We adopted a cat!
By koopharper
@koopharper (7463)
Canada
March 21, 2013 11:12am CST
We have been kicking around the idea of getting a cat for the family for quite some time. Yesterday my wife went to the pet shop and chose one from the cats up for adoption from the SPCA. "Mister" already had a name and we have decided not to change it. He is calm and very well mannered. Fit in with the family right away. I was the last to meet him and immediately noticed something odd about his front feet. Looked like the paws were big mittens. Take a look at the picture included. The one paw is very clear. "Mister" has seven toes on each of his front feet. I have been around a lot of cats and have never seen anything like this before. It doesn't bother him at all. In every way he acts normal. Just sharpening his claws is a bit more work. As a family we have decided that a cat that can count to fourteen on its "fingers" is just plain cool.
7 people like this
21 responses
@mariaperalta (19073)
• Mexico
21 Mar 13
i love it when people adopt cats or dogs. I hope you have many years of joy with mister. hes very cute.
2 people like this
@koopharper (7463)
• Canada
21 Mar 13
We were lucky. The cats up for adoption were quite young. This one is only a bit more than nine months old. Should be with us for a long time. He is handsome.
2 people like this
@koopharper (7463)
• Canada
21 Mar 13
Seems to like them just fine. Spent most of the night sleeping on my daughter's bed but paid visits to two of the boys during the night. Only watched him back off when my youngest was trying to cuddle him too much. Our pet affection deprivation hasn't put him off.
1 person likes this
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
21 Mar 13
What a great looking cat! I'm sure that he is very happy to be adopted into a loving family too. He is lovely just as he is - so he has extra toes? Enjoy him and I hope that he lives many years and brings you all joy
Is this the first cat you have ever adopted?
Is this the first cat you have ever adopted?2 people like this
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
21 Mar 13
I wish Mister a long and happy life. forgive me, but I am not familiar with the term 'hobby farmed'. What does it mean exactly?
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7463)
• Canada
21 Mar 13
We had a little less than two acres of land with a small home. We kept a flock of chickens, ducks, a goose and for a short time some goats. We also had part of the property plowed up for growing crops. We sold pumpkins on the side of the road one year because we ended up with an impressive surplus.
@koopharper (7463)
• Canada
21 Mar 13
This is the first cat we ever adopted. I grew up with cats although my wife did not. She's not used to having cats in the home. We hobby farmed in the past but didn't have a cat. We miss having a menagerie of animals to care for. Looking forward to having Mister for many years to come.
1 person likes this
@deebomb (15304)
• United States
23 Mar 13
Hello koopharper. Cats are my favorite kind of pet. They have such great personalities. We have always had one or two of them around. When my kids were little we had two and you could feel their eye boring into your back if their food or water dish was empty. They very seldom meowed. We had two cats and one dog. At one time we lived in the country and when we went for walks each cat Would walk in front to each side and the dog got the middle. Some times we would see them All setting in the middle of the yard with the two cat facing the dog like they were all gossiping. The cats also taught the dog to hunt.
Did some internet research and learned that back in the day they were favored by Norwegian sailors and were called sailor cats as well as polydactyl cats. They were considered good luck.
Ernest Hemingway loved these cats and included them in his will. Here are two interesting articles and pictures about these special cats.
http://cats.about.com/od/felinegenetics/a/polydactyl.htm
http://www.cat-breeds-info.com/polydactyl-cats.html#axzz2OK5Huufh
@deebomb (15304)
• United States
23 Mar 13
I think that cats are so much more interesting than dogs. The cats I mentioned above were a tortuous shell and a mancoon. The tortuous hell could give you the dirtiest looks at times. They neither one were much for a lot of petting. They both wre laid back and not too much bothered them.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7463)
• Canada
23 Mar 13
Thanks for the articles. I read through them both. I did some research on my own earlier. I was surprised how much information there is out there on these cats. One thing I did notice in the articles you linked to. A lot of owners think they are more laid back than other cats. If Mister is any indication I think that is true.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7463)
• Canada
23 Mar 13
We just love animals. I prefer a cat for an indoor pet. They do a better job of keeping themselves clean and they don't need the kind of attention a dog does. We may get a dog latter on when we are in a place of our own. A good dog would be a burglar deterrent and if we move back to a piece of property we have that may be necessary. I grew up with cats though and I understand them.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
22 Mar 13
Are you sure he is not an alien cat? Bet be careful.
I bet he is very smart as well.
I bet he is very smart as well. 1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
23 Mar 13
Could be. Then it is good to have an alien cat. When my renter had her cat, it would not do anything she wanted. The kitten was forever scratching the furniture and would not use the scratching post I bought the kitten for Christmas.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7463)
• Canada
22 Mar 13
Smart is a pretty safe bet. One of the first things he did when they brought him into the house was to climb up on the dining room table. She picked him up and told him no very nicely. Later he climbed up on a small table with my son's laptop on it. I picked him up and told him very gently that we didn't want him to climb up on the tables and counter tops. He hasn't tried to climb on a table since. In my experience it usually takes a bit more emphasis before they get that if they ever do. Hmm, maybe he is alien...
