Jarnac's Un G Rico P

Voor huidige informatie en articles zie www.polytrak.net of  www.mcpi.org of http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/polystandard/

Polydactyl Maine Coons

Vroeger waren ongeveer 40% van de Maine Coons met Polydactyl.

In de Amerikaanse volksverhalen werd gezegd dat deze katten wilde jagers waren en dat ze hun overgrote voeten daar bij gebruikt om levende vis uit de rivieren te vangen.

Onderzoeken aan katten met Polydactyl tussen de 40er en 70er jaren wezen uit dat het begin deze eigenschap bij katten waarschijnlijk zijn voorgekomen door de uit Engeland meegebrachte katten door Puriteinen naar de Boston omgeving.


Toen onderzoekers de Poly katten telden, stelde zij vast dat er in de omgeving van Boston een grotere populatie was dan in New York city of Chicago.

Natuuronderzoekers vermoeden dat de directe nakomelingen van deze katten aan boord van handelsschepen leefden en zo hun weg vonden naar Halifax, Yarmouth, Minneapolis en Nova Scotia. Deze regio's hebben betrekkelijk meer teenige katten populaties. In Europa zijn er bijna geen Polydactyl katten meer omdat in de vorige eeuw elke kat die anders was op grond van bijgeloof
(hekserij) dood werden gemaakt.
( Kelly, Larson 1993).


In het origineel van de fokstandaard stond het volgende voorstel voor Maine Coon poten: "Ze kunnen extra tenen aan elke en alle benen hebben". De beschrijving " Aan elke en alle benen " werd later verandert, dat werd nu " 5 tenen voor en 4 achter". Na de mening van de Poly liefhebbers werd dit niet gedaan voor de gezondheid maar door een vereniging besluit. Het was duur om meerdere katten op een show te laten zien, zonder het nut van het behalen van de CAC status.


De liefhebber accepteerde het en de Maine Coon breeders and fanciers association (MCBFA) stemde voor, om het op de gewone poten te houden. De Poly clausule werd uit de standaard gehaald. Vele dachten dat het gebeurde omdat het een ernstige misvorming was. Voor de volgende 30 jaar was er een ongeschreven wet bij de MCBFA, dat de Poly niet bestond.


Poly's konden voor de fok genomen worden, maar alle Poly-kittens moesten als liefhebber dieren verkocht worden. Deze kittens moesten stil en stiekem verkocht worden en geplaatst worden bij liefhebbers. Er werd in Marilis Hornidge's boek " That yankee cat, the Maine Coon" ( Harpswell Press, 1981) geschreven dat het aantal tenen aan de poten nog steeds hevig werd besproken.


Poly's kunnen in verschillende kattenstamboeken in Amerika worden geregistreerd, ze worden niet uitgesloten bij de Cat Fanciers association (CFA), The International Cat Association (TICA), American Cat Fanciers Association (ACFA) en Cat fanciers federation (CFF).Maar de werkelijkheid is dat die registratie van een Maine Coon niet zegt of het een Poly is of niet. Het wordt traditioneel gedaan ,maar het is geen voorschrift, een "P" op een willekeurige plaats te zetten in de naam, Zodat je weet dat het een Poly is.

Poly's kunnen geen kampioen status krijgen, omdat voorlopig de extra tenen nog worden gezien als een afwijking van de standaard. Omdat het gen van Polydactyl een dominant gen is, is het mogelijk om het uit een lijn te fokken. Je moet dus ook minstens een ouderdier hebben die Poly is om Poly-kittens te krijgen. Deze dominante gen wordt ongeveer met 40% tot 50% doorgegeven. Volgens Dr. Montgomery ( botten en gewrichten specialist, Auburn hoge school voor diergeneeskunde) "
Wisten in het verleden veel houders niet dat ze een Poly kat hadden".

 

Rico P 12 weken

Showen met Polydactyle Maine Coons door Sharon Otten-Boult

Gepubliceerd in It's Coontime, winter 2005

Het begin van een nieuw show seizoen brengt  vaak leuke maar soms ook onverwachte ontwikkelingen met zich mee. Dit jaar is er bij de wereld organisatie TICA de mogelijkheid om pedigree polydactyl Maine Coon  in de “ New Traits Class”  in te schrijven en in deze klasse uit te brengen en  te laten keuren. In  de “New Traits Class” kunnen nieuwe rassen maar ook varianten van een bestaand ras worden geshowd. In deze ring zijn er net als bij de andere klassen lintjes te winnen en finales te behalen, alleen tellen deze laatste  niet mee voor kampioenschap punten. De polydactyl Maine Coons worden beoordeeld op  hoe goed ze voldoen aan de gewone Maine Coon  show standaard met uitzondering natuurlijk van een of twee extra tenen aan de pre-axial kant van de poten( de duim kant of extra dew claw).

