Content
- count your cat's fingers
- How many fingers does a cat have?
- Pads indicate number of fingers?
- Polydactyly in cats
- cats with polydactyly
Ever wonder how many fingers a cat has? Well, many people might think that cats fingers they can be counted by the amount of pads on their paws, or that pussies have 20 toes, just like a human being. But the cats paws they usually have 18 toes, 05 on each of the front paws and 04 on each of the back paws. But is there a reason for this many fingers? And can this number of fingers vary?
Well, don't worry if your kitten has more than 18 fingers, in this article we at Animal Expert will share information that can be useful to answer your questions regarding how many fingers does a cat have.
count your cat's fingers
If at any point you've tried to count the amount of fingers that your cat possesses, most likely he was annoyed by the situation, trying to escape from you. Cats show sensitivity in different regions of their bodies, and the paws are part of these sensitive regions. Your pussy feels uncomfortable when you touch its paws, and this makes counting your toes a situation that can cause some scratches.
How many fingers does a cat have?
Cats usually have 18 fingers, 5 toes on each of the front paws, and 4 toes on each of the hind paws. But what is the reason for this difference in toes between the front and back paws? Well, it is believed that the fingers help to support the cat, facilitating the support of its body and its locomotion. The big difference is an "extra" toe your cat has on its front paws.
This "extra" finger is called ergot, and has a very important function of ensure firmness to your cat's movements, assisting you in climbing and/or when grabbing your prey. Thus, this difference between the number of toes between the front and back paws is a common characteristic of healthy cats.
Pads indicate number of fingers?
The amount of pads in your cat's paws do not indicate the amount offingers that the paws have. Your kitten probably has 24 pillows, 7 on her front legs and 5 on her back legs. The scientific name of these pads is close, are forms of protection for the cat's paws, and muffle the sound of your footsteps, which is useful when your kitten wants to hunt. We can say then that the pads have a function similar to a shoe sole for your pussy.
In addition, there is a pair of hook-shaped pads on your cat's front paw "wrists" that are very important, as they have a brake function, preventing the animal from slipping, or stopping quickly after a run. .
We can then say that the paws have a pad for each toe, a longer pad, and the front feet have a pair of pads on their "wrists" to curb their movements.
Polydactyly in cats
But if your kitten has more than 18 fingers, don't worry, this is a genetic anomaly common among cats, and poses no health and well-being risk to your pet. This condition is known as polydactyly and is genetically inherited. So if a pair of cats crosses, and one of them is a cat with polydactyly, there is a 50% chance that each of your puppies will be born with the same condition.
Cats with polydactyly may have up to 7 toes on each of their 4 paws, but they mainly affect the animals' hind legs.
cats with polydactyly
although the polydactyly in cats occurs all over the planet, there are places where there is a greater concentration of cats with this genetic anomaly, such as American, Asian and European breeds. This distribution is believed to be the result of a popular culture that says cats with polydactyly bring good luck to sailors. Due to this, in many regions the crossing of cats with polydactyly is promoted, which resulted in breeds and lineages that polydactyly is a common morphological trait, such as the Maine Coons.
Even so, there is a discussion about whether this genetic condition it must be encouraged by crossovers or it must be eliminated. What is your opinion about this?
It is interesting to note here that the polydactyly it is rarely seen in large cats, being recorded only in leopards that lived in captivity.
If you want to read more articles similar to How many fingers does a cat have?, we recommend that you enter our Curiosities section of the animal world.
References1- Because my dog has 05 toes on his hind leg https://www.peritoanimal.com.br/por-que-meu-cachorro-tem-5-dedos-nas-patas-traseiras-6090.html>