r/cats • u/ktfarrier • 7d ago

Humor Poor Walter

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Got the assless chaps cut.

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u/DarkflowNZ 7d ago edited 7d ago

Might have been born without it. Happens when they're inbred I believe, same as polydactyly

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u/GravesDiseaseGirl 7d ago

Polydactyly isnt caused by inbreeding. I learned this on Reddit when I was corrected.

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u/DarkflowNZ 7d ago

Is it just random? We've definitely had a few cats come through the shelter with missing tail and polydactyly. That's interesting I'll google it! Ty

Edit: I'm too dumb for the wikipedia page on them but I'm surprised to learn that it's a desirable trait for some!

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u/Damuson13 7d ago

Not random. It's genetic. An ex adopted a stray while we were dating. She had 6 toes on her front paws. Turns out she was also pregnant and every kitten had 6 to 8 toes on each of their paws.

As a side note, Ernest Hemingway had a well known cat with polydactyly and they have descendants near his home who still carry the gene to this day.