Polydactyly in cats

 

    Polydactyly in cats is more commonly known as having a thumb, or extra toe on one of its paws, or both. This common anomaly in cats is due to genetics, as it can be a dominant trait. Although unusual, it is not rare at all, and is quite cute. Interesting enough, these cats with an extra appendage will have that dominant trait and will most likely pass that gene onto its offspring. In some cases, these extra toes will not be connected to an actual bone, so it’s recommended to be careful while clipping nails, and just make sure the cat isn’t having difficulty walking. 

    I used to have a cat who was polydactyl; he had two thumbs! These extra appendages were due to the fact his mom had the dominant trait for it, therefore it was passed down to him. This didn’t affect either cat whatsoever, and was something that made him unique. 

99 Lives?!

Besides having nine lives, cats surprisingly have some of the same diseases as humans according to recent article Feline Genetics. William Murphy, who is a professor in the Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, says that studying and researching genetic diseases in cats will give a better perspective of some human diseases as well. That is why he recently started to contribute to the "99 Lives Cat Whole Genome Sequencing Initiative" project where they pounce on the genetic sequences of 99 cats to get more information on the genetics of feline diseases. What they do is take blood samples from different breeds of cats and sequences their genomes. Cat genomes are like maps which can lead to specific genes in multiple breeds, and in turn will show the genetic source of physical traits and health problems.

What the project's goal is to improve on the necessary resources to treat genetics diseases in cats and study their complex traits that may help us humans in the future, according to former UC Davis professor Leslie Lyons. Their first cat to have its genome sequenced is an Abyssinian cat (shown above) named Cinnamon and now all other cats' sequences are being compared to her genome to tidy up the project's information. But just from Cinnamon and her high quality sequence, researchers will now be able to view how cats differentiate on a genetic level and they will also be able to see mutations. Murphy even states that since some of the same diseases in cats are also conveyed in humans, it would be beneficial to study them because it will better our understanding in human diseases as well. But of course, all this research and sequencing are a heavy penny so the "99 Lives" project hopes that other research institutes and universities will put their paws out to help the cause in the future.

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My opinion? I love cats, even though I am slightly allergic, so this article really interested me. I also learned something new, because I had no idea that some health problems in cats were also found in humans. I wish I owned my own researching center so I can help out the "99 Lives" project, because they really have something that could help lots of lives in the future; felines AND humans. 

Link to article: http://www.thebatt.com/news/feline-genetics-1.3141261#.UwPClnm9ZE-

Link to related article featuring Cinnamon by the Genome Research: http://genome.cshlp.org/site/press/CatGenomeSequence.xhtml