Inherited traits are passed down through an animal's genetic code which is found in the animal's DNA—a long molecule that is present in every cell in the body. The DNA contains thousands of genes. A gene is a specific DNA sequence that leads to the expression of an inherited characteristic. For example, there are genes that determine eye color, coat color, and other body characteristics.
And while we're used to, for example, cats with 18 toes and puppies with 2 ears, sometimes an animal's genes decide to play a trick on us, and it comes to this world with more (or less!) of these features. Continue scrolling and take a look at this Bored Panda list, compiled to show you what genetic surprises some of our beloved creatures possess!
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Frankie Was Born With Four Ears And An Eye Deformity But He’s Still Purrfect
Exactly what I was thinking! Love the username, too. HoO is my favorite of Rick Riordan's series.
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he is perfect things like this make me wish i wasnt allergic to cats
🥰 Oh my gosh, I love Frankie & the uniqueness to him, and that bright pink nose is so cute❣
One of the most frequent congenital physical anomalies we see in this list is polydactylism, which causes animals to be born with more than the usual number of toes on one or more of their paws.
Interestingly, the condition seems to be especially common in cats along the East Coast of North America (in the United States and Canada and in South West England, Wales, and Kingston-upon-Hull.
Polydactyl cats have been extremely popular as ship's cats as well. Even though there is some controversy over the question of whether the most common variant of the trait originated as a mutation in New England or was brought there from Britain, there seems to be agreement that it spread widely as a result of cats carried on ships originating in Boston, Massachusetts, and the prevalence of polydactyly among the cat population of various ports correlates with the dates when they first established trade with Boston.
Cat Named Yoda Was Born With An Extra Set Of Ears
Sailors have been known to value polydactyl cats especially for their extraordinary climbing and hunting abilities as an aid in controlling shipboard rodents. Some even thought they bring good luck at sea. The rarity of polydactyl cats in Europe might be explained by the fact that they were hunted and killed due to superstitions about witchcraft.
The legendary Nobel Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway was an aficionado of polydactyl cats too. His love for these animals began after one ship captain gave him a six-toed cat he named Snow White.
Upon Hemingway's death in 1961, his former home in Key West, Florida became a museum and a home for his cats, and at one point it housed approximately fifty descendants of his cats (about half of which were polydactyl). Because of his immense love for these animals, polydactyl cats are sometimes referred to as "Hemingway cats".
"The things that make me different are the things that make me," one very special animal said. And the animals in these pics are very special too.
Ren Is A Polydactyl With 6 Toes On Each Foot
I Adopted A Stray Dog With 2 Mouths, One Where The Ear Should Be
Toad is about 6 years old, she found her way to the shelter that I worked at several years ago. The whole staff was kind of in shock at her appearance. She was also highly aggressive when she came in. A shelter officer muzzled her and carried her to the vet clinic and while she was there being examined, it sounds goofy but literally, we made eye contact and she immediately relaxed.
That day I took her into my office to evaluate her and she immediately crawled into my lap. This big scary, insane-looking dog, just climbed into my lap and rested her head on my shoulder. I adopted her and we have been inseparable ever since.
My Sister Found This Adorable Guy With Extra Toes
This Is Skadi, The Norwegian Lundehund Puppy
This is one of the oldest breeds in the world and is recovering from near-extinction - in 1963, only 6 remained. Now there are 1600. They are naturally polydactyl, can close their ears to water, and bend their heads back 180 degrees.
This Unicorn Puppy Named Narwhal Was Found Abandoned With An Extra Tail On His Forehead
Too Many Peets
Omg those feet! I can't help but wonder if it is a case of over (in?) Breeding. I could be wrong but as far as I know those round curling backwards ears are not natural (unlike the no tail) and a trait specifically bred for.
Polydactyl Maine Coon
Sansa Is A Special Needs Rescue Princess With Feline Hyperesthesia, Different Colored Eyes & More Toes Than You
A Cat With An Opposable Thumb. I For One Welcome Our New Cat Overlords
Now they can finally tell us if we (their servants) are doing a good job!