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7463)
• Canada
23 Mar 13
We're going to have to build him a good scratching post. Those fourteen front claws I'm sure will need plenty of work.
@elitess (5070)
• Ipswich, England
21 Mar 13
Wow that is actually quite impressive.
He is lucky that he has been adopted - many people are skeptical about what is not the "norm". I want to adopt a cat as well from ASPCA as soon as me and the wife will have a place that allows for pets.
For now I am still with my parents and have my 2 year old cat that my dad saved as a kitty from the middle of the road.
2 people like this
@koopharper (7463)
• Canada
21 Mar 13
I would hesitate to take a cat that has an abnormality that hampers it. This doesn't bother him at all. I like to think of him as unique rather than abnormal. Granted I've had unique cats growing up as well. We had a tom cat with no voice, a cat with one blue eye and one green eye and another cat that could only breath through its mouth. They were all good cats.
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
22 Mar 13
what a name for a cat. hey mister!
maybe he was an indoor cat so he's well behaved? but then, it's partly personality, too, since some indoor cats are naughty and would bolt outside at every opportunity!
he looks like casper, one of our cats when we were kids. in fact, we never had another cat with the same coloring ever since.
we've also had white cats with one blue and one brown eye. i think the ear with the blue eyes tend to be deaf, but we didn't notice anything.
i think it's sweet that your wife is the one who initiated it.
yes i've read about multiple-toed cats but we've never had one so thank you for providing the picture. it seems it's mostly on the "thumb" so i would think it provides extra traction or gripping which is an advantage - unless he gets caught in something that he's not supposed to!
what does it look like when he's stretching them? do the extra thumbs stick out?
maybe he was an indoor cat so he's well behaved? but then, it's partly personality, too, since some indoor cats are naughty and would bolt outside at every opportunity!
he looks like casper, one of our cats when we were kids. in fact, we never had another cat with the same coloring ever since.
we've also had white cats with one blue and one brown eye. i think the ear with the blue eyes tend to be deaf, but we didn't notice anything.
i think it's sweet that your wife is the one who initiated it.
yes i've read about multiple-toed cats but we've never had one so thank you for providing the picture. it seems it's mostly on the "thumb" so i would think it provides extra traction or gripping which is an advantage - unless he gets caught in something that he's not supposed to!
what does it look like when he's stretching them? do the extra thumbs stick out?1 person likes this
@koopharper (7463)
• Canada
22 Mar 13
The cat was already named when we got him. It isn't something I would have come up with but none of us minds. He looks like the cat I grew up with except for the paws.
I'm not sure if there is a link between eye color and deafness in cats. We used to have a breeder of pure white Persian cats in town (who let her tom cats run wild). A lot of those cats were deaf. We had one female that was deaf as a post. Only cat we had that wasn't afraid of the vacuum cleaner.
He can stretch the "thumb" pretty far out, if he wants to. I imagine he is going to pretty talented at opening things.
@koopharper (7463)
• Canada
23 Mar 13
It didn't take us long to figure out she was deaf. If she was into mischief we had to physically go get her. Dinner time though was something she had figured out. She'd be there before we called.
It was funny once to have a family of guests over and to see their teenage daughter talking to the cat in a cutsie voice. She got the last laugh though by pretending to use sign language after we told her that cat couldn't hear a thing.
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
23 Mar 13
We had one female that was deaf as a post. Only cat we had that wasn't afraid of the vacuum cleaner. i bet she never "jumped" at sudden noises either!
but how do you call her when it's dinner time? or when you're shooing her or making her stop doing something?
i bet she never "jumped" at sudden noises either!
but how do you call her when it's dinner time? or when you're shooing her or making her stop doing something?1 person likes this
@koopharper (7463)
• Canada
21 Mar 13
Apparently in the northeast especially around Boston they are not uncommon. That sort of explains why I'd never seen one before. There are likely a good population of them here in maritime Canada. I find out at work next week. There are a couple of cat enthusiasts on my team that grew up here. Very calm happy cat. Has fit in nicely with the family already.
@ElicBxn (63233)
• United States
22 Mar 13
So, you've gotten yourselves a polydactyl cat, also known as a "Hemingway Cat" because he had them.
The other thing you have to watch with them is the danger of ingrown nails, you will need to learn to trim them for him, especially when he gets older.
You are a wonderful person to adopt this handsome fellow and I'm sure he will be a blessing for your family as well.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7463)
• Canada
22 Mar 13
Thanks for the tip. We'll do our best to make sure those nails don't become a problem. I did read somewhere today that a cat with paws like this may be able to grip and open things that other cats cannot. He does appear to have the dexterity and strength to use those three toes as a kind of opposable thumb. Kids and I view this all as just plain really cool.
1 person likes this
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
22 Mar 13
how old is your kids? mine were all ages when we had them and they were always so good with kids and people in general.
2 people like this
@maximax8 (31053)
• United Kingdom
23 Mar 13
Well done for adopting that sweet looking cat. He sounds delightfully behaved and it is wonderful that he fits in well with your family. It is surprising and amazing he has seven claws on each front paw. I like the name Mister that he already came from.
