Why Do Cats Have 18 Toes? What Is The Most Toes On A Cat?

How do scientists know that cats have 18 toes? Why does the answer to this question matter?

It’s an interesting question, isn’t it? One you might never have considered before today. Maybe you didn’t even know about cats’ weird extra toes.

Let’s find out more about why cats have 18 toes, and what makes them so special compared to us humans.

Are Cats Digitigrade or Plantigrade?

In order to go around, digitigrades rely on their toes rather than their legs or arms. The answer is true, cats are digitigrades.

Plantigrade refers to a gait in which one primarily uses the plantar surface of the feet. As plantigrades, we make use of the undersides of our feet.

Walking on our toes is a challenge for us. Not like cats, who walk on their toes delicately and are ready to pounce at any time.

What Are Polydactyl Cats?

Cats with polydactyly have an anomaly that makes them digitigrade, meaning they have more than 18 digits. Actually, their average number of toes is between 20 and 26.

Polydactyl cats lead regular lives, and the condition poses no health risks. Although their additional fingers might be a hindrance when climbing and other activities that require dexterity.

How many toes do cats have?

Cats typically have 18 toes, although some species have 19. There are five on each front paw and four on each back paw. It’s not the case everywhere though. Cats can have more or fewer of these characteristics, depending on the cat.

If your pet has an unusual number of toes or none at all, don’t fret over it. This is quite common, and in most cases it poses no danger at all.

As a result, why do felines often have more toes on their front paws than their back paws?

The explanation is straightforward.

Cats put their front legs to work for them in a wide variety of ways, including grooming, balancing, playing, capturing prey, and more. A secure grasp under any conditions is essential for them.

Fortunately, they have an additional toe on each of their front paws for just such an occasion.

What if my cat has more than 18 toes?

It’s all good. If your cat has extra digits, it is a Hemingway cat, also known as a polydactyl cat.

All mammals, including humans, can be born with extra digits.

You may have heard that polydactylism is a defining characteristic of certain cat breeds. The giant Maine Coon and its relative the Manx are good examples.

Cats with polydactyly sometimes have more than 5 toes on one paw. Although the ailment most commonly affects the front paws, it can also manifest in the hind paws.

Jake the cat now holds the Guinness World Record for the most digits on a cat’s paws. Jake’s huge foot size (he has 28 toes) wowed the crowd.

Cat toes and paws facts

How about learning some fun facts about your adorable pet?

Some of these fascinating facts about cats’ paws and feet may astound you.

Cats can be right-handed or left-handed.

You read that correctly

Cats, like humans, may favor one “hand” over the other.

There is a fun experiment you may undertake to verify my claims.

Try to catch something for your cat during the following few days. Whether it’s a treat, a feathered cat toy, or something else entirely.

Your cat will likely favor utilizing either its left or right front paw.

Those sweaty palms… I mean paws!

All types of cats, regardless of age or breed, perspire through the pads of their paws when they get too hot.

The cooling mechanism in their adorable paws helps them a great deal whether they’re feeling anxious, irritated, furious, or just overheated.

Cats have flexible toes.

Cats’ paws and toes are more pliable than those of humans, allowing them to twist and spin in similar ways to our fingers.

This aids them in climbing, leaping, playing, and hunting, all of which require a firm hold on something.

This is only one of the numerous reasons why cats are able to scale such challenging terrain with such ease and agility.

Felines walk on the tips of their toes.

This information isn’t exactly ground-breaking, but it’s likely new to you.

Mammals with five toes, or digitigrades, like cats, walk on the tips of their toes.

Feline furballs, in contrast to plantigrade animals like humans, walk, run, and jump on the tips of their toes.

Because of this, even when going about their daily business, they exude an eerie silence and regal elegance.

What Are Mitten Paws?

Due to the presence of an additional toe on the thumb side of their paws, certain polydactyl cats are referred to as mitten cats.

These digits lack the opposable thumb quality of human digits and are often incomplete. However, some cats have figured out how to utilize them like humans’ thumbs.

The ability of mitten cats to use their additional digits to unlock locks and windows has astounded their human caregivers.

The Most Toes On A Cat

Canadian male ginger tabby cat Jake holds the record for the most toes on a cat with 28 (seven on each paw). Paws, a Minnesota cat, is a possible tie-breaker for this record.

The legend of a Mickey Mouse-named cat with 32 toes dates back to the 1970s, although it’s more probable that the cat in question suffered from double paws, a malady in which two paws fuse together.

The legend of a cat named Triple who had 30 toes on his five legs and six paws persists. The presence of an undeveloped conjoined twin is likely to blame, though.

Conclusion

Cats have 18 toes, because they were designed to live in forests and hunt for prey in the trees. Cats have 16 extra toes, which means that they don’t have to spend any time getting their feet wet when they jump into a pond or river.

Toes are important for cats because they allow them to move through branches easily.

source https://catshint.com/cats-18-toes/