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Cats
[Back to topic list] [Back to Pets Topic]        Polydactyly (six or seven toes) varies from the classic "mitten cat" through to cats which simply have more toes than normal, but no "thumb". A correspondent to the New Scientist noted that the innermost extra toes on the front paws are often opposable and some cats use them with quite startling proficiency to manipulate small objects with almost human dexterity. Some owners of polydactyl cats joke that their cats are more intelligent because of this and represent the next stage in feline evolution - the ability to open cartons and cans unaided.           Story behind the Picture Many thanks to the blogmeister Terry Heaton for tweaking the photo posting on the blog. This first photo was merely a test. I won't inundate you with pictures of Jack and Diane. With that being said, I used to scoff at pet owners and how "into" their pets they were. I became a cat owner in 1994 when I was 31-years old. It took that to "get" how important pets are to people. With my schedule, a dog was out of the question. I (like many of us) have some 12-hour days with some trips out of town at the last moment. A dog wouldn't dig that. I got Jack a couple of years ago and I was still not around a bunch and I thought he was bored (I would come home only to find him with a cigarette in his mouth with tuna cans scattered around). I picked up Diane a few months later and while they are not brother and sister, they get along great. They are truly home entertainment centers. Growing up in Indiana and raised on my fare share of John Mellencamp music, you can guess where the names came from. If you are under 20, you missed out on one of the great American rock and roll poets of the 80's and early 90's. The sports department is cat heavy. I have two. Cory Curtis and his wife have two. Tim Hardiman and his wife have two and sports photographer Cal Baxter recently bought one. Of course with 4 men and 7 cats, that's great comic material for Sara Walsh, who thinks we are crazy and a bit strange about the cat thing. Our answer to her is she just doesn't "get it", just like I didn't "get it" many years ago. Truth is, in a few years, Sara will most likely own a dog and probably have a couple of cats running around. She denies this. I just think she is in denial. So Jack and Di make make the blog as the first picture subjects. Clearly I caught them in between one of their 19 naps during the day.  Jack 2006  Diane 2006  Jack 2006    Sammy, Siamese Seal Point       |
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