Sinds de mogelijkheid er nu is…werd het tijd om de  polys officieel in de show hall  uit te brengen  om zo  gezien te worden in competitie, zonder uitzicht op diskwalificatie. Een  internationale groep enthousiaste poly fokkers, eigenaren en liefhebbers: MC Polys, besloten om  met z’n allen naar de TICA annual show in Syracuse, New York op September 3 en 4, 2005 te gaan. De organizatie was in hande de katten verenigingen  van Cats of the  Fingerlakes  en WFC. De mensen van onze groep kwamen   vanuit vier   landen: Canada, Engeland, Nederland en van de  USA (van vier versclillende  “states”)  speciaal om de  polys op de TICA annual show  te laten zien.  .

 In totaal hebben acht polydactyl  Maine Coons  mee gedaan op de show in NY. Ik had ook mij eigen eerste fok Butch P Cassidy ingeschreven maar kon hem zo’n lange  reis toch uiteindelijk niet aan doen voor een twee daagse show. Op de show had ik  een kooi met zijn foto erin en  hij stond in de cataloges, maar Butch bleef veilig thuis. Hij zelf had er wel  veel zin  in en ging consequent in mij koffer liggen voor meer dan een uur gedeurende de  tijd  dat ik aan het inpakken was voor America, als of te zeggen neem me nu gewoon mee! Ik  wou niet met lege handen staan op de show, dus ik had geregeld om Olwyn P een bruin tabby polydactyl poes  van Upper Valley Cattery , eigenaar Gordon Pugh, te  mogen showen sinds ik had besloten Butch niet mee te nemen. Gordon vond de vriendelijk hulp fijn, zowel van mij als  van Vonne Bode die ook alleen voor deze show uit Nederland naar America was gereisd.

 De show was op z’n Amerikaans in een grote hal met hoge plafonds, veel versiering en  uitgebreide thema decoraties en kooi opmaak zoals wij hier niet vaak zien. De keurmeesters vonden de Maine Coons mooi en stevig. Ze vonden de   polydactyl poten  in het algemeen erg interessant en stonden open voor polydactyl  in Maine coons en Pixie Bobs. Pixie Bobs hebben al het recht  om geshowd te kunnen worden als polydactyl voor de  kampioenschaps titels in de  TICA. Ze  waren  te zien op de show  in USA  zowel als  in België . Omdat  iedere keurmeester zijn/haar eigen vragen had waren wij  hierop  voorbereid met antwoorden zowel mondeling als schriftelijk. In de vorm van een speciale show magazine( 22 pagina's gemaakt door ons leden) vol informatie, die ik uit deelde  aan de keurmeesters na de finale in iedere ring . Hieruit er ontstonden veel goede gesprekken en ik heb hier  veel van geleerd . In totaal waren er 12 ringen, 6 per dag dus lekker druk maar wij werkten als  een team dus het was een erg leuk weekend. De lintjes waren verdeeld over de katten en iedere keurmeester had zijn eigen mening over wie de mooiste kat was…

  De show was een ontzettend leuke ervaring en verliep boven verwachtingen  met meerdere extra hoogtepunten o.a. een uitgebreide conversatie met Beth Hicks die beschreef hoe het was gegaan toen polys uit de show standaard waren geschreven om de acceptatie als ras te versnellen. Het was   een heel persoonlijk verhaal want zij was er destijds zelf bij . Ook heb ik Dr Pflueger, hoofd van TICA’s genetica afdeling, ontmoet en meerdere leerzame en vriendelijk gesprekken gehad met haar. Zij heeft ook de tijd genomen om met onze groep uitgebreid over polys te praten, ons advies te geven en veel van onze  vragen te  beantwoorden. Ik heb  veel geleerd  en interessante mensen ontmoet en het  was de lange reis   meer dan zeker waard ook al was het zo kort.

 De volgende show was van FIFe/ Felikat dus de jongens in bad en

op naar Schiedam, gelukkig wat dichter bij huis! Daar deed ik de  ras presentatie samen met Rico P. 

