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Hemingways, or more commonly known as the American Polydactyl are cats that are born with the congenital abnormality caused by the Pd gene with an incomplete penetrance. This causes the cats to be born with extra toes. It is a dominant gene, which means kittens born without extra toes cannot pass on the trait. Normally cats have five front toes and four back toes, but polydactyls can have more. These extra toes can sometimes give the apperance of their paws being mittens. They can be found on front, back, or all four feet, but most commonly the front or all four feet. Polydactyls with just back extra digits are more rare than others. There is even a record of a polydactyl ((Tiger)) having an amazing 27 total toes. These extra toes often allow polydactyls to have extra manual dexterity. They are also known to be more mellow in nature.
No one truly know where the trait first appeared in the cat population, whether it orginated in England, or was brought there. Often the cats had been persecuted as witch cats during the Witch Hunts. But they were loved by sailors because their extra dexterity made them great rodent hunter, and they were thought to be good luck.
Hemingways is a slang term for the breed, and was brought on by the nobel prize winner Ernest Hemingway who had a deep passion for the breed. His house in Key West, Florida is now a musem with more than 60 cats from his orginal.
