Feral with deformed 6th toe

brooklet425

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Hi everyone. This is something new that I haven't dealt with before and would like opinions. There are several ferals outside that I have been feeding and trapping to get them spayed/neutered. One of the newest ones to show up is a small calico. I'd estimate her to be about 6 months old. She's sort of friendly...meaning that when she hears the door open, she gets excited and runs to me, but then stops about 2 feet away from me. I can't pet her, but if I try to put my hand near her she'll swat at my hand playfully while purring. Based on my prior experience with ferals, I think she's definitely able to be tamed, but it's going to take a little while longer for that to happen.  I've been trying to trap her since there numerous unneutered males roaming around (we're trying to take care of them too but the trapping isn't going as quickly as I would like it too - they're too smart to walk into the traps!) and I'd really like to get her spayed before we have to add a litter of kittens to the colony outside. But she is way too smart for the trap and I haven't been able to lure her into it yet even though I've been trying.

When this little girl showed up, I immediately noticed that she had a 6th toe on her right front paw. She's a pretty dark calico, but her right front paw is all white and I thought it was adorable because with the 6th toe, she looks like she's wearing a white mitten. From a distance, this appeared to be her only extra toe. But once I was able to get a little closer to her I noticed that something was off about her left front paw. Since the only way I've been able to "touch" her is by putting my hand close to her and letting her swat it, I can't really get a closer look. But from what I can tell, it looks like she also has an extra toe - possibly two extras on her left front paw too. But they aren't in the right place like the one on her right paw. It looks like she has some kind of lump growing out of the back of her paw and a small stump-like thing on the side of the paw. This paw is all dark brown so it wasn't as noticeable from a distance like her other paw was.

She walks just fine and plays constantly and seems to be having no problems at the moment, but I could have sworn that I read something once about deformed extra toes causing problems and possibly needing amputation. Does anyone know anything about this? I will definitely have a vet look at her when I can, but I can't get close enough to her to pick her up and I can't get her into a trap. I've been going outside and sitting near her while reading a book and just spending time around her in an attempt to get her to trust me more, but I think this is going to be a slow process (faster than some other ferals, but slow in general).

I'm just wondering if this is actually something to be concerned about or if it's just something that I need to keep an eye on. I have other ferals to trap too, but should I get more aggressive about trapping her and put the other ones on hold for the moment while just focusing on her? (most of the ferals hang out in the front yard but she lives in the backyard so I move the traps each night in an attempt to catch anyone who decides to walk into one).

Anyway, if anyone has any experience with this I'm curious to hear it. I know that "normal" looking 6th toes are usually not a problem, but it's the odd growing toes/stumps on her other foot that are worrying me.
 

ondine

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I hadn't heard whether polydactyl or Hemingway cats, although there is some information here:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/131706/any-health-problems-associated-with-hemingway-cats

Have you tried feeding her in the unset trap for awhile?  I usually feed for up to a week, then set the trap to spring the night before my vet/clinic appointment.

If that doesn't work, can you borrow a drop trap?  They are usually good for catching trap-savvy cats.

Thank you for all you are doing for them!
 

peaches08

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Polydactyl cats can grow various types of toes from what I've read. My 2 are the thumb variety, and one has dewclaws on the rear legs. They are brother and sister but their thumbs are different from one another.

I've read where posters have thought that their cat might be a polydactyl because of a toe on the back of the leg, but it turned out to be the heel pad.

The only problems that I am aware of are if the cat constantly gets the claw of the toe stuck on things and if the claw grows inward.
 
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brooklet425

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Ondine - I've tried to feed her in the unset trap, but she still won't go in it. In fact, she even found a way to stick her paw into the trap and flick food out of it to eat. I covered it with a blanket in an attempt to hide the trap, and she just pushed the blanket aside and stuck her paw back into the side of it. I've lost track of how many ferals I've trapped over the years, but she is by far, the smartest one when it comes to trapping!

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but what's a drop trap? I've never heard of that before, but I'm wondering if it's something I know of and just know a different name for it. We just have the standard traps that trigger when a cat walks into it, but if a drop trap is helpful I'd like to try it!

Peaches08 - thanks!  didn't realize that some polydactyls had different types of toes. I know that an extra toe in general can look "wrong" but I always just assumed that if they had an extra one in line with the other ones, or an obvious looking "thumb" then it was normal. That's why i thought that her left paw looks off somehow. Maybe she just has one that grew in a weird place. Like I said, it definitely doesn't seem to be a problem at the moment, but I was worried about it causing problems in the future.

