Unraveling the Mystique: Dive into the Wonders of Polydactyl Maine Coon Cats!

Normally, Maine Coons and other cats have a total of 18 toes, 5 toes each for their front paws, and 4 toes each for their rear paws. Polydactyl Maine Coons, however, have more than 6 toes to about 7 toes on each paw.

The term ‘polydactyl’ came from the Greek words ‘poly’ which means many and ‘dáktulos’ or ‘dactylos’ which means fingers or toes. So polydactyl literally means ‘many fingers’ or ‘many toes’.

Polydactyl Maine Coons are the same as regular Maine Coons except for the number of toes they have. Polydactyl Maine Coons have elongated toes and these give them distinctive and unique paw prints. Their unique paw prints have earned them the names of ‘mitten paws’, ‘snowshoe cats’, and ‘thumb cats’.

The extra toes also help the Polydactyl Maine Coon climb better and faster than regular Maine Coons. This enables them to be better hunters.

World’s Record On Polydactyly Cats

Jake holds the Guinness World Record for the most toes on a cat. He has a total of 28 toes. In 2018, this record was tied by Paws from Minnesota. Currently, it is believed that the maximum number of toes per paw is 7. On average, polydactyl cats usually have a minimum of 6 toes in each paw. Both Jake and Paws are both Tabby Cats. Despite this, Polydactyly is more common to occur on Maine Coons though.

Facts About Polydactyl Maine Coon

1. How Polydactyly Occurs In Coon Breeds

Initially, Maine Coons as a breed is 40-50% Polydactyl. Polydactyly is inherited. Even if only one of the parents exhibits polydactyly, their kittens may inherit it.  There are breeders who intentionally breed cats with polydactyly since there are demands for this characteristic because they find it cute and adorable. These breeders refer to Polydactyl Maine Coons as ‘mitten kittens’, ‘bigfoot cats’, or ‘cats with thumbs’. However, since there are health conditions related to Polydactyl Maine Coons, breeding them is strongly discouraged.

There are also breeders who intentionally remove this characteristic from their purebred Maine Coons. Feline organizations are split when it comes to the decision whether to allow Polydactyl Maine Coons to compete.

Currently TICA rules allow polydactyly while FIFe do not. On one hand, it’s possible TICA does not want to discriminate against polydactyl cats as a large chunk of the Maine Coon breed are Polydactyls. FIFe on the other hand, probably doesn’t want to encourage breeders to focus on polydactyl breeds. This may be because there are cases of health issues specifically linked to the polydactyl variant of Maine Coons.

2. Types Of Polydactyl Maine Coons

There are two types of Polydactyly in Maine Coons:

• Preaxial Polydactyly – a small extra toe grows right beside the dew claw. The size of this toe is usually smaller than the other normal toes. Polydactyls of this type are referred to as ‘thumb’ or ‘mitten paws’ because the extra toe near the dewclaws makes it appear that the Maine Coon has opposable thumbs.

• Postaxial Polydactyly – the regular sized extra toe grows after the fourth toe and before the dew claw. The size of this toe is usually similar to the other toes and is oftentimes unnoticeable. This makes their paws look enormous. This is also the reason why Polydactyls of this type are called ‘snowshoe’, ‘pancake’, or ‘patty paws’.

A third type but very rare is Mesoaxial Polydactyly. Not everyone recognizes this type though and most researched facts online only acknowledge the two types, preaxial and postaxial as the only types of Polydactyly in Felines. Mesoaxial Polydactyly occurs when a Maine Coon’s extra toes look like a combination of postaxial polydactyly and the preaxial polydactyly.

Mesoaxial: Extra toes are throughout the paw (may look like a combination of postaxial and preaxial)

3. Not All Coonie Cats Are Polydactyl

Many Maine Coons are Polydactyls but not all are. If one of the parents has polydactylism, there’s a 50% chance that the kittens would inherit this feature.

Where Polydactyly started remains a mystery but it has been first noted on ships that came from Boston and Maine.

It is believed that polydactyly must have been spread from Cats onboard ships coming from Boston and Maine, which traveled between England and Wales. These places have more cases of feline polydactyly compared to other cats around the world. This has also caused polydactyly to be prevalent among Maine Coons.

4. Are Polydactyl Maine Coons Rare?

They are not as rare as people perceive them to be. Polydactylism is common among Maine Coons and Pixie Bobs and rarely occurs on other cat breeds.  In fact, they are so common that for some Cat Associations, Polydactyl Maine Coons are treated like a different breed separate from the regular Maine Coons.

However, because of the perceived issues with extra toes, some Cat Associations discourage the breeding of Polydactyl Cats in general. FIFe has banned cat owners from registering their cats if they are polydactyl. This has lowered the instances of polydactyly but they are still not considered a rare variety.

5. Health Issues Of Polydactyl Maine Coons

Polydactyl Maine Coons have the same health issues and concerns as the regular Maine Coons. However, due to the additional toes, they might experience fusion of extra toes and have painful abnormalities, severe nail bed infections, as well as irregular nail growth. If symptoms are severe, an operation might be required to remove the extra toes.

FAQs About Polydactyl Maine Coons

1. Is Polydactyly Considered An Anomaly Or Defect?

Polydactyly in Maine Coons should not be considered a birth defect or anomaly. It has been linked to the Maine Coon breed since its recognition as an official breed. Previously, it was thought that around 40-50% of Maine Coons have this condition. However, in recent times, some modern cat breeders try to avoid Maine Coons from being polydactyls.