Het was erg leuk erbij te horen en ik  voelde de vlinders in mij buik tijdens de presentatie, maar Rico bleef kalm en lief  en liet het  publiek zijn grote poten zien. Er was veel belangstelling vanuit het publiek en de  exposanten,  dus samen met Mirjam Muller probeerde  ik zo goed mogelijk al  hun  vragen te beantwoorden. Zijn beiden zonen waren ingeschreven in de normale Felikat/ FIFE keuring  en Butch P  had van zijn broer, Kiddo  verloren wegens zijn extra tenen, maar kreeg wel een mooi rapport . Op eerdere Felikat shows heb ik weinig  discriminatie ervaren tegen over  polys, soms terughoudendheid met het geven van een DQ omdat ze het jammer vonden.

 Ongeveer een maand later stond ik in Huy in België met Butch P en Rico P, bij de TICA show en heb deze keer zelf geshowd in de New Traits Class. De eerste dag waren er 4 geheel witte Turkse Van’s en een Britse langhaar plus mij knullen in de new traits class . Pittige competitie want ze waren beeld schoon. Butch wist toch twee finales te winnen de eerste dag, een kitten tent en een  grote zak voer.  De tweede dag ging ook goed met een lintje voor zowel vader als zoon. Het ging heen en weer voor best in breed en eerste en tweede plaats tussen die twee.  De meningen onder de keurmeesters waren verschillend met betrekking tot  polys op de show, maar ze  stonden open om de polys te keuren volgens de Maine Coon standaard.

De mogelijkheid om  verder te showen met polys is verschillend tussen katten verenigingen,omdat  die hanteren hun eigen reglement . Je mag bij voorbeeld bij Felikat je poly showen en een keur rapport ontvangen zodat je  meer over het type van je kat kan leren maar je wordt wel diskwalificeerd. In CFA mag je tot 8 maanden showen "open" en daarna alleen als castraat in  de HHP(house hold pet) klasse.   Bij  de onafhankelijke verenigingen moet je per show vragen om zeker te zijn over hun standpunt.

Veranderingen zullen waarschijnlijk langzaam plaats vinden, maar ik ben blij dat de mogelijkheid nu in de TICA bestaat om  polydactyl coons te laten zien  voor de mooie  Maine Coon's die ze zijn ! 

Voor meer informatie  aan polydactyl maine coons kijk op www.mcpi.org

MC Polys for Kids

By Sharon Otten-Boult

A poly what???  What is a Pedigree Maine Coon Polydactyl anyway…?

Well it is a beautiful big cat with a couple extra toes and we know who all their  parents and relatives were . So who is MC Polys you ask??? We are a bunch of  cat lovers from around the world called MC Polys and are working together to teach people about these special cats so if you want to know more go to www.mcpolys.com on the internet…lots of  information, articles, and pictures too. I would like to  officially invite you as Vice President of MC Polys to come visit and see for yourself.

These cats came from the woods of America and are a natural breed, they have been around for a  very long time, hundreds of years. They are Maine Coon cats so they are big have a square look to there face, head, and body and look like a regular cat on top  and a long haired fur ball in its neck, belly, but, and tail. Their tails are extra long and very fluffy and  sometimes with their stripes look like a raccoon but are no relation. They come in lots of  sizes and colors too and are between 10 to 22 pounds, boys are bigger than girls, sometimes more! A while ago there was a lot of them but some people decided to get these Maine Coon cats into the show hall  but they could not let the ones with extra toes compete in competition only cats with 5 toes in front and 4 in back. So slowly people stopped mating polys and their numbers became very few! They got discriminated against because people didn’t understand they were  just different but mother nature made them that way originally not some scientist in a lab.  These cats are happy healthy sturdy strong cats, having a normal life and can sometimes do a little something extra with the extra toes. They are playful, loving, gentle, smart, handy Maine Coon cats plus their puuurrrsonality...they are very special cats to me.

Oh yea what about the extra toes???

