“Polydactylism” causes the cat to be born with more than the usual number of toes on one or more of its paws. It is a naturally occurring trait in the maine coon breed.
It is an autosomal dominant trait meaning just one of the parents needs to be poly for the offsprings to have a chance at being polydactyl. 40-50% of the litter of kittens can be polydactyl with one poly parent.
There are 2 types of poly paw mutations in Maine Coons:
• The mutation HW is named after the Hemingway cats on the former estate of Ernest Hemingway on Key West. There is still a domestic cat population with polydactyly there. In many Maine Coons polydactyly is caused by the same mutation as in the Hemingway cats. This mutation was detected during a study, and it cannot cause anything else but the forming of additional thumbs and / or the extension of the existing front paw dew claws to thumbs. This makes cats often look as if they are wearing mittens, therefore this look of the paws is often described as “mittens”.
• The second mutation that can be found more and more often in Maine Coons is the MW mutation. MW stands for “Masterweaver”, a Canadian Maine Coon Foundation line with polydactyly. Unfortunately, the locus if this mutation has not been found yet. But the breeding experience shows that this mutation as well does not cause anything else but the forming of additional toes and / or the extension of the dew claw into a thumb. In contrast to the HW Mutation, the MW can also cause toes with 3 limbs that have the same length as the other 4 toes at each cat paw. Such paws have a rounder look than non-poly paws and are therefore often called “Hamburger” oder “Patty” feet. Besides MW cats tend to having the same number of toes on all four paws much more often than HW cats.
Reference: Heredity of Polydactyly in the Cat, C. H. Danforth, Department of Anatomy, Stanford University School of Medicine, 2013, http://www.pristine-paws.de/kp_da_en.htm
Some things to consider when caring for a polydactyl Maine Coon:
• Because they have extra digits, it is extra important to make sure that their nails are trimmed regularly. Be sure to tend to each individual nail, especially the ones on their extra digits. You don’t want them to overgrow because the nail can pierce the paw pad and be very painful. Some can be tricky to find, so be diligent.
Originally, a large portion (40%) of the gene pool was polydactyl in Maine Coons. Since then, some have believed this mutation is bad & in some cat fanciers they have been disqualified from shows. Poly paws pose no threat or ill effects to the cat (as long as they are being well cared for with frequent trimmings). Some say they actually give them some benefits (pattypaws are built in snow shoes 😁) and these wider paws can provide better balance.
Both of our boys are polydactyl! (Hans is pattypaw and Jean is Hemingway) We are so excited to have polydactyl kittens!
We love our poly pawed friends! What do you think about them?