Polydactyly in Maine Coons is normally left uncorrected unless it impedes the Maine Coon’s movements or if it causes serious medical concerns. It should not be considered a birth defect or anomaly.

The statement from TICA’s (The International Cat Association) Maine Coon Cat Show and Pedigree Requirements and Disqualification guide shows that they recognize Polydactyl Maine Coon as a common breed and not an anomaly.

Polydactyly usually do not pose any threat to the health and wellness of a Maine Coon (based on the research made by Lange and Hamelin). It shouldn’t be considered a handicap as most felines with polydactyly actually exhibit better hunting and climbing skills compared to their regular counterparts. One of the issues to be considered though is nail growth since there are more toes. Overgrown toes is not just affecting Polydactyl Maine Coons though, it also affects regular Maine Coons.

2. Can Polydactyl Maine Coons Compete In Shows?

TICA, the world’s largest genetic registry of pedigreed cats, considers polydactyly not as an anomaly or cause for disqualification. In fact, it treats Maine Coon Polydactyl as a separate breed from regular Maine Coons and even awards the Best Maine Coon Polydactyls of the Year.

However, not all feline federations have accepted Maine Coon with extra toes as “normal” so they disqualify them from joining their sponsored Cat Shows. The Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFe) has even banned registration and breeding of polydactyl Maine Coons because extra toes may be dangerous to the Maine Coon’s health.

3. Can Polydactyl Cats Use Their ‘Thumbs’?

Though Polydactyl Cats have longer toes and therefore, longer thumbs (also known as dewclaws), it doesn’t mean they can use these dewclaws. Dewclaws do not have any function and it is not useful in gripping things nor for climbing trees, etc. This is because their thumbs are not opposable like ours. They cannot move their declaws and it is there for decorative purposes only. Removing them might pose a problem of infection so it is best to just leave them be.

4. Are Polydactyl Maine Coons More Expensive?

Some breeders chose not to breed Polydactyl Maine Coons anymore because it is not accepted by certain Cat Associations. However, there are still a lot of cat breeders catering to the demands for Polydactyl Maine Coons. This is because this variety of Maine Coon has bigger paws and makes them more similar-looking to wild cats. However, when it comes to cost, they have the same price points with the regular Maine Coons. This is because only the paws are different. Prices for Maine Coons are more influenced by the color rarity and the size of the pedigree parents. Polydactyl Maine Coons also cost around $1,000-4,000 depending on rareness.

5. Why Are They Called Hemingway Cats?

The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum is currently housing at least 60 polydactyl cats. When he was a child, Ernest Hemingway’s first polydactyl cat was a White Maine Coon called Snow White. The White Maine Coon was a gift from the sea captain, Stanley Dexter.  This started the famous author’s love for Polydactyl cats. The popularity of the Polydactyl variety grew because of this so now, they are often called ‘Hemingway cats’.

6. Does Polydactyly Have Any Benefits?

Polydactyl Maine Coons have better grips on challenging surfaces like trees, sand, or snow. Wider and bigger paws also give them better balance and a better traction, making them climb anything with ease.  Therefore, Polydactyl Maine Coons are better climbers and hunters compared to the regular Maine Coons.

7. Are Polydactyl Maine Coons More Affectionate?

As mentioned in other articles,the personality of a Maine Coon depends on its genetics and environment and most importantly, its upbringing. Being a polydactyl doesn’t influence the Maine Coon’s personality and temperament.

8. Do Polydactyl Maine Coons Bring Luck?

It is not determined where it started but polydactyl cats are believed to bring good luck to its owner. This may be because polydactyl cats were often brought on ships by sailors and since most of them sailed without any bad incident, they probably thought of their feline companions as the ones who brought them luck. They are useful onboard though. They would hunt for rats and mice which would normally eat and spoil food onboard.

9. Is Caring For Polydactyl Maine Coons Different?

Caring for a Polydactyl Maine Coon is mostly similar to caring for any other Maine Coon or any other breed. The only difference would be caring for its nails. The quantity of the toes isn’t an issue. The issue is that because there are too many toes growing, it is possible that some claws might grow abnormally (ingrown nails) and become infected. Hence, regular care, nail trimming, and inspection are essential. You may also need to invest in good scratching posts and cat trees or platforms to avoid them from scratching your furniture.

In Conclusion

Polydactyl Maine Coons are quite similar to regular Maine Coons except for their extra toes. The extra toes shouldn’t be considered a defect as these are common to Maine Coons, occurring before at a 40-50% rate. This rate has considerably lowered due to Cat Associations’ (e.g. FIFe) banning of breeding of polydactyls due to perceived medical situations caused by the extra toes. Meanwhile,  TICA (The International Cat Association) officially allows feline registration and participation of Polydactyl Maine Coons  on their cat shows.

Polydactyl Maine Coons are not as rare as some people think. Having extra toes are also not detrimental to a Maine Coon’s health. As long as they are properly groomed and their claws are properly monitored for in-growns, there shouldn’t be any problems. Most Polydactyl Maine Coons actually use their toes to their advantage as they are known to be better equipped to climb and hunt compared to the regular Maine Coons. Also, their appearance, especially those who exhibit postaxial polydactyly, are more preferred by many cat lovers as their paws are quite larger, more imposing, and attractive compared to the paws of regular Maine Coons.