Met This Cat Today With Two Tails
My Cat Is Polydactyl And Has 26 Toes. So I Named Him Toes
Meet Phoebe, The Polydactyl Highland Lynx Complete With Curled Ears And A Bobtail
The paws and ears are what's supposed to be noteworthy, but that face...
Doubled Fangs Of a kitten
Amelia And Her Two Faced Cat
Got My Cat Wholesale And He Came With 75% Extra Beans
Can he like fold them inward like we do with our thumb? So fold his paw around something and grasp it?
This My Nugget At 2 Months Old And 1 Year Old. She's My Stunted Growth, Cross Eyed, Head Tilted, Polydactyl, Special Kitty
Sweet expression :) kind hearted intelligent introvert. (Could be totally missing the mark but that is how she looks in the pic atleast)
Say Hi To Our New Kitten Maximillion! He's A Polydactyl Siamese
The Cat At Our Warehouse Gave Birth To A Kitten Who Has An Extra Tiny Paw That Functions As A Thumb
When you say it "functions as a thumb" what exactly are we talking about here? Can the kitten pick things up with one paw? Hold a pen? Hitch a lift? How is it with child-proof safety caps? To what extent do we need to start worrying about highly dexterous cats taking over the world?
Sleepy Polydactyl Kitten With An Extra 6 Toes
Omg almost doesn't look real. Like bear feet or actually those slippers for warm feet you can get in weird designs.
Polydactyl Peek-A-Boo
This Kitten With 7 Beans!
Here Is My Rescue Baby
I Drove Over An Hour One Way To Pick Up My Purrito With Extra Beans From A Shelter In The Middle Of Nowhere. Meet Zula
Joey
My Polydactyl Kitty Stella
Polydactyl Kitten In Clinic Today
My Friend's Polydactyl Half-Lynx Kitten. Her Name Is Nimh
Our Little Ginger Polydactyl Kitten
We rescued him and his calico sister from under a neighbour's deck when they were ~2.5 weeks old. We had to bottle feed them at first, and now they're eating machines. And super playful and healthy!
Haha he still has to learn how big his feet are, he is standing on his own paw
At Work Today We Literally Had A Mutant Cat Come Through... Extra Canine Tooth, Strongly Rooted
Kind of like a cyclops but different. Dentops? Or unident :) Is his nose unusual as well or is it the picture quality?
Leg Broken In 2 Places But Still Got Sexy Legs And Thumbs
Found A Kitty With Extra Beans At The Lake. Meet Pawla Abdul
My Kitten Showing Off Her Polydactyl Toe Beans
Friend's Cat Has Black Chin, So It Always Looks Surprised. It's Also A Polydactyl And Had Thumbs
My New Love! She's A Polydactyl She Has 6 Toes On Each Foot! Any Names?
This Is Migi, Our Polydactyl 6-Year-Old Cat
Adopted another older, shy girl from the shelter. When we met her, she looked sad, wasn’t food motivated and poor girl still needs some dental work done.
Skippy’s Toes. He Was A Kitten I Fostered Last Year Who Had Radial Hypoplasia And A Lot Of Toes
Imagine seeing these paw prints in the snow and go like huh uhh what?? Wait....
This Cat Has Both Heterochromia And Extra Toes
Dem Peets
Our Cat, Waffles. Total 25 Toes
Felina, Showing How Unique She Is
My Polydactyl Foster Kitten
So I’m fostering my first polydactyl kitten, Arya, and I just find her paws so fascinating. And here’s her front left paw with seven toes, too! Each of her back paws has five toes. So while kittens are supposed to have 18 toes, she has 24!
Little Cheeto And His Extra Toes
Aunt-In-Law Has A Very Beany Boy With Not Just One, But Two Extra Toes. On Every Paw
This Kitten Has Two Extra Toes
This Was A First For Me, Anyone Ever Seen A Dog With Two Canine Teeth? Other Side Was Completely Normal. Breed Is Husky
I would recommend extraction. Look at the lower jaw - the extra tooth has already done some damage and might be painful.
