Skip to Content

They Rescued A Kitten With Only Two Toes And Thought He Wouldn’t Make It. Months Later…

A normal cat has four toes on each foot and a dewclaw (which is a little higher up on the leg – think of it as the ‘thumb’). A polydactyl cat can have one or two extra toes on their paws. The opposite of polydactyly is called Syndactyly where two more toes are fused together. The most common form of syndactyly is called ectrodactyly or ‘split foot, ’ and the paw looks like a crab or lobster claw.

kitten

Image Credit: Justina Strumilaite

The condition is inherited. In humans, the condition is called “Lobster hand.” Cats with lobster claw can still run and jump and lead normal lives, according to messybeast.com.

kitten

Image Credit: Justina Strumilaite

Brownie, the cat, was born with only two toes – he has ectrodactyly. Life for Brownie was not easy. When he was really young, he stopped eating.

kitten

Image Credit: Justina Strumilaite

Over a period of several weeks, Brownie lost a lot of weight. Everyone assumed that Brownie wasn’t going to make it. Happily, he bounced back!

kitten

Image Credit: Justina Strumilaite