Argus, who has huge paws and is probably tripple
    pawed, had the typical problem of the claw growing into the pad on
    his foot, making him very grouchy, and naturally, it wouldn't wear
    down and he wouldn't let me trim it. Finally I resorted to having
    just the middle claw removed from each paw, and his personality changed
    from lion to pussycat. Panther also had this problem so when I had
    him "fixed", I had his middle claws taken care of also.
    
    Deb 

    My mother's cat Cali (she's a calico, can you tell?), has the double
    paw.  As a kitten she use to suck her thumb.  Now she can pick anything
    up, including a pingpong ball, and not have it drop.  Mind you,
    she does this with *one* hand, not two.
    
    M-L

I have been told (I don't know how reliable this is) that "double 
paws" on cats are a result of incest.

    
    Could you explain what "Double Pawed" means - I can't quite visualize
    it...
    
    Trv

    Re .4:
    
    It would be similar to a human with two hands coming out of a single
    wrist.  Actually, it's a bit more complicated (_really_ being like
    a person with 8 or 9 fingers on each hand, but the effect's like
    having two paws).
    
    Re .3:
    
    Not exactly incest, but certainly inbreeding.  The polydactyl gene
    was apparently a mutation that might have disapopeared, except that
    the cats (originally from England, if memory serves) inbred enough
    for it to get established.
    
    Re .0:
    
    Our cats aren't polydactylic, but our next-door neighbor's is.
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.

	 Becky has  2  spare  toes - one on each hind foot. On her front
     legs,  her  dew  claw  is down with the other 4. Her hind feet each
     have 5 toes. Her brother Josh is 'normal'. It looks as though she's
     wearing catcher's mitts!

    Having extra toes, especially on front _and_ hind feet, is particularly
    good in wintertime for outdoor kitties,  Acts kinda like snowshoes...
    
    My neighbor's cat has some trouble, though, in that his extra toes'
    claws don't wear away as the "notmal" ones do, so they have to be
    trimmed periodically (*which he detests).
    
   Steve Kallis, Jr.
     

    Polydactylism is also common out here on the west coast.  It is
    cause for disqualification in purebred cats at shows, but any household
    pet in competition that has extra toes can expect to do very well
    in shows, because the extra toes are regarded as a plus. None of
    my cats has extra toes, but I have a friend whose cat does.
    She named the cat Lotta La Feet.
    Jo Ann
    

   > My Argus and Panther are both "double pawed". Having grown up in
   > New England where there are so many polydactyls, I never thot much
   > of it (except thinking that it was neat to have cats with hands),
   > but from talking to people that aren't native New Englanders it appears
   > that these cats are common only in New England.
    
    
    Yes, apparently the nuclear power plants have something to
    do with it.   @-{
    
    

    RE: .8
    
    Joanne,
    
    That is interesting that there are a lot of them on the west coast
    but it sort of makes sence. I remember reading some where that merchant
    ships always had cats on them to take care of the rats, and the double
    pawed ones were especially prized by sailors since they are such good
    hunters. No doubt some of them hopped of the boat and decided that
    sunny California was a comfortable place to raise a family.
    
    I also remember reading that historians have used the dates
    of the first reports of polydactiles seen in/passing through  a
    community to trace the migration paths of our pioneers.

    Personally, I've always found the topic of double pawed cats
    fascinating and I've often wondered why the cat magizines have never
    done a major article on them (a few months ago Cats magazine had
    a small blurb but nothing worthy of these creatures).
        
    RE: .9

    SET /FLAME=TI:ON
    
    I don't find that even mildly amusing. Flaming replies to me, not
    to this note.
    
    SET /FLAME=TI:OFF
    
    Deb

      Yes, our Kitty, the Chief Mascot of the Tewksbury facility has
    double front paws. The extra toes are bunched together the equivalent
    of where our thumbs are. In fact when he stands, they kind of hang
    off the ground. His back feet also have one extra toe each. Luckily,
    he was declawed sometime before he became employed at Digital, so
    he doesn't have any trouble with claws.
       I don't think they hamper him too much, he loves to go on very
    long walks. He always did "tours" with us security folk. Now he
    is at home with me, and loves long hikes in the woods.
       The only thing I've noticed, is kind of a growth, like a hangnail,
    from the pads of the extra toes. It's like dead skin and can be
    trimmed off. Once in a while it shows up. Anybody know what that
    might specifically be?
                                               Denise
    

    re: -1
    
    Argus has that growth on his toes also but he was never fully declawed
    (just the middle claw was removed). The vet said that it was nothing
    to worry about and but it is sometimes seen in double pawed cats.
    
    Deb

    I couldn't resist this note as I just heard what a friend named
    her new TRIPLE-pawed cat--"Maxi-pads"!!!