Polydactyly in cat shows??

[goldenkitty45]

Yes of course, and it may just be an advantage! Something "not normal" to catch the judges eye.

HHP's are for any mixed breed (spayed/neuter over 8 months), not declawed, and in good condition/groomed. You can also show purebred that do not conform to championship competition. However, a lot of judges (especially in CFA) will bypass the purebred look alikes in favor the mixed breeds. In ACFA/TICA the purebreds do a lot better.

Enter your kitty (if it meets the above criteria) and see what happens. HHP is very competitve!

 

[qit el-remel]

Originally Posted by tailsoluv

Sam, we don't have polydactyl Maine Coons in the U.S. because polydactylism is a dominant trait and therefore extremely easy to avoid.

Actually, nearly half of all of the first Maine Coons were poly. It was deliberately bred out of mainstream show stock.

No standard in our registries allows for a Maine Coon with extra toes, and I know of no breeders who either breed them or want to get them accepted.

They're out there (yes, in the U.S. too).

Originally Posted by WellingtonCats

I am so glad to hear that Barb. Yes some people are deliberately breeding them here in NZ and some stupid breeders are trying to get it put in the standard!!

Now, now. Just because someone disagrees with you does not make them "stupid." (Considering the breed's history, I'd say that they're just nostalgic.)

As for an author describing polydactylism as a deformity, rather than an anomoly, the connotation is that this is a bad thing. But there are many vets here in the States which describe the head type of a Persian or a modern Burmese as being a deformity, and you don't feel that way.

IMHO, Persians/modern Burmese are only "deformed" if they have breathing problems...which (if my sources are correct) are sadly becoming increasingly common in those breeds. A flat-faced cat that can breathe properly, however, is just...a flat-faced cat.

In fact, I know of a person who took in a Persian for a c-section, and the vet put all the resulting kittens to sleep (although they were born alive) because he was sure that their skulls were deformed

Horribly sad, isn't it?

That's beyond sad. If the kittens appeared to be breathing normally, that's sick.

I think whether one likes polydactyls (or Persians or modern Burmese) or any other trait that isn't a lethal is a matter of personal preference.

Agreed. My opinion on Persians and modern Burmese is about like that of Aurora151989's on polys: In other words, the worst thing that I'll say about them is that they're a rebuke to the notion that all cats are cute.

By the way, one of the ugliest cats that I've ever seen was a poly. (His sweet nature made up for his face, but that's another story and shall be told another time.)

-Qit

 

[sol]

Originally Posted by tailsoluv

I think whether one likes polydactyls (or Persians or modern Burmese) or any other trait that isn't a lethal is a matter of personal preference.

A trait can be harmful even if it isn't lethal.

And as with Manx, sometimes a trait is lethal only if it's homozygous.

 

[xlctawn]

I'm thinking of showing my cat. He's a poly any advice i have never shown before

 

[nekochan]

What type of advice are you looking for xlctawn?

I showed my polydactyl Maine Coon, Roxy, in CFA in the Household Pet class as a kitten, and also in TICA in the New Traits class. I've never had a judge look negatively at her due to the extra toes. The New Traits judge gave her a good critique and had good things to say about her conformation and the HHP judges always exclaimed when they noticed her "thumbs" and pointed it out to the audience but not in a negative way. They realized that this was why she was in HHP class (she couldn't be shown as a MC in CFA due to the extra toes.)