I saw the larger version of Mister the cat and commented nicely.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7463)
• Canada
23 Mar 13
Apparently there is a population of these polydactyl cats in the Southhampton area in Britain. They tend to be in the port areas of the eastern seaboard of Canada and the USA. He's a great cat. I don't regret any of the paperwork and hoops we had to jump through to adopt him.
@rahmabaegood (166)
• India
22 Mar 13
nice, I also think about that a few weeks ago... hope I have a good mannered cat... hehe..
btw, mylotters pls pray for me, I'm a bit sick... thx b4
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7463)
• Canada
22 Mar 13
Don't recall a better mannered cat. I'm really quite pleased with him.
@koopharper (7463)
• Canada
27 Mar 13
Thank you. I'm sure Mister will give me other excuses to create discussions on MyLot.
I know, that's so terrible. I just have to be content in looking at my friends' cats.@koopharper (7463)
• Canada
21 Mar 13
Allergies are no fun. It's sad that you can't have pets. They can add so much joy to our lives.
@extremefun4fun (2908)
• India
23 Mar 13
well so great you have done to take that cat. I do love cats, they are so cute and lovely. but they are so naughty, sometimes.
@koopharper (7463)
• Canada
23 Mar 13
I'm sure he'll get into some mischief soon enough. So far he hasn't done anything to make trouble. He has been eyeballing the bunny cage though. That could prove interesting. I can see him clawing up the furniture pretty bad but so far he's stuck with the old piece of plywood we brought up for that purpose.
@bellis716 (4799)
• United States
23 Mar 13
Mister is a special cat. There is a name for cats for extra toes, but I've forgotten what it is.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7463)
• Canada
23 Mar 13
They're officially called polydactyl cats. There are a lot of other names for them as well. I think he is a really special cat.
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
22 Mar 13
wonderful. that likely why Mister is so docile and calm. ive owned a couple of those kind of cats. we called them mitten kittens because i can never remember the name even tho i just read it on up in your discussion
the ones we have had was always perfect loving with the kids and all. have you got kids? first time ive seen one with 7 though usually they have 6 toes. so maybe he is going to be a lucky cat for you also@koopharper (7463)
• Canada
22 Mar 13
Interesting that personality might be linked to this physical characteristic. My wife selected him based on personality. The kids did point out his unique paws but it didn't really register until I noticed and brought it to her attention again. Apparently it was noted on his cage as well, but it isn't in any of the paperwork we got with the cat.
We used to raise our own Barred Plymouth Rock chickens and found that we could reliably predict the disposition of our roosters based on how dark their feathers were. We could select our best breeders while they were still chicks. Definitely like the personality of Mister.
We have five children but the four oldest are young adults now. The youngest is eight and he can be a bit much sometimes. Mister just shies away when Wesley is too much after him. I'm glad to see that. Sometimes we might have guests with younger children and I know that Mister won't be aggressive.
@jazel_juan (15747)
• Philippines
22 Mar 13
Oh wow that is nice of you, in my areai often see stray cats and i guess nobody just wants to take those in as some are that aggressive from being left alone that long.. my husband is kind to animals too and wants a cat but we are not allowed to have one as my kids and i have asthma..but we do have a dog but its fur does not shred, a pincher.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7463)
• Canada
22 Mar 13
I have minor asthma but it has never been an issue around cats. Just lucky I guess.
Here the SPCA selects and prepares cats for adoption through one of the local pet shops. You pay for the cat but he has been neutered and has all his shots. We decided to go that route because it was easier to select an animal with a good disposition.
Growing up we picked up a kitten that was dropped on the side of the road and it became one of the best we ever had. I've caught a feral cat it a raccoon trap once. Was that ever a vicious little beast. I wouldn't want to try to adopt a cat that has gone that wild.
@koopharper (7463)
• Canada
22 Mar 13
He's a good cat. Part of our family now. Hoping to keep it that way for a long time.
@echoforever (5180)
• United States
21 Mar 13
Aw, I'm glad you decided to adopt him. Even with his large feet I'm sure he's a great pet.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7463)
• Canada
21 Mar 13
My wife chose very well. Mister's disposition and personality are pretty ideal for our family. There was a younger cat up for adoption but it wasn't very calm if you know what I mean. She'll be placed as well. A lot of people like cute little fireballs like that.
@41CombedaleRoad (5952)
• Greece
21 Mar 13
That cat is a lucky Mister! He looks as though he knows it too. I knew of a cat that had extra toes and so did its sisters, so I guess it is something in the DNA. You have done a very kind thing in providing a cat with a home. Mister will soon be running it...
@koopharper (7463)
• Canada
21 Mar 13
You're the second person to mention that they'd heard of cats with extra toes so I did a search on the subject and found a lot of fascinating information. They are called polydactyl cats. Some people also call them Hemingway cats because Ernest Hemingway was a polydactyl cat enthusiast (try saying that a couple times real fast). The articles I read confirmed that the trait is hereditary. So much for my telling the kids that his parents did rodent control at a nearby nuclear facility.
