Polydactyl cat needs a home.

This is Domino (aka Willy), the six-toed cat that we’re fostering right now.

Domino (nee Willy)

We’ve had him for a week and a half now while he’s recovered from an upper respiratory infection. Tomorrow we take him to get neutered, and then he’ll come home with us to recover. He’s sweet, curious, and does fine around our dogs. We’re told he’s about three years old. He’s really small — six pounds as of ten days ago, though hopefully we’ve fattened him up a bit by now. Best of all, he’s got six toes, presumably making him capable of the sort of freakish primate-like feats generally found in polydactyl cats — opening latches, picking things up, etc.

Want him? Let me know. Otherwise he’ll go back to the SPCA in a few days.

04/18 Update: Folks this is from a long, long time ago. The cat was long ago adopted and, even if he hadn’t been, you live far, far away and the shelter only allows adoptions to take place within their service area. Please stop e-mailing me about this cat.

Published by Waldo Jaquith

Waldo Jaquith (JAKE-with) is an open government technologist who lives near Char­lottes­­ville, VA, USA. more »

13 replies on “Polydactyl cat needs a home.”

  1. Awwe! Reminds of my own dearly departed mutant kitty. We called her Kittyclaws. She used to stalk and attack little boys, batting them ferociously with her boxing glove paws. All the neighborhood children were terrified of her … (sniff).

    Unfortunately, I cannot take another cat. She’s what they call a Hemingway cat and should attract an affectionate cat person with no trouble at all.

  2. I want her; unfortunately, while she may be good around dogs, my roommate’s dog is not good around cats. Which breaks my heart because I’m having a hard time resisting that face.

    By the way, I found this to be among the most polarized and pugnacious blog posts I’ve ever seen about cute little kitty cats. ;-)

  3. My in-laws used to have a cat that had something like 8 toes on one front paw and 6 or 7 on the other. These extra toes formed a thumb-like appendage on each paw. I remember one Christmas the cat was batting at ornaments on the Christmas tree when suddenly it experienced a moment not unlike the scene in ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ where the ape picks up the stick and triumphantly holds it above the heads of the other apes. The cat realized that she could actually grab the thing off of the tree with her little cat-hand and do what she pleased with it.

    Shortly thereafter a vet determined that some of the extra toes needed to be surgically removed in order to prevent problems with walking and possible infections later in life. I think she was also spayed at that point but I could be wrong about that. Thus was human civilization saved from a world dominated by cats with opposable thumbs and the terror that they would surely inflict on their human slaves.

  4. I really prefer, conceptually, “Count Rugen,” but it just isn’t really him. He became “Count,” then “Count Willy” for a while, and then “Count Cat.” He’s just too sweet to be a bad guy. :)

  5. I’ve been thinking of having a feline companion for a while. The trouble is I have allergies, but I lived with (a room mate’s) short haired cats without any problems previously. So it might work. And a cat with thumbs would just be cool.

    So, I guess I am interested in trying it out, if he’s still looking for a place.

  6. What a great problem we have here. :)

    I actually heard from one person via e-mail this morning, so I’ve started with her. She checked out the little guy this evening, and I left one of his blankets there so that her cat could check out Domino’s scent. We’ll bring him by on Saturday and see if things go OK. If they don’t, then I guess you’re up next, Kai. :)

    It’s great that so many people are interested in adopting!

  7. I’ve got two polydactyls not yet a year old. Both of them have about 7 toes. I got them from a feral female. There are two feral toms in my area that are polydactyl and manage to pass it on every so often. One of the toms actually resembles the kitten in the photo.

    My experience with cats and kittens- is that if the adult cat doesn’t try to kill the kitten then it will probably be okay. I’ve yet to see a cat that actually gets along with a kitten though. Unless they were in the same litter, it seems tolerance is as good as it gets.

  8. Our kitten took awhile to get along with our two adult cats, but with our peace-making dog to intercede and smooth the way, now they all adore each other! Our dog would butt into their spats with a look like “what’s going on? Why are you doing this?” and things would settle right down.

    Also, my friends recently got another kitten and their adult cat is much happier now. I guess it is just luck of the draw.

  9. My wife and I are looking for a polydactyl in the Fort Worth, Texas area. If you know of one, please post it and i’ll contact you. A good home will certainly be provided.
    Thanks

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