Polydactyl Facts!
You should know
How can you help get Polydactyls into the show rings.
FEBRUARY 2002 Your Cat mag. www.yourcat.co.uk. Posted: More Toes than Most Why do some cats have more toes that others? Depending which side of the Pond you live, it's to be bred out or celebrated says ELIZABETH PERRY. Tiger has an amazing 27 toes. At just nine months old this cutest of kittens, owned by Gareth Ukrainetz, from Leduc in Alberta, Canada, has been officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the Cat with the most toes'. Tiger has seven toes on each front foot, and seven on her left hind foot, but only six toes on her right hind foot. Most cats have five toes on the front paws (four toes and one dew claw) and four on each of the hind paws, a total of 18. Tiger has beaten the previous record holder, Twinkle Toes, owned by Gloria Boensch of Birch Run, Michigan. The three-year-old female has a mere 25 toes. Tiger was born with a condition called polydactyly (Greek for Omany fingers'), which is a fairly common mutation in the domestic feline world. Many toes Polydactyly has affected cats for hundreds of years but was only scientifically recognised in the mid-1800s. It is an inherited condition in which a dominant gene causes extra toes to be formed on one or more feet. Though the condition varies from animal to animal, it will always affect the front feet and sometimes the back feet as well. The abnormality may simply be an enlargement of the inside digit into a thumb, (known as a Omitten cat'), or there may be up to three extra Oentire' toes on the paw. In general, polydactyl cats are not disabled and have no problems in walking, climbing or jumping and balance. Because the extra toes are a different length, the cat is unable to strop the additional claw and it can grow so long that it may actually grow into the paw pad. Owners must therefore clip the claws regularly. If there is a persistent problem, the toe may be declawed by a vet, one of the few circumstances where the operation is allowed in the UK. If two extra toes are fused together the nail bed will also be fused. This leads to the growth of one Osuperclaw', which is much stronger and thicker than normal, making it more lethal for furniture and human flesh! The claw may twist as it grows and become ingrown. When an extra toe causes repeated problems, it can be removed in a simple operation. Hemingway Cats Writer Ernest Hemingway, a great cat lover, had polydactyl cats among the 50 or so that shared his island. One, Princess Six Toes, became famous and appeared in the New York Times' and other American magazines. Because of this, multi-toed cats are often referred to as Hemingway cats. Other famous polydactyl cats include President Teddy Roosevelt's cat, Slippers. There is a high incidence of polydactyl cats along the United States' east coast. At one time, 40 per cent of the original Maine Coon population in New England were polydactyl. This led to claims that the cats developed extra toes to act as snowshoes! The most likely explanation is that polydactyl cats were considered lucky (probably because their large paws meant they were good mousers) and often taken on as ships' cats. When many of the seamen settled along the US coast their cats remained as well. There is also a high incidence of polydactyl cats in south-west England, perhaps for the same reason. No Show Polydactyly is generally seen as a fault in show cats and was Obred out' of Maine Coons, yet in the US efforts are being made to reinstate the condition for both Maine Coon and Pixie-Bob breeds. New breeds are also being developed that include multi-toes as part of the breed standard, such as the Hemingway Sphynx, a hairless polydactyl cat. In the UK, polydactyly is seen as a breed fault. Frances Peace, secretary of the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) says: "Additional toes are on our standard list of defects. Though polydactyl cats can be shown, they would not receive a certificate or a first prize. Our list of defects applies to all standards of breed. I cannot think that it's a feature that benefits the cat," she added. Penny Bydlinski, general secretary of FIFe, (the worldwide cat show/breed body) reveals why multi-toed cats are banned at Cat Association shows. "To allow such abnormalities would encourage inbreeding in pedigree cats," she explains. "It is a fault and polydactyl cats are not allowed to be shown." Personal Experience Jane Burton, one of the UK's top animal photographers, has helped with research into polydactyly in cats. "I was given a rescue moggy in 1993 who was a polydactyl cat and had 26 toes. I liked her and I decided to mate her with a Burmese cross. The kittens were Burmese lookalikes and around half of them were born with extra toes. Jane continued breeding from her polydactyl cats and kept records of family trees, which she passed onto researcher Dr Susan Long at Bristol Vet School. "I tried mating two polydactyl cats and their kittens varied with what extra toes they had," she explains, "though none of the kittens I bred had as many as the original female. I didn't notice any problems with the polydactyl cats, but somebody I rehomed one to did say that the cat caught his feet on the covers of the furniture." Unfortunately, after four years, Jane was persuaded to part with her last polydactyl female, putting an end to her breeding programme. The Genetics Dr Susan Long is a senior lecturer in reproduction at Bristol Vet School and is director of the course in genetics. After conducting research into polydactyly, she is able to explain how it is passed on through the generations. "The simplest assumption, in the absence of other evidence, is that the mutation originally occurred in one cat and was passed down through its offspring. "Polydactyly is caused by an autosomal dominant gene. Through research we know that if one parent carries one copy of the gene and the other parent has none, the inherited genes are heterozygous and half the kittens will be born with polydactyly. If one parent has two copies of the gene (passed down by one copy from each grandparent) the genes are homozygous and all the kittens will be born with polydactyly. "It's actually a very interesting gene," enthuses Dr Long. "Because there are various manifestations in the way the toes are formed, how many and on which feet, this suggests it's a main simple gene with variable expression."