So Many Beanzzzz. This Is A 4,5 Month Old Polydactyl Mane Coon, He's Gonna Be So Big
Meet Meow Mao, A Kitty With An Extra Toe On Each Foot
Philo! He’s Our New Kitten That Is Polydactyl. He Has Six Toes On The Back And 5 On Front
Loki And His Extra Beans
This Kitty Got An Extra Helping Of Toe Beans
Polydactyl Kitten Born With 23 Beans
My Highland Lynx Kitten Is Polydactyl On All Four Paws
This article gives the impression that polydactyl is a common trait.
The Polydactyl Chonk I Catsit Every So Often. He Weighs About 25 Lbs And Has Paws Almost As Big As My Hands
My Newly Adopted Kitten Is Polydactyl! Both Front Paws Have An Extra Finger So It Looks Like He Has Little Thumbs
Today I Met This 17 Year Old Meow Pal Named Musty. He Had Extra Toes And An Old Man Meow And Honestly I Would Do Anything For Him
Meet My New Boi! He's Got Floopy Ears And Extra Toes! But He Doesn't Have A Name Yet
I Was Able To Get A Good Shot Of Her Little Paws With The Extra Toes
Galileo Pad Thai Has Extra Beans And Would Like To Share
This Little Piggy Went To Market, This Little Piggy Stayed Home, This Little Piggy Had Roast Beef, But Wait, He Did Have Three Little Piggies Who Stayed For Some
Meet Sam, My Polydactyl (Extra Toes) Kitty. Also Known As A Hemingway Cat
Thor The Polydactyl Maine Coon Showing Off Those Giant Mitts. Almost 8 Months Old
Happy 3rd Birthday Kingsley! Love You So Much
7-Week-Old Bella With Her Sweet Smile And Polydactyl Mitten Paws
Too Many Toes, Got Stuck In The Screen
Polydactyl Cats Are Cats Born With More Than The Usual Amount Of Toes On Their Paws Due To Mutation
In the past, sailors believed that they brought good luck and kept them, as they believed the extra digits give polydactyl cats better balance, important when at sea.
My 87 Year Old Grandma With Her 27 Year Old, 24 Toed, Polydactyl Cat
27 really ? Wow anything above 20 is already pretty high. She does look a day over 14 :)
Cats Are Like Pringles: You Can’t Have Just One. Just Applied To Adopt Otis The Polydactyl Cat From The City Pound
Does he have big lower teeth? Mine had that and he has pierced his lips several times (somehow through both upper and lower lip, like he stiched his own mouth shut we couldn't figure out what was what. The doctor was baffled) He never pulled a face like this though. But looks like underbite you see in dogs.
My Polydactyl Penelope At The Vet
His Name Is Cosmos, He's Helped Me Through A Lot Of Mess In The Past Two Years. I Love Him And His Extra Toes
Love how the coloring continues. The split is quite high up, usually they are more sideways then, looking like a thumb. This is an alternate look.
High Five
🥰 Such a cutie , wonder if his other paw is like this one as well or if its just this one
Polydactyl Toe Beans
Aww, that baby's paw is almost as big as his kitten head 😍 such a cutie 😍
Meet Dexter, My New Polydactyl Kitten
Littlefoot Has Some Extra Toes
Sleepy Boy Has A Few Extra Toes
Didn’t Want To Miss Out On Thumbs Up Thursday
Looks like he was interrupted during zoomies for a photo of the adorable mittens 😍
What These Twin Gentlemen Lack In Mental Capacity, They Make Up For In Extra Toes
I Rescued This Baby Last Night. Just Discovered That It Was A Boy. He’s Polydactyl, Thinking Of Naming Him Rugen
Oh my goodness is he adorable❣ those eyes,, so full of love & thankful to be rescued... thkse mittens, just patiently awaiting to be 100% comfortable around his new human before tearing through the house at 100mph chasing absolutely nothing & he still got some food on his lip 🥰 Such a precious little one
The Cat At Our Warehouse Gave Birth To A Kitten Who Has An Extra Tiny Paw That Functions As A Thumb
The Sweetest Face
Remi On His Way To His New Home
Aww Remi you are too cute 🥰 best of luck in your new life and may those feet (& yourself) forever stay adorable
Adopted Another Little Girl. Her Name's Gemma, She's About 8 Months Old, And A Polydactyl Kitty! She's Got Extra Beans On All 4 Paws
My Cat Has An Extra Toe On Each Paw So It Looks Like He Has Mittens On
This Is Ernie. He’s A Polydactyl, 22 Pounds, And Always Looks Angry
He looks a lot like my cat Tiger, especially since he too always looks grumpy.