   A non poly or non-poly cat has 4 claws/toes and 1 dew claw that is higher up on their front paws, on the back they have 4 claws/toes. Many types of animals can be polydactyl…cats, dogs, wild life, people and more. These cats have one or two extra toe on the thumb side of their paw so it often looks like they are wearing mittens. The toes can be different in their shapes but can often be used like a hand. Also they can be 6 in a straight row for really big paws. Polys can have extra toes on their front paws only or both the front and back paws. To get a polydactyl kitten either their mom or dad has to be a polydactyl too.  Breeders are careful when choosing mates and only pair a poly and non poly to keep the mitten toe form. In a litter/nest around half are born are polys  not all kittens. Right now you can not show a poly to be champion, they are not allowed to compete for titles, ribbons or trophies because of the rules and their extra toes. They are quality cats being discriminated against and we are working to change this in the future and make people understand how special they are to us!!!

http://www.ivis.org/special_books/ortho/chapter_57/57mast.asp

 Publications in the IVIS Library:

Constitutional Disorders of the Skeleton in Dogs and Cats. P. F. Jezyk. In: Textbook of Small Animal Orthopaedics, C. D. Newton, D. M. Nunamaker, Eds. (Last Updated: 1-Jan-1985)

 III. DYSOSTOSES WITH PREDOMINANT INVOLVEMENT OF EXTREMITIES

I.                   POLYDACTYLY
The presence of one or more extra digits is termed polydactyly. In humans, preaxial polydactyly involves an additional digit or digits cranial to the anatomical axis of the limb, that is, on the thumb or great toe side. In postaxial polydactyly, the extra digits are adjacent to the fifth finger or toe. Most cases are nongenetic, but several preaxial forms are inherited as simple autosomal dominant traits. Postaxial polydactyly is the more common form in humans. Both autosomal dominant and recessive forms have been reported. Polydactyly is also a feature of several more serious syndromes.
 
In dogs and cats, preaxial polydactyly is by far the more common form.(25,26,70) In cats, it is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait with variable expressivity.(25) A similar inheritance pattern appears to apply to the occurrence of multiple dewclaws in the dog, as is seen in the Great Pyrenees. Lateral polydactylism occurs less frequently but has been reported in two members of a mixed breed litter.(36) There is no apparent clinical significance to these conditions, other than an increased propensity for traumatic injury of the partial supernumery digits.

The Maine Coon Cat

 A definition from the Dell Encyclopedia of Cats by Barbara Hazen….

 “Maine Coon Cat:  Also called Maine Cat or Coon Cat, this is a big, solid-looking, long-furred cat whose origins are open to speculation.  One story tells that the Maine Coon cast are all descendents f the cats brought over by a Captain Coon in the early days of American history.

To qualify for a Maine Coon, it has to be like the above, and either born in the state of Maine of be able to trace its ancestry to the State of Maine. 

The Maine Coon cat is the only true American cat.  It is an offspring of the hardy shorthaired cat brought in by the early settlers breeding with captain Coon’s longhaired cats.  The first longhaired kittens to appear in a litter of kittens were called Coon’s kittens.

The story which I have written begins when Captain Coon was a cabin boy named Tom Coon before he had earned the distinction of being Captain of an English sailing vessel.  His love for the longhaired cat continued over his many years of sailing the seas.

The picture on the front is the Tarbox farm home on the Pool Road, Biddeford, Maine taken about 1916.  This is where I was born and spent my childhood.  The Tarbox barn was where Tom Coon’s mother cat and kittens found a home.  The barn was constructed with hand-hewn beams and wooden pegs.  To the right of the big barn doors in the same building was a tie-up.  This was a room where the cows were kept when they were not in the pasture.  The heat from the cattle kept this room very warm and this was a favorite place for the cats.  The cows were milked in this tie-up. 

In the main barn were haylofts for the storage for hay for the winter months.  When I was growing up, our farm barn was a living home for the farm animals.  This farm was sold in 1946, and is no longer used as farm property

At the foot of our farmland about one-eighth of a mile is a body of water which shows on the map as The Pool.  This pool is salt water and controlled by the Atlantic Ocean; the tied ebbs and flows into this area.  Besides living off the food of the land, The Pool had a plentiful supply of seafoods, clams, lobsters, and fish.  We were seven miles from the city of Biddeford.

The map on the front is an aerial view drawn about 1880.  This is of interest to the people who are familiar with the Pool Road and Biddeford Pool, and the places that surround it.  There have been many changes over the years.

The Origin of the Maine Coon Cat

Lida E. Choate

Papa would say to me, “so you love Coon Cats and Kittens.  I do too.  Do you know how the first Coon Cat and Kittens got into our barn?”  Of course I said, “No, but I want to know.”

