Polydactyl

The story about polycoons

By Sharo Otten

A poly what???  What is a Pedigree Maine Coon Polydactyl anyway…?

Well it is a beautiful big cat with a couple extra toes and we know who all their  parents and relatives were . So who is MC Polys you ask??? We are a bunch of  cat lovers from around the world called MC Polys and are working together to teach people about these special cats so if you want to know more go to www.mcpi.org on the internet…lots of  information, articles, and pictures too. I would like to  officially invite you as Vice President of MC Polys to come visit and see for yourself.

These cats came from the woods of America and are a natural breed, they have been around for a  very long time, hundreds of years. They are Maine Coon cats so they are big have a square look to there face, head, and body and look like a regular cat on top  and a long haired fur ball in its neck, belly, but, and tail. Their tails are extra long and very fluffy and  sometimes with their stripes look like a raccoon but are no relation. They come in lots of  sizes and colors too and are between 10 to 22 pounds, boys are bigger than girls, sometimes more! A while ago there was a lot of them but some people decided to get these Maine Coon cats into the show hall  but they could not let the ones with extra toes compete in competition only cats with 5 toes in front and 4 in back. So slowly people stopped mating polys and their numbers became very few! They got discriminated against because people didn’t understand they were  just different but mother nature made them that way originally not some scientist in a lab.  These cats are happy healthy sturdy strong cats, having a normal life and can sometimes do a little something extra with the extra toes. They are playful, loving, gentle, smart, handy Maine Coon cats plus their puuurrrsonality…they are very special cats to me.

Oh yea what about the extra toes???

   A non poly or non-poly cat has 4 claws/toes and 1 dew claw that is higher up on their front paws, on the back they have 4 claws/toes. Many types of animals can be polydactyl…cats, dogs, wild life, people and more. These cats have one or two extra toe on the thumb side of their paw so it often looks like they are wearing mittens. The toes can be different in their shapes but can often be used like a hand. Also they can be 6 in a straight row for really big paws. Polys can have extra toes on their front paws only or both the front and back paws. To get a polydactyl kitten either their mom or dad has to be a polydactyl too.  Breeders are careful when choosing mates and only pair a poly and non poly to keep the mitten toe form. In a litter/nest around half are born are polys  not all kittens. Right now you can not show a poly to be champion, they are not allowed to compete for titles, ribbons or trophies because of the rules and their extra toes. They are quality cats being discriminated against and we are working to change this in the future and make people understand how special they are to us!!!

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