Cats usually have five toes on their front paws and four on the back paws. However, some are born with up to eight toes on one or more of their feet. This genetic mutation, called polydactyly, is common in cats.
Although these extra toes can allow felines to get a better grip with their front paws, the toes aren’t opposable like thumbs are, so there’s no evidence that polydactyly means cats are evolving thumbs. The Guinness World Record holder for most toes on a cat is seven toes on each foot for a total of 28, held by Jake of Ontario, Canada. No word as to whether he can open his own cans of food, though.
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