I've had a lot of cats (I have 11 in the house now and there are at least 10 ferals outside) but this is the first time I've ever dealt with a polydactyl! I have to admit that I was excited when I first noticed that some of the cats in this colony have extra toes. There's another one out there with 6 toes on each front paw and there's another one with an extra toe on all 4 paws. We've never gone out looking for a cat to adopt. We've always just taken in the ones that come to us or "choose" us, so I have to admit that the fact that this little girl outside seems like she'll be easy to tame, made me happy because maybe now I'll finally have a polydactyl that "chose" me :). I've put beds outside for them (I'm in south Texas so it's still really warm here) and none of them ever use the beds. They just sleep next to them or don't go near them, but as I'm typing this, the little calico is curled up inside a bed/cube that I put out there for them. She's definitely the most personable of them all so maybe one day I'll be able to get a closer look at that left paw.
 

susank521

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Like you, Brooklet425, I've never had a polydactyl cat, so can't help you with your real question. I enjoyed seeing the pictures, Peaches08, that was very interesting. They sure are pretty, too!

Just a thought, Brooklet423, but have you ever caught any cats in a carrier or hound kennel? Almost all of the cats I've ever caught that were not "real ferals" (for lack of a better term), like the girl you're dealing with, I've caught in carriers, not traps. I use pretty big carriers, like for medium sized dogs and even have a huge hound kennel that I've used (caught 4 cats at once in it one time!). It's a slow process, but isn't everything to do with cats a slow process? :)

I put the food in the carriers and walk off as far as necessary for them to feel comfortable to go in. Over time (usually weeks) I continue to work my way closer. You've got to get them used to your noise and movement, too, so as you move closer make more noise movement, like soft talking, weight shifting, and feet shuffling. After a week or so I start covering the carrier with a sheet so they get used to not seeing me. Finally, after they're comfortable with me being close to the carrier while they're eating, I'm able to close the door with them inside. That's why the kennels have to be big. They can move a lot faster than I can, so I need the distance they have to travel to escape for an advantage! Sometimes, you end up with multiple cats, and of course if that happens there will be one of them that you've already neutered!

Good luck!
 
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brooklet425

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You know, I actually hadn't thought about trying to trap her by getting her to walk into a carrier or a cage but that is an excellent idea!! Today I managed to actually pet her though, so I think her "taming" is happening a little faster than I expected. She's still hesitant about my hands, but I managed to pet her head when she turned her head away from me for a second. She reacted immediately and pulled away, but when I tried again, she started purring and let me pet her about 5 strokes before she pulled away. I wasn't really expecting that to happen! Then later, my husband went outside and held his hand near her. She swatted it playfully and then started to bite him, but it was definitely play biting. I got worried at first because my husband got bit by a feral cat several years ago and needed stitches (he's great with cats in general, but he's notorious for using his hands as a way to socialize them and he accidentally spooked one of the ferals I brought inside years ago and then I had to rush him to the ER because he was bleeding so badly...). So needless to say, I had a bad flashback of that incident when I saw her start to bite his hand, but she was playful and he said she never really bit him - just sort of gnawed on his finger and then licked his hand (and yes I know that using hands to do this is not a smart thing to do but the husband doesn't listen to me when I point that out! And in his defense he HAS managed to socialize one feral that is totally "his" cat now.)

So basically, I'm hoping that now I won't need to trap her and I'll be able to pick her up or at least scruff her to get her into a carrier soon. But if I can't do that within a week or so, I am going to try to lure her into a large carrier like suggested.

I did get a closer look at her left paw today though and it does look deformed. I was hoping it was just an oddly growing toe, but it looks almost mangled and bent. I need to get a closer look still because I still can't see it as clearly as I'd like but I guess if I can get her to a vet then I can just get it checked out there. I'm not as worried as I was a few days ago though. Now that I've been able to get closer to her and touch her more, I figure that if the toe ever does become a problem I shouldn't have too much of a problem getting her to a vet. That was my biggest concern - I didn't want the toe to be a problem while she was living as a feral who wouldn't get good vet care.

Peaches - thanks for the pictures! I'm always amazed at how cat siblings can look so different. Julie's thumbs look like the thumb on the "normal" paw of my little girl. (I've been calling her Audrey for the past 2 days - my husband keeps saying that she has a funny looking face and he started referring to her as "Funny Face"...so my mind went to the movie starring Audrey Hepburn - hence the name Audrey.)
 

peaches08

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I've GOT to see pictures! I know...she's feral but she's coming along...
 

susank521

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Sounds like you won't have too much trouble getting her caught. I've got a boy (Hiphop) who was once feral, that did have a deformed foot.  The deformity of the foot wasn't really a problem, but the nail was deformed also, very large and thick and grew into the pad. He was in obvious discomfort. When I caught him for neutering they trimmed the nail, but within a month it had grown back into the pad. So, I caught him again and the vet recommended amputating part of his foot, which I did. As it sometimes happens, he spent so much time after the amputation with me in the infirmary that he tamed up very nicely. Only having a partial foot hasn't slowed him down a bit, either.

If at all possible, I really do prefer the carriers over the trap . Rarely am I able to catch a cat and immediately get them to the vet, so it's more comfortable for the cat to spend time in the carrier as opposed to the trap. But that takes time, and sometimes you don't have that luxury so you do what you gotta do, right? 
 
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