Hi Wittesea. I don't have a Maine Coon, just a lovable cat with tons of toes, 26.

He doesn't have double claws, but has a few deformed kind of claws that are really thick and cause him problems, discomfort I think too.

I think it would be a good idea to find a cat site as suggested and see what those folks might have to say.

That is very strange looking!!!! I bet your Maine is beautiful.

Oh yeah, Chewie is a polydactyl.

Not a good picture at all, but gives you an idea of how huge Chew's feet are. He has double pads on all 4 paws also.

Oh, and those nasty extra claws he has aren't even growing out of a toe, they are just on the sides of a couple of his feet. Really thick and yucky looking.


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I've been all over the internet already, lol, and there are a lot of cat forums out there.

It made me remember, polydactyls are sometimes called Hemmingway cats.

I'd love to go to this place someday.
.
. You gotta check this place out, it's awesome.

Thank you all for your help :)

He is such a strange and special cat, so I am not at all suprised that his double claw thing is strange and unusual too.

I will post some pictures of him (and my other 2) soon -- I have to resize the pics and upload them to my pic posting site.

Again, thank you all... I will post to one of the cat forums and let you all know if I find out anything about this double claw thingy :)

Liz

This is the best reply out of several:
I hope it helps.



not only have I heard of it, but I've got one of those... ;) Fido's "extra clawsies" are "doubles" of his "thumbs" ....I'm blessed in that he's a very good sport about letting me or George trim his nails (this guy's NOT a lil' cat..at last check he's upto 16lbs) ...we use either baby human nail clippers or nail scissors for his "extra" clawsies ...mainly 'cuz I don't wanna chance accidentally cutting anything BUT claw or cutting it too close to the quik ...and we coo praises at him and pet him while we're trimming his claws (it's a 2 person job : 1 trimming, 1 distracting the cat and holding him still)

Hemingway cats at risk!
 

Someone in Fla filed a complaint (a neighbor) with the U.S. dept of Agriculture to
get the cats removed...this has created a legal nightmare.

Here is a story on it:

.

Thank you Kell!!

Just knowing that someone else has seen this makes me feel better... knowing that my cat is strange, but is not the only strange cat is a bit of a relief :) Thank you for helping me with this :)

Liz

OMG. Legalities with Hemingway's cats? Please excuse me while I get upset.