Saturday Mornings With Brother Calzone
My Sister's Cat Has An Extra Digit On Each Front Paw. Looks Like He’s Wearing Mittens
My Polydactyl Cat Seven
I love the coloring of his fur 😍 looks like he's sitting there judging everyone, and everything around him.
Kitty Has Extra Jelly Beans For You
My Cat Is Polydactyl. 7 Toes On One Paw
Meet Pieds (French For Feet). This Handsome, Sweet Boy Has 7 Toes On Each Front Paw And 6 On Each Back
I've Got Extra Beans
A Unicorn Came Into The Shelter Today: Polydactyl Highland Lynx
Meet My Polydactyl Cat, Lila. Extra Toes, Extra Awkward
Enjoying My Favorite Pastime
Holy toes ❣ I'm confused looking at the front paw closer to the record player, is that a paw with am extra paw, then her other paw next to it? So many toes 😍
My Friend Has A Polydactyl Cat. He Looks Like He Is Throwing A Gang Sign
My Kitten I Got Yesterday. She Has Two Extra Toes And I Think It Looks Super Cool
My Polydactyl Cat Has Extra Paws Instead Of Just Extra Toes
Polydactyl Toe Beans On A Newborn Kitten
Oh my goodness, look how pink those beans are 😍 what a teeny beautiful kitten 🥰
My Best Friend’s Polydactyl Kitten, Hemingway
Hemingway had many polydactyl cats, and there are several of them at his former house.
Daisy Is A Polydactyl (Extra Toe Beans)
Found This Little Polydactyl Kitten On My Porch The Other Night
Vet thinks he's 6-7 weeks old. After around 4 baths and many brushes we think he is now flea free and can joint the rest of the crew. Every meet Hemi (after Ernest Hemingway).
Such a sweet little face with oversized mittens 🥰 thank you for bringing the little guy indoors and giving him a place to call home ♡
One Of Our Polydactyl Foster Kittens Was Not A Fan Of The Camera
Oh my gosh, he is SO precious ❣ and I love the baby mittens as well 😍
Mittens. The Polydactyl Cat
Polydactyl Plane. Pilot Does Not Appreciate The Neighbors’ Fireworks
My Super Goofy, Super Polydactyl Son, Knuckles
Strawberry Flavored Polydactyl Beans
That is one of the cutest paws I've ever seen 😍 I want to kiss the beans
I'm Totally Obsessed With These Paws
I can see why. They are so cute❣ Also, I think you may have just found bigfoot.. I'm picturing what those back feet would look like as prints in the mud, and yea, I think it's a perfect match 😍😄
Just Look At That Paw
Beans Loved The Attention At Her First Appointment Today! She’s A Unique One With All Her Extra Toe Beans
She is so fuzzy and so adorable❣ those feets just add to her adorableness 🥰
Meet Our Polydactyl Baby Amira! I Call Her Bonus Beans
Bonus beans, that's so cute She's a little beauty , love that kitten face 🥰
This Is My Polydactyl Kitten, And He Has 6 Toes On All Four Paws
Meet Pancake
My Rabbit Kick Polydactyl
My Polydactyl Cat Using His Extra Toes To Balance
Polydactyl (Extra-Toed) Cat At Ernest Hemingway’s House In Key West
Fry Basically Has An Extra Paw On Each Front Foot, With An Almost Full Extra Pad, And 3 Tiny Extra Toes. I've Never Seen Such Severe Polydactylism! I Love All His Little Toe Beans
It Is Hard For Me To Resist His Extra Beans When They Wave For My Attention
I don't think I'd be able to ignore them either.. there's just so many of them, I'd have to squish at least half 🥰
A Polydactyl Cat Nudged It’s Way Through My Door And Made Itself At Home, After Previously Following Me Home Multiple Times, We Named Him Thumper
Awww❣ he knew he wanted your home to be his. He looks so content being held , knowing he's now safe. I love the white on the tip of his toes that's so cute 😍, love his name too
Polydactyl Kitty Would Like To Come Inside
If it was a sliding door.... they would come in handy. More mischief to be had
Adopted This Little Polydactyl A Few Weeks Ago, Wanted To Share His Lovely Extra Beans With The Internet
Polydactyl Foster Kitten Beans
Recently Rescued A Feral Cat But I've No Ideas On What To Name Her. She's Polydactyl - Has Extra Toes
Little Jinx Showing Off His Extra Beans
Wesley, Our Polydactyl Tabby. So Many Toes
Polydactyl Rocky (Girl). 8 Weeks Old
My Friends Dog Had Puppies. One Was Born Polydactyl
Awww 🥰 look how cute that looks with those little razor claws sticking out
Polydactyly though very cute is not a blessing but a curse to many many cats. See there is a huge problem of those little toes between the longer Xtra toes and often that nail is forgotten and it can curl under the foot and go through the pad. It causes extreme pain and infections. It is very important to clip their nails properly and if it becomes a problem have your vet declaw that one toe causing the issue. Remember folks there are feral cats out there suffering from such condition. Please spay and neuter your pets.
