The American Polydactyl is a medium to large sized domestic cat characterized by extra toes on the feet.
The body is strong and powerful with a broad chest. It has a broad head and ears that are set wide apart. The muzzle is somewhat square, but not foreshortened. These are very outgoing cats.
American Polydactyls come in all colors. They may be tailless, have short tails, or have full-length tails. They come in both long and short hair.
The polydactyl gene is a dominant gene. The cats may be polydactyl only in the front feet, only in the hind feet, or on all feet.
Nicknames for polydactyl cats include “boxing cats“, “mitten cats“, “mitten-foot cats“, “snowshoe cats”, “thumb cats“, “six-fingered cats“, “Cardi-cats”, “Hemingway cats“, and “double-pawed cats”.
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.
Registration on American Polydactyls is still open at this time. This means that cats displaying the characteristic extra toes may be registered as American Polydactyls. In addition, outcrosses are allowable. Due to the dominant nature of the polydactyl gene, some kittens with “normal” feet may be born in litters. These kittens are still registered as American Polydactyls. The “PD” genetic code is used to designate if a cat displays the polydactyl gene.
The true polydactyly is a congenital abnormality, genetically inherited as an autosomal dominant trait of the Pd gene with incomplete penetrance.
Nobel Prize–winning author Ernest Hemingway was one of the more famous lovers of polydactyl cats, after being first given a six-toed cat by a ship’s captain. Upon Hemingway’s death in 1961, his former home in Key West, Florida, became a museum and a home for his cats, and it currently houses approximately fifty descendants of his cats (about half of which are polydactyl). Because of his love for these animals, “Hemingway Kitty Cat“, or simply “Hemingway Cat”, is a term which has come to describe polydactyls.
I love the kitties, but frankly, i was not prepared for so many toes! kinda freaked me out a little bit.
I have a Hemingway my girl kitty have 7 toes and she is just like any other kitty just extra special.
Reblogged this on Basil Wheel.
What a great post! You just generated a family discussion of Hemingway and super glue (no, Husband, you cannot glue extra toes on our cat) and mittens.
haha
great comment 
awwww… makes me miss my “lil’ man” … Had him growing up, he used to play golf with me and my brother…sit by the hole and pull the ball out of the coffee can we buried in the ground and bat the ball back to us…lol …he made the front page of the newspaper in my town also, if I remember correctly… I was young… He was the first cat they saw around there who had 7 toes on each front foot and 5 on each back… LOVED that lil’ guy, and just cats in general though!
You had really smart cat
my kitty doesn’t play golf 
Do you have any pictures with your “lil’ man”? I would like to add yours cat photo to this post (if you don’t mind) 
I live in Key West.back in 1995,a beautiful totally white Mitten kitty was dropped in front of my home.He adopted me
I named him Purrby and he graced my world until he passed in 2003.He was a huge male cat.I loved the hugs he gave with his Mitten paws.
A original descendant of a Hemingway cat.
wow, I’m little bit jealous… you really had Hemingway Cat
I’ve never seen this breed live… I have got the same question for you as for ALW Custom Design 
. Do you have any photos with your Purrby? I would like to see him 
I have lots of pics of Purrby on my web site
http:///.zimbabast.com
Just click the drop down list and you will see his pages.
He is also on my blog”Galvanic Jumpings”
Wow, thank you very much! Purrby is adorable ❤
http://zimbabast.com/
Its not a special breed ,it’s mutation..To mention it as its a special kind of breed is simply unhuman..!!
You’re right
I just adopted a polydactyl kitty
do any of you know of somewhere in Central Florida that I can get a kitten? I have searched and searched.. it is making me crazy!
We are lucky to have found a poly kitten when he was very young. We named him Ernest Hemingway because of his background but we call him “Hemi”. He is all black with 24 toes extra’s on both back and front. He is larger in size than our other 3 furry kids and does use those extra toes to open doors, climb in odd places but his most outstanding quality is his personality. He is a real lover, sleeps under the covers in bed with or without us (he doesn’t like to be chilly) always wants to be around us….. a real sweetheart!!!! He does have his own Facebook page if anyone has questions or would like to see more of our Hemi. His Facebook
is Hemingway our Cat
Put it to coffee diet one that doesn’t and they are sold freely in the market. Green tea weight loss extracts provide weight loss benefits.
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