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.

Posted by Carla on 31 January 2008 @ 12am

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. ;-)

Posted by Sam on 31 January 2008 @ 9am

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.

Posted by Jack Landers on 31 January 2008 @ 9am

Hey, what happened to the “Count Rugen” moniker?!

Posted by fdr on 31 January 2008 @ 10am

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. :)

Posted by Waldo Jaquith on 31 January 2008 @ 12pm

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.

Posted by Kai on 31 January 2008 @ 1pm

Clearly Kai has dibs, but Erci and I are interested too. We’d have to meet the feline first and make sure we are compatible, but we are willing to drive down.

Scott

Posted by Scott Nolan on 31 January 2008 @ 2pm

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!

Posted by Waldo Jaquith on 31 January 2008 @ 9pm

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.

Posted by TrvlnMn on 31 January 2008 @ 10pm

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.

Posted by Julia on 2 February 2008 @ 10am

Inquiring minds want to know… does this story have a happy ending?

Posted by Heather on 13 February 2008 @ 2pm

It does have a happy ending — you can read about it here.

Posted by Waldo Jaquith on 13 February 2008 @ 10pm

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

Posted by Mike on 18 February 2008 @ 5pm