Nature
PUBLISHED
The world is full of people and animals that hold impressive world records. From solving a Rubik's cube to the iconic Jonathan the tortoise, the awards follow the length and breadth of human and animal achievement. Guinness World Records has also been known to celebrate the slightly more zany – like Toby and his 28 toes.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.At just 10 months old, adorable kitten Toby Henderson from the USA has tied for his very own Guinness World Record title by having the most toes of any cat. The title is shared with Jake the Polydactyl Cat from Canada who set the record in 2002. Toby possesses 28 toes, as did Jake, though sadly Jake passed away in 2024.
Toby lives in Michigan with his owner and his cat sister Connie who also has two extra toes on her front paws. This condition of having more toes than typical is known as polydactyly, caused by a genetic mutation.
Typically pet cats have 18 toes, with five on each front foot and four on each back foot. Polydactyly is an autosomal dominant trait, so just one parent needs to carry the mutation to have offspring with a likelihood of extra toes.
The toes can develop either on the outer (post-axial) or inner (pre-axial) edges of the foot. The extra digits can sometimes come in pairs or be solo.
“When I first saw his toes, I really couldn't believe what I was seeing!” said owner Delaney Henderson in a statement. “Having another polydactyl cat, I was expecting the extra ‘thumbs,’ but nothing could've prepared me to see Toby's paws.”
Henderson says that Toby’s extra toes have no impact on his health or behavior; they just make him even more adorable.
In 2024, Audio the cat went viral after being brought to a rescue centre in Tennessee as part of a litter of kittens. Audio rose to fame for having four ears, another genetic condition that he shares with a cat called Midas, the star of a very popular Instagram account.
Neither Audio nor Midas suffer any ill effects from their extra ears.
There was even the case of Narwhal the Little Magical Furry Unicorn in 2019, who was an absolutely adorable rescue puppy with a tail growing on his forehead.
“The unicorn face tail does not bother Narwhal and he never slows down just like any normal puppy,” Mac’s Mission rescue center said in a post on Facebook. “The extra tail is not connected to anything and has no real use other than making him the COOLEST PUPPY EVER,” they added.