When the extra toes are at different angles from the foot, can they be removed? I can understand when the extra toes line up with the standard toes to leave them alone.
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133 unique pets who pretty much all have the same unique feature......
My takeaway from this list is that it seems way more common than I would have thought for cats to have extra toes.
Polydactyl in cats is common. It's a natural random mutation that happens in all species. However, they are more common in cats. The reason for this was that long time ago, it was believed that it was good luck to have a polydactyl cat onboard a ship. This rumour is likely to be due to the fact that more often than not, this random mutation have an advantage for the cat in catching a prey. Some polydactyl cats can catch a mouse with just one paw as the extra digit can act as a thumb! When the ship docked in the harbour the polydactyl cat had its wicked ways with the local moggies before boarding and heading off to a new location. This allowed the gene to spread within the cat community. However, it is one more reason why it's common in cat.See next post
Isn't it GREAT how we inbreed animals so much that they grow extra toes? [/sarcasm]
I was curious so I googled ,and apparently polydactyly is caused by a dominant gene so... nothing to do with inbreeding. Also, historically, they were apparently appreciated by sailors, so they're most common in areas of the US and some UK areas, where there was trade by ships.
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I feel like at least some of these have to be a quality of life issue... Spay and neuter
This is a sad post. A lot of these mutations are due to humans specifically choosing to breed these deformities (often times through inbreeding [incest]). Imagine aliens coming to earth and falling in love with the look of flipper appendage humans and forcing humans to inbreed. It's not cool and it's not cute.
you might want to do a little more research - already way to many mis-informed people spouting their version of 'facts' - and it keeps you from looking like just another mis-informed person on social media platforms
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Part 2: Ernest Hemingway loved this unique feature in polydactyl cats and brought attention to this unique cuties. He brought so much attention to Polydactyl cats they are often called Hemingway cats. Hope you found it useful :)
I have a polydactyl siamese cat! She was the only one of her litter to have extra toes, and she was rescued from the wild (her family was a stray).
Almost all of them were just extra toes, but the two faces one was pretty lit
I've got a precious baby of my own! She was born with an extra thumb with 2 nails in it which is why she was declawed. All these pets were super cute too!
Why is this do common in cats? Are we witnessing evolution or just too much in breeding ?
It’s inbreeding. My SIL has two of these highlander cats, and they all have the polydactyl mutation because the gene pool is too small. None of the contributing breeds “naturally” has it.
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This list is starting to make me think polydacytl cats, while still cute...aren't so unique...
SO many kittehs on this list. The ones with dogs were really unique.
the first 1000000000000 polydactyl cats got annoying. adorable but annoying
I'm glad they all have someone to love them, but I hope they aren't allowed to breed. I guess that's what has caused those problems to begin with.
I'm so glad they all have someone to love them. But, I hope they are not allowed to breed. I think that must be what starts all those problems.
