Mine aren't purebred anything, they were born a bit "different". My husband died august 2006, sept 2006 my daughter and I (she was 9 ) found 2 tiny kittens, holding onto each other. Both together fit in the palm of my hand. Neither had tails, & one had extra toes.. I think he knew they needed help & our hearts were sad, so he put them in our path. Our old dog slept with them and kept them warm, but she was fighting cancer also, and went to be with my husband that November. Right after that we found our current sheltie, to take over foster mom duties. Now the sheltie Trixie will be 13 in may; the kitties will be 13 in September,. The cats hold a special place in our heart because they were sent from my husband. They both have been healthy until finding a lump on sandy, the polydactyl, who just had mammary tumor surgery. My daughter now 22, is finishing college & moving soon, so I am hoping that Pammy and Sandy kitties have many years left with me.
I was both touched and moved by your heartwarming post. Your cats are lovely. They are very lucky to have found their way into such a wonderful caring home.
I have a lot of bob-tail cats. I live in Japan, but my cats aren't pedigree bob-tails. Most of the street cats here have short tails and my cats were all feral born, so they just have the bob-tail gene.
It's actually quite common among cats who have been allowed to inbreed a bit too much, as my cats were before I came along and got them all fixed. You get bob-tails among a lot of the big cats as well, if inbreeding occurs.
I'm glad to hear Trixie, Pammy and Sandy have all got such a nice home with you.
Last month one of my dad's caregivers brought 2 kittens, brother and sister, to me along with a lilac color point kitten from her own momma cat's litter. All are 3 months old, the color point being born Aug 26, and the other 2 on Sep 1.
The two born in September are grey and white and show faint tabby marks (agouti) in their grey patches. The male has a long tail and the female has a bobtail, about half the normal length with little kinks near the very tip. She is also polydactyl.
Her polydactyly is unusual too. Not only do her 3rd digits appear to be doubled, but she has a dewtoe on her left rear paw (no claw) and a fully formed dewclaw on the right rear paw. The dewclaws on her front paws are underdeveloped or possibly non-existent, with what appears to be a "claw" in the nearest pad.
They will go to the vet for their exams and first shots next week so I will have the vet check her paws closely for any potential issues.