Proposal to board: We would like to add a new class to judgment in our show rings. Hemingway cats are judged in one group without regard to sex, coat length, age, or color. There is one written standard for Hemingway cats, although the AFF Show Rules state that they many NOT be declawed. They are judged instead for their uniqueness, pleasing appearance, unusual markings, toes and sweet dispositions. Each cat reflecting good health. Standard: Toe patterns: 1. Equal amount one each foot. Meaning exp.: If front foot has 5 & declaw on one front foot than other must have 5 and dewclaw. If one has 6, the other must have 6. Back feet: a dewclaw is present on one, than must be on both feet. 2. Number of toes: Meaning exp: at the least 5 toes, with a dewclaw present. But no more than 7 with dewclaw present. All cats must have dewclaws at least on front feet. 3. Judging will be placed for best Foot look and Toe patterns. Important Note: Without x-rays it is difficult to distinguish this second form of Hemingway cats from the usual form. The best way to tell the difference between the two forms is with the presence of a dewclaw. Because of this polydactyls without dewclaws will not be recommended for show status. The disqualification will most likely read "missing dewclaw". Breeders of Hemingway cats are encouraged to use the selection process in order to maximize the number of cats in there breeding programs with dewclaws. Polydactyl cats without dewclaws can safely produce non-poly breeder quality offspring. Cats with missing dewclaws may be able to produce offspring with dewclaws. However these cats should be carefully tracked in order to be certain that this trait is stable. We do not want to use Hemingway cats for breeding that may produce kittens with radial hypoplasia. The only way to tell the difference without x-ray is by the presence a dewclaw. It is also recommended that a Hemingway always be bred with a non-poly to keep this trait heterozygous. This article from Cornell University, Cat Watch, (1998) stated that studies done on polydactylism cats, beginning in the 1940's and continuing into the 1970's, showed that the trait probably initially occurred in cats who came over from England to the Boston area with the Puritans in the mid-1600. This article also speculated that it was possible that the mutation developed in cats already in the Boston area. Scientist surmise that the immediate descendents of these cats may have lived on board trading ships, and soon found their ways to Halifax, Yarmouth MA, and Nova Scotia, which now have sizable multi-toed cat populations. In Europe, polydactyl cats are virtually non-existent, because during medieval times any cat, which was unusual, was put to death due to superstitions regarding witchcraft (Kelly, Larson, 1993). A reliable source in Sweden (1998) Reported that they do see polys in the household pet population and a reliable source in Europe (1998) reported never having seen a polydactyl household pet. The only polys that my European source had seen were registered Maine Coons. (It should be noted that any type of cat can be a polydactyl not just the Maine Coon.) When researchers were taking censuses of Hemingway cats, they found that areas close to Boston had greater populations of Hemingway’s cats than New York City or Chicago. Most Americans are not aware that the Polydactyl made up approximately 40% of the population of the original Cat. The standard front paw has 4 toes and one dewclaw and the back paw has 4 toes. A polydactyl will usually have one or two extra toes on each foot. This may be an extra toe or an extra or double dewclaw. In the October, 1968 issue of the Journal Veterinary Medicine/Small Clinician, R. F. Sis, D.V. M., M. S., Ph.D. and R. Getty, D.V.M., M.S., Ph.D. published an article called "Polydactylism in Cats". They reported that the cat normally has 18 digits, 4 on each hind foot and 5 on each front foot; however, Hemingway’s or hyper dactyl cats are not uncommon. Such cats sometimes have as many as 8 or even 10 digits on each paw. There is considerable range in the number and size of these extra digits and the structures related to them. Descriptions of feet from individual Hemingway cats were published as early as 1868. If the parent has an extra toe the kittens may have an extra toe and if the parent has a double dewclaw the kittens may have that trait. When the kitten is a poly, it seems to have the same toe configuration as the poly parent. The gene is a dominant gene that only seems to express itself from 40% to 50% of the time. However the non-poly kittens of a poly parent seen to have heavier boning than kittens of a non-poly mating. The increased boning is more noticeable in the front legs and chest. Some breeders report that the extra toe causes greater width than the double dewclaw. According to Dr. Montgomery, Auburn College of Veterinary Medicine, historically many owners are not even aware their cat has polydactylism. He also stated that owners of polydactyls have not seen adverse affects. Polydactylism is a fairly common anomaly in cats that is not detrimental to their orthopedic soundness. A literature search done at Auburn College of Veterinary Medicine showed that there has not been much research done on this topic. The medical view of polydactylism is that the presence of extra digits on one or more feet is not uncommon (Danforth, 1947; Chapman & Zeiner, 1961; Sis & Getty, 1968). Sis and Getty (1968) further reported that the trait is not related to sex. The forefeet are most often affected and usually five toes are present in addition to the dewclaws. The condition is inherited as an autonomic single dominant trait, the probable effect of which is to incite some change in the pre-axial (i.e. medial) part of the limb causing as excess of growth in that area (Sis & Getty, 1968). They also reported that in cats observed at the Iowa State University Small Animal Clinic, the anomaly had been limited to the medial side of the limb. In addition to the extra digits, each with its