Our barn was the home of many Maine Coon Cats and Kittens.  The special mother or kitten was the Money or Lucky Cat or Kitten.  She would have large patches of orange and black on her back and white on her underside.  Her face would be one-half deep orange and one-half black, we would call it a blaze.  Her nose would be a delightful pink and her under chin and front paws would be the whitest white:  The fur would flow like a judge’s ascot.  Her eyes, reflecting a know-it-all expression, were like deep pools of amber.

So many times I have watched my father milking a cow sitting on the milk stool and the steady rhythmic zing of milk striking the pail with the force of a bullet.  With each educated pull of the udder, his head would press against the cow’s flank, almost like a caress.  Sitting directly to his left and back of the cow forming a line would be a Coon Money Cat, the mother with her half grown Coon Kittens, looking like statues watching him intently as my father milked cow after cow.  Every so often with a move that was deftly made, he would aim the mild at the waiting cats faces, yes.  Then they would take a few minutes for groom-up time, and sit and wait until it was their turn again. The cow would be completely milked and stripped in about five minutes.  Then, papa would move to the next cow, and the cats would move with him.  My father milked like a machine with no protest from the cow, and that is an art, my friend.  I might add that I learned to milk a cow when I was so young that I believed I was born know how to milk a cow.

I am going to turn back many years and tell you about how the first Maine Coon cat and her kittens came to our barn.  My father’s grandmother told him that her mother was Mary Haley, but everybody called her Molly, and her father was Jonathan Tarbox.  Molly’s parents owned the adjoining Haley farm.  The Tarbox farm and the Haley farm are both beautiful homes today.  The Haley house has had many stories written about it, talks of early Indian encounters.

Jonathan and Molly walked through the fields picking mayflowers, lady slippers, and violets which grew in abundance.  They would always end up their jaunts by going back to Jonathan’s house.

They would seek out Jonathan’s father and inquire of him if there were any new kittens in the barn.  If there were, his father would take Jonathan and Molly to where the kittens were, and he would explain, “now these are newborn kittens.  They will not open their eyes for about ten days, they will be fully dependent on their mother for about six weeks.  Do not disturb them because the mother cat will hide them from us”.  Jonathan and Molly agreed to keep it a secret.

At the foot of the Tarbox farm there is a body of water known as “The Pool.”  This is from the Saco River and the Atlantic Ocean out for six hours it leaves a vast area of calm flats, but when the tide is in The Pool is very deep.  This is where Captain Richard Vines along with thirty-two men in the winter of 1616 and 1617 built a log cabin on Leighton’s Point adjoining the now Haley farm, and spend the winter s an experiment to see if they could survive the severe winter.  Their vessel, in which their supplies were kept, was anchored in The Pool.  At this period, our adventurers had no English neighbors nearer than Jamestown, Virginia.  This was four years before the landing of the Mayflower at Plymouth.  There is today a monument erected just off the Pool Road in memory of their bravery.  Captain Richard Vines along with others was engaged in transporting colonists to this coast.

As my father went on with his story, according to his grandmother, an American sailing vessel, the Glen Laurie, whose captain was Enoch snow from Provincetown, was heading for the Maine coast with its cargo to trade with the settlers.  This ship had a young English cabin boy on it; he had shipped-on in England.  His name was Tom Coon.  The sailors called him Boy Coon.  Besides his galley duties, he was detailed to look after the captain’s cat.  Now Tom Coon was trying to find a solution to what he considered a big problem.  In one of the ports, which the ship had put into, it was Tom Coon’s job to add more cats to the ship supply.  These cats lived on the wharf.  They should be rugged cats, ready to tackle and rat and win the battle. While Tom was catching these wharf cats, the sailors would be visiting the taverns.  Many times Tom would be frightened when the sailors rowed back to the ship.  Sometimes it would be several hours waiting until the decided to return to the shop.  So, Tom would check all of the cats carefully and watch them stalk and kill the big wharf rats, then he would try to catch the best cats.  Tom Coon was waiting and watching.  While sitting on an old plank, he felt a nudge.  Tom looked around, and the most beautiful small, black, orange and whit, long-haired cat put her head into his hand, looked up into his face, and mewed.

Tom Coon was thinking fast.  He just had to have this beautiful cat.  But how?  Then he thought, I’ll hide her I my cabin.  His cabin was just big enough for his bunk with a drawer under it for his possessions.  A bible his mother had given him was carefully wrapped I his