All these extra toes make me miss my polydactyl lap buddy Pollywog. :(
I actually visited the Ernest Hemingway house out in the Florida Keys. There are a ton of polydactyl cats living there, all descendants of that first cat he owned, Snow White. They are legally living national treasures being associated with Ernest Hemingway/Snow White. They have a staff that cares for them, and a vet visits all of them for care weekly.
If there are so many of one thing, doesn't seem that unique to me. Like the dog pics though.
Polydactyly though very cute is not a blessing but a curse to many many cats. See there is a huge problem of those little toes between the longer Xtra toes and often that nail is forgotten and it can curl under the foot and go through the pad. It causes extreme pain and infections. It is very important to clip their nails properly and if it becomes a problem have your vet declaw that one toe causing the issue. Remember folks there are feral cats out there suffering from such condition. Please spay and neuter your pets.
When the extra toes are at different angles from the foot, can they be removed? I can understand when the extra toes line up with the standard toes to leave them alone.
Load More Replies... 133 unique pets who pretty much all have the same unique feature......
My takeaway from this list is that it seems way more common than I would have thought for cats to have extra toes.
Polydactyl in cats is common. It's a natural random mutation that happens in all species. However, they are more common in cats. The reason for this was that long time ago, it was believed that it was good luck to have a polydactyl cat onboard a ship. This rumour is likely to be due to the fact that more often than not, this random mutation have an advantage for the cat in catching a prey. Some polydactyl cats can catch a mouse with just one paw as the extra digit can act as a thumb! When the ship docked in the harbour the polydactyl cat had its wicked ways with the local moggies before boarding and heading off to a new location. This allowed the gene to spread within the cat community. However, it is one more reason why it's common in cat.See next post
Isn't it GREAT how we inbreed animals so much that they grow extra toes? [/sarcasm]
I was curious so I googled ,and apparently polydactyly is caused by a dominant gene so... nothing to do with inbreeding. Also, historically, they were apparently appreciated by sailors, so they're most common in areas of the US and some UK areas, where there was trade by ships.
Load More Replies... I feel like at least some of these have to be a quality of life issue... Spay and neuter
This is a sad post. A lot of these mutations are due to humans specifically choosing to breed these deformities (often times through inbreeding [incest]). Imagine aliens coming to earth and falling in love with the look of flipper appendage humans and forcing humans to inbreed. It's not cool and it's not cute.
you might want to do a little more research - already way to many mis-informed people spouting their version of 'facts' - and it keeps you from looking like just another mis-informed person on social media platforms
Load More Replies... Part 2: Ernest Hemingway loved this unique feature in polydactyl cats and brought attention to this unique cuties. He brought so much attention to Polydactyl cats they are often called Hemingway cats. Hope you found it useful :)
I have a polydactyl siamese cat! She was the only one of her litter to have extra toes, and she was rescued from the wild (her family was a stray).
Almost all of them were just extra toes, but the two faces one was pretty lit
I've got a precious baby of my own! She was born with an extra thumb with 2 nails in it which is why she was declawed. All these pets were super cute too!
Why is this do common in cats? Are we witnessing evolution or just too much in breeding ?
It’s inbreeding. My SIL has two of these highlander cats, and they all have the polydactyl mutation because the gene pool is too small. None of the contributing breeds “naturally” has it.
Load More Replies... This list is starting to make me think polydacytl cats, while still cute...aren't so unique...
SO many kittehs on this list. The ones with dogs were really unique.
the first 1000000000000 polydactyl cats got annoying. adorable but annoying
I'm glad they all have someone to love them, but I hope they aren't allowed to breed. I guess that's what has caused those problems to begin with.
I'm so glad they all have someone to love them. But, I hope they are not allowed to breed. I think that must be what starts all those problems.
All these extra toes make me miss my polydactyl lap buddy Pollywog. :(
I actually visited the Ernest Hemingway house out in the Florida Keys. There are a ton of polydactyl cats living there, all descendants of that first cat he owned, Snow White. They are legally living national treasures being associated with Ernest Hemingway/Snow White. They have a staff that cares for them, and a vet visits all of them for care weekly.
If there are so many of one thing, doesn't seem that unique to me. Like the dog pics though.
