Polydactyl Maine Coon Cats

The polydactyl Maine Coon cat can be traced back hundreds of years and is a vital part of the Maine Coon heritage. A polydactyl cat is simply one that has extra toes. Unfortunately, the polys were to face a similar persecution to the witch hunts of the 18th century (where they were originally culled from the UK and much of Europe). As much as the Maine Coon Cat is a natural cat, people had to fight to get this beautiful cat accepted for full show status as they were originally considered as a domestic barn cat.

The MCBFA as part of getting championship status accepted, initially dropped the polydactyl cat from the show standard to try and increase their chances of full acceptance, the intention was always there to getting them accepted once people had got used to the Maine Coon as a show cat. Unfortunately with internal changes this never happened and as time moves on the original intentions have almost been lost. Another important thing happened which hampered the progress of the Maine Coon Polydactyl. Breeders in the early days bred with the poly gene in other breeds and non pedigree cats, without knowing enough about it. Unbeknown to them they were also breeding with a gene called Radial Hypoplasia (RH). Kittens were born with twisted legs and the blame lay firmly at the feet of the polys! To make matters worse one or two breeders in America decided to deliberately breed this deformity and from here much misinformation spread about the polydactyl cat. This, in turn had a knock-on effect with the Maine Coon Poly.

Dedicated individuals working with the Pd gene over the years have helped us learn much more about it. Along with clinical studies done by C.H.Danforth, Willer and others which clearly state that their is no detrimental effect to the polys apart from the fact that they need their claws trimming regularly.

Many breeders now are becoming more receptive and educated about the polys to help them make intelligent decisions regarding their breeding programmes and the future of the Maine Coon Cat. To get a poly kitten one of the parents must be a polydactyl, so it is easy to select for. Breeders who do not desire the look of a poly cat can still benefit from the extra boning, size and gene pool by using a non-poly from a poly litter instead.

 

Thank you to Patricia de Larminat at Polychinelle for the use of her photos on this page.