Extra-Toes Cat / Hemingway Polydactyls for Adoption in Chicago, IL

A polydactyl cat is a cat born with more than the usual number of toes on one or more paws. It is a genetic trait, not a breed, and it can appear in any cat, though most are domestic shorthairs or longhairs. The common form is harmless and is passed down by a dominant gene.

A Hemingway cat is a popular nickname for a polydactyl cat, one born with extra toes. The name honors the writer Ernest Hemingway, who was given a white six-toed cat named Snow White by a ship's captain. Descendants of his cats, many with extra toes, still live at the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum in Key West, Florida.

A cat normally has 18 claws, one on each toe: five on each front paw, including the dewclaw, and four on each back paw. Polydactyl cats have an extra claw for every extra toe. Claws are retractable and grow continuously in layers, so cats scratch to shed the outer sheaths and keep them sharp.

Some cats appear to have thumbs because they are polydactyl, born with extra toes on the inner side of the front paws due to a dominant genetic variation. The extra digit sits beside the dewclaw and can look like a thumb or give the paw a mitten shape. It isn't truly opposable, though some cats use it to grip.

Polydactyl means having more than the usual number of fingers or toes. The word comes from Greek roots meaning many digits. In cats it describes a congenital trait in which one or more paws has extra toes. Polydactyly also occurs in people, dogs and other animals, though the specific feline form is usually harmless.

Cats usually have one toe bean, or digital pad, under each of their weight-bearing toes, which means four per paw, for 16 in all. Each paw also has a larger central pad, front legs have a small carpal pad higher up, and the dewclaw has a tiny pad. Polydactyl cats have extra toe beans for their extra toes.

Yes, thumb cats are real. The term is a nickname for polydactyl cats whose extra toes sit on the inner side of the front paws, creating a thumb-like digit or a mitten-shaped paw. They have been well documented for centuries, especially in New England, where they were sometimes called Boston thumb cats. The thumb isn't truly opposable.

Cats don't have fingers in the human sense, but they do have digits, which are their toes. Each front paw has five, including the dewclaw, and each back paw has four. Their toes contain bones similar to our finger bones, ending in retractable claws. Polydactyl cats simply have more of these digits than usual.

Cats with extra toes are called polydactyl cats. They also go by many nicknames, including Hemingway cats, after Ernest Hemingway's six-toed cats, as well as mitten cats, thumb cats, snowshoe cats, boxing cats and, in New England, Boston thumb cats. All of these names describe the same harmless genetic trait rather than a breed.

Polydactyly in cats is caused by a genetic mutation inherited as a dominant trait, so a kitten needs only one copy from one parent. In the common form, a small change in a DNA region that controls the sonic hedgehog gene alters how the paws develop before birth, adding toes. It is not caused by diet, injury or the environment.

Polydactyl cats are uncommon overall but not rare everywhere. They are noticeably more common along the East Coast of North America, especially New England and Atlantic Canada, and in parts of southwest England and Wales, where ship cats carried the gene. Because the trait is dominant, it can spread quickly in local cat populations.

No, polydactyl cats are not inbred. Polydactyly is caused by a dominant gene, so a kitten only needs one parent with the trait to inherit it, and about half the kittens of an affected cat may have extra toes. Its high frequency in some regions comes from ship cats spreading the gene, not from inbreeding.

Most polydactyl cats have one or two extra toes on each front paw, giving them six or seven toes there instead of five, and some also have extra toes on the back paws. Paws can carry up to about nine toes. The Guinness World Record is 29 toes on one cat, set in 2026.

Most indoor cats benefit from regular nail trims, often every few weeks, to prevent snagging, scratching injuries and overgrowth. Outdoor and very active cats may wear claws down more. Polydactyl cats need extra attention because their extra claws often don't touch the ground or scratching posts, so they can curl into the paw pads if not trimmed.

Extra toes are uncommon but perfectly normal for a polydactyl cat. The trait is an inherited genetic variation present at birth, and the common form causes no pain or health problems. In some areas, such as parts of New England, it is fairly frequent. Any sudden swelling or change in a paw is a different matter and needs a vet.

Most polydactyl cats don't have health problems from their extra toes. The main issue is claw care, since extra claws can grow into the paw pads if not trimmed. A rare, unrelated condition called radial hypoplasia can cause limb deformities and is sometimes confused with polydactyly. A veterinarian can check a cat's paws and gait.

An extra toe bean on a polydactyl cat cushions an extra toe, just like the cat's other digital pads. Toe beans absorb shock, provide traction, help the cat sense texture and contain sweat and scent glands. On a thumb-like extra digit, the pad may help some cats grip toys or climb, though it has no special separate purpose.

Any cat breed can carry the gene for extra toes, though most polydactyls are domestic shorthairs and longhairs. The trait has long been associated with the Maine Coon, and TICA accepts polydactyl Maine Coons, Pixie-bobs and Highlanders. Most other registries don't accept polydactyl show cats, but that has no effect on them as pets.

When a cat has extra toes, it means it inherited polydactyly, a genetic trait that adds digits during development before birth. The common form is harmless and is passed down from at least one parent. Folklore has long called these cats lucky, and sailors prized them as mousers, but extra toes don't change a cat's personality.

The extra toe on a cat doesn't have an official special name, but people often call it a thumb, especially when it sits on the inner side of the front paw. Veterinarians describe it as an extra digit, and the condition is called polydactyly. The normal fifth toe high on a cat's front leg is called the dewclaw.