 Two of our females gave birth on the same day, then they moved all the kittens into the same litter box. They have been sharing the kittens ever since. The babies don't know who their mom is and they don't care either. All they know is they have plenty to drink and lots of attention, both from their moms and us. As a group, these guys are the friendliest batch we have had. When they hear us come into the room they come running, and they expect to be picked up, petted, tummy rubs, and head scratches. If they don't get any attention a couple are quite vocal about demanding it. |
What is a Polydactyl or Hemingway Cat Polydactylism is a dominate genetic condition that gives a cat extra toes. Only a polydactyl parent can have polydactly offspring. They are often called Hemingway cats because of the number of polydactyl cats that live at the Ernest Hemingway home and museum in Key West Florida. While Polys are not a breed of cat they do seem to have a few special traits all their own. At least ours seem to been extremely affectionate and playful and very loveable. Not to mention they have those charmingly big feet and the personalities to match. Because the front feet often look like a hand with four fingers and a thumb they are also sometimes called Mitten Cats. |
 Although Squeeker only had one Poly in this litter, we were pretty excited that Stripes had 4 orange babies in this litter since we have not had that color before. It is hard to tell but the poly is one of the black kittens in this pile of fur. |
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We like cats and they seem to like us as well, which is a good thing because we have a house full of them. But we fell in love with Polydactyls watching Squeaker, our first polly ran down the hall sideways too see us (of course the fact she would snuggle into my neck and go to sleep didn't hurt either) we have been hooked on cats with extra toes and big feet ever since. Although not all of our kittens have extra toes, they all have received lots of extra love and attention. I don't know if there is a gene for cuddly lap cats, but if there is our bunch has it. |
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