Double digits
Dear Dr. Forsythe: Do cats born with extra digits also have extra health problems? I saw a kitten I wanted to adopt who is really special, but she does have the unusual trait of having six fingers and toes. Is this just a small abnormal thing or something more? I thought it would be good to ask before I bring her home and fall in love – can I expect to find other problems down the line with this pet? If so, I’d like to know ahead of time what types of problems I might expect. Thanks for the advice. – Want to adopt a kitten.
Dear wants to adopt: The kitty you are thinking about adopting has a condition known as “polydactyly” which is a congenital abnormality, but it is quite common and should not deter you from going through with your adoption.
Most cats have five toes (including the thumb) on each front paw and four on each rear for a total of 18 toes. Most commonly, cats with polydactyly have an extra thumb in the front, but occasionally they can have even more digits on the front and even the rear paws. As far as this being a severe abnormality – or one that is a prediction of other problems rearing their ugly head down the road, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. In fact, there are many people who consider these hyper-padded cats as being good luck. In “the olden days” (or as my son Magnus says, “Back when YOU were a kid, dad?) folklore among sailors held that polydactyl cats were sure footed, good climbers, hunters, and therefore made good ship’s cats.
My advice to you would be move forward with the adoption and know that you will be enjoying life with a beautiful and special little cat. I doubt very much you will incur any additional health problems relating to the extra toes other than the trouble of trimming the extra nails. But from my experience with these mitten pawed kittens, you will be embarking on that wonderful journey with a special feline that will cause you to smile and marvel at her quite interesting and rather perfect imperfection. – Dr. Forsythe
Dear Dr. Forsythe: My cousin’s dog died last night after very heavy breathing for several hours. We weren’t sure whether to bring it to the vet or not. He was a small dog and was fine the day before, what would cause a dog to begin heavy breathing and panting like that and then just die? We have no idea what could have happened. Even though she didn’t bring him to the vet, we would still like to know what could have caused his death. It has been a week since we buried him, and the other two dogs are doing well, but we just can’t get him out of our mind. – Heartsick in Sonoma.
Dear Heartsick: My deep condolences on the loss of your cousin’s dog. It is so hard when a pet that seemed normal passes away unexpectedly and with seemingly no warning. Unfortunately it is impossible for me to give you a good answer for why her pet passed away without knowing more about what happened and having more details. I can say that whenever a pet has trouble breathing and collapses, my differential would include a heart attack or other cardiovascular problem such as a blood clot that can lodge in the lung and cause a sudden loss of life. However, there are many things that can cause a pet to die suddenly, from dangerous toxins to penetrating foreign objects that pets can swallow. The only way to get some concrete answers for you about a cause of death would have been to perform an autopsy on the dog after his passing. I hope you and your cousin can take comfort from the wonderful memories you must have of the pet and try to understand that there are times when we must try to go on without knowing the answers to the questions that are nagging at us. We just have to rely on the love we had with the pet and know that he is in a better place now and staying in our hearts and minds. – Dr. F