own terminal pad, there is one extra palmer pad and usually at least one extra plantar pad. According to the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, Cat Watch, (1998) cats that have supernumerary toes have the dominant gene, Pd. This means that a cat needs to have only one copy of this gene from either parent to have the trait. The gene specifically affects the tissue formed at the very end of the limb, where the toe will form in the developing embryo. The tissue at the end of the limb is called the apical cap. Sometimes the limb cells will stimulate the cap cells, causing the cap to be larger than would normally be expected. These feline embryos will develop extra toes. The only major problem seems to be that the nails require extra trimming. If nails are not kept trimmed there may be interdigital infections or recurrent traumatic injury (Chandler, E.G. et al, 1994). The toenails tend to grow too long and may grow in a semicircle back into the paw (Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, Cat Watch, 1998). It may seem that the nail grows faster than in the small-footed cats but there is not documentation to support this idea. Veterinarians do not consider polydactylism to be a deformity or a handicapping condition. It is considered an anomaly and an anomaly is defined as a deviation or departure from the normal form or rule. The fore feet are most often affected and usually five toes are present in addition to the dewclaws. They also reported that in cats observed at the Iowa State University Small Animal Clinic, the anomaly had been limited to the medial side of the limb. In addition to the extra digits, each with its own terminal pad, there is one extra palmer pad and usually at least one extra plantar pad. According to the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, Cat Watch, (1998) cats that have supernumerary toes has the dominant gene, Pd (standard number of toes is pd.) This means that a cat needs to have only one copy of this gene from either parent to have the trait. The gene specifically affects the tissue formed at the very end of the limb where the toe will form in the developing embryo. The tissue at the end of the limb is called the apical cap. Sometimes the limb cells will stimulate the cap cells, causing the cap is larger than would normally be expected. These feline embryos will develop extra toes. The only major problem seems to be that the nails require extra trimming. If nails are not kept trimmed there may be interdigital infections or recurrent traumatic injury. (Chandler, E.G. et al, 1994). For approximately 100 years the descendants of Hemingway’s poly Maine Coon were allowed to free breed with the local cats. This population produced poly cats with the ration 50/50 or one poly to every small-footed cat. If the gene was going to cause crippling or deformities this population should have produced many such cats. The cats would certainly have bred to poly to poly so that the polygene would have been homozygous in many animals. Polys can be registered with the various cat registries in the United States. This includes Cat Fanciers Association (CFA), The International Cat Association (TICA), American Cat Fanciers Association (ACFA) and Cat Fanciers Federation (CFF). In fact the registration of a poly Maine Coon does not indicated whether or not the cat is a poly. It is traditional but not required to include a P some place in the name to indicate that the cat is a poly. Poly cannot be shown in championship completion as extra toes are considered a deviation from the show standard, but they can be used for breeding and shown in Household Pets (HHP). It is perfectly with the cat associations to show a non-registered pedigreed cat (a pedigreed cat with papers that have not been Officially filed) as a HHP. Cats that are not altered can be shown up until they are 8 months. After this age the cat must be altered to be eligible to compete in HHP, or they must be retired. They do very well in HHP and are big crowd pleasers. In TICA, ACFA and CFA, Household Pets can be shown for National Wins and other titles. In CFA, cats earn different degrees of titles called Royals. They must be registered as a Household Pet. If the cat has a cattery name it is acceptable to register the cat with the cattery name as a suffix. The Pixie Bob, which has the polydactyl characteristic, has been accepted for show status with The International Cat Association. The Pixie Bob standard allows polys. They just reached championship in TICA May 1st, 1998, but are not registered with CFA. According to Pixies Bob breeders, the polys are not judged separately from the other Pixie Bobs, it is just an allowable feature. TICA sent out a Board Ballot last year to the membership, and it was voted that polydactylism could be shown in all classes, if it was specifically permitted in an approved breed standard. The Pixie Bob is the only TICA breed that permits polys to be shown for competition. The preferred breeding is poly to "straight foot" but poly-to-poly is done as well. The Breed Section tried to get TICA to prohibit poly-to-poly mating and wanted the poly to bred only to the straight footed cat, but TICA would not support this stipulation. According to the Pixie Bob breeders, while there are no known incidents with problems arising from the polydactyl feet, the Breed Section in TICA wanted the poly to non-poly provision put in to prevent any possible problems developing. As documented above, the characteristic of polydactylism is not a lethal allele. It is unclear why this harmless variation is not accepted for show status., while other breeds with lethal characteristics are accented for show status. According to The Book of The Cat (Wright, Walters, eds, 1980) the Manx, Japanese Bobtail and Scottish Fold breeds all produce genetic deformities. The Manx and the Japanese Bobtail gene can produce kitten with lower spinal abnormalities of region such as spinal bifida. Kittens can be born alive but with an open spine that makes them crippled.
