How to Identify a Hemingway Cat

My, what big paws you have! Is that cat a special breed? No, it is a Hemingway cat—meaning it has more than the usual 18 toes on its paws. Typical cats have 5 toes on each forepaw and 4 on each hind paw. One or more extra toes on a paw earns a cat Hemingway status. The extra digit is typically on the thumb side or in the form of a dewclaw. They are known as Hemingway cats because author Ernest Hemingway had a colony of them at his Florida home. Also known as polydactyl cats, these felines’ feet look like they are wearing snow mittens. Read on to learn more.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Observe the cat from a distance, noticing its paws. Do the paws seem to be oversized? Maybe it is the way the fur falls. Or, are there extra toes?

2. Approach the cat carefully, unless you already know the feline is friendly. If the cat is friendly, pet it, and then pick it up. Speak softly and calmly at all times. Make no sudden moves.

3. Take a forepaw in one hand and very softly squeeze the underpads with finger and thumb. If more than five toes appear, the cat is a Hemingway, or polydactyl, cat.

4. Check the back paws in the same manner. Are there extra toes there, too? How many toes does your Hemingway cat have?

Tips & Warnings

• Hemingway cats are pretty much like other domestic cats and have no special needs.
• Polydactyl cats are typically larger and hardier than the average domestic feline.
• Some owners claim that the extra digits enable the felines to open boxes and similar tasks.
• According to thecatgallery.com, Maine Coon cats account for 40 percent of all polydactyls.
• Descendants of Ernest Hemingway’s original polydactyl cats live on the same Florida estate, now a museum, today as Hemingway did in the beginning of the last century.
• Feral cats and/or unfriendly cats can cause serious injury. Make sure the cat is friendly and used to humans before interacting with it.

Resources

• A polydactyl cat is a cat that has more than the usual number of toes on one or all of its paws as a result of a cat body type genetic mutation. In animals including humans, polydactyly (or polydactyl
• Polydactyl cats? Polycats? Do you have a special cat with a few extra toes to tred lightly on? Or to get into mischief with? Send us your photographs. These pictures are of visitor's own polydactyl

[shellretha]

on 8/25/2008 i just want to know all the article that i have read say that the cats has 6 toes but my kitten has 7 toes only on its front leg so is my cat a hemingway cat also

[greenbriar]

on 6/17/2008 That was a great article!
Thanks,
Pat