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Monday, July 9, 2012

He's a Cardigan Welsh Cat?! Excuse me while I fall off my chair!

Not even I could have made this up. 

What do you think? Serendipity, or something else? 

Maddox (my current foster cat) is a polydactyl. He has six toes on each of his front paws, instead of the usual five. If you look closely at the inside edges of his paws (in this photo), you'll see the tips of the extra (thumb-like) digits. (He looks like he's wearing mittens. :)

I'm a polydactyl cat. See my "thumbs"?

But that's not why I'm falling off my chair.

The other night (right after I wrote last Friday's post), I decided - out of the blue - to Google "polydactyl cat," mostly because I was curious about the genetics.

Turns out, these cats (with the extra toes) have quite a history, steeped in all sorts of folklore. (I won't include all of that in this post, but you can read all about it here.)

It also turns out that nearly all of the world's population of polydactyl cats is located in the East Coast of North America (where I live) and in South West Wales.

Alright.

But, it also turns out that polydactyl cats are known by several nicknames, like, for example, mitten cats, boxing cats, Hemingway cats and Cardi-cats.

Cardi-cats?? Why the heck are they called Cardi-cats? (I thought to myself the other night.)

Um, well, turns out (a little further down the Wikipedia page) that:

"Polydactyls are very common in the Cardigan area of Wales, where they are known as 'Cardi-cats.'"


Image Source
Cardiganshire: Where the dogs are low and the cats have many toes. :)

Please note that they did not say polydactyls are common in any area of Wales, OTHER THAN CARDIGAN (in former County Cardiganshire).

Also, please note what the AKC says about the origin of the Cardigan Welsh Corgi (of which breed Jon Farleigh and Dewi belong):

"In the beginning, the Corgi came to the high country [of Wales] now known as Cardiganshire with the tall, tawny-headed Celts from Central Europe."

What are the chances? I (a self-proclaimed Cardi fool) not only got the Buster look-alike, but a relatively rare Cardi-cat, too???

OMGosh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! UPDATE!!!!!

On a hunch, I just looked up the origin of the surname "Maddox."

Guess what?! According to wiki.name.com:

"The name Maddox derives from the Welsh surname 'Maddock' meaning 'son of Madoc.' The name 'Madoc' is believed to derive from the Welsh 'mad' meaning 'fortunate.'"

Maddox's name is derived from the Welsh word for "fortunate!"

Excuse me; I have to go gaze at him while he draws breath...

P.S. Starting tomorrow, I'm saving up for a trip to Wales! 

15 comments:

  1. I love it!! Seems he was meant to be a part of your family :)

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  2. Holy mackerel, that's amazing. You couldn't have planned all this if you tried! I have to say, we know of these cats as Hemingways (if not polydactyls) and I've never heard about the Cardi-connection before. Go figure, you'd stumble across it!
    Ahem. Welcome home, Maddox. :)

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  3. Now how are you going to break the news to Dewi and Jon Farleigh? Not only is there a stranger in the house but he turns out to be a long lost relative!

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  4. WOW. A Cardi Cat. That is very, very cool!

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  5. Definitely serendipitous and so YOU to follow every clue to the last detail. I love it! Maddox is a handsome kitty. Are you gonna keep him?

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  6. Definitely serendipitous and so YOU to follow every clue to the last detail. I love it! Maddox is a handsome kitty. Are you gonna keep him?

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  7. Definitely serendipitous and so YOU to follow every clue to the last detail. I love it! Maddox is a handsome kitty. Are you gonna keep him?

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  8. I think he's gonna have to stay past his foster gig!

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  9. This is an amazing story! I think it is meant to be. Maddox belongs in your clan.

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  10. Well I never , that's a turn up for the books! I certainly never heard of that before.
    Best wishes Molly

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  11. You are so setting yourself up to adopt this cat.. I know that you will have several disappointed readers if you don't. Good luck girl..

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  12. Oh my gosh that is so awesome! You two were destined to be together. (And yes, I agree with aunmtv that you are looking at failed foster-hood here. ;)

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  13. I get polys all the time.. Guess that is that east coast of the US for you :).. But I've never heard them called Cardi-cats

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  14. Wow - that's pretty cool. Love those sorts of coincidences. Clearly he was meant to come to your house. And, also clearly, you are meant to have a fabulous trip to Wales!

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  15. Amazing, we have a cat that has 8 toes on both front feet.

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