Toe Bean News: 28-Toed Cat Ties World Record For Most Toes!

Meet Paws, who's been launched into the spotlight thanks to her teeny, tiny toe beans: all 28 of them. 

Cats normally have 18 toes - five on each front paw and four on their back paws. But Paws has a bounty of toe beans to share with the world: 28 of them, in fact! Paws and her 28 toes are tied for the World Record for Most Toes on a Cat.

She shares the title with a ginger tabby named Jake. According to Guinness, each toe must have its own claw, pad and bone structure to qualify as an official toe bean.

Paws was taken in by Jeanne Martin in Northfield, Minnesota. When asked about Paws' special paws, Jeanne told CBS News: “It almost looks like a catcher’s mitt," adding that the "gloved paw" help her grip narrow surfaces, almost acting like thumbs! 

When Jeanne takes Paws to the vet to get her claws trimmed, Jeanne always reminds them to make sure they get all 28. They don't even charge her extra for the bonus beans. 

"I told them once, I said, 'you really ought to charge me extra because she has so many more,'" Jeanne said.

Paws' extra digits are due to a genetic mutation known as polydactyly, a normally benign congenital abnormality that results in the growth of additional toes. Often called Hemingway cats in honor of author Earnest Hemingway's house full of six-toed felines in Key West, FL, polydactyl cats aren't as uncommon as you'd might think - but they're plenty adorable! 

Do you have a multi-toed feline? Share with us on our Facebook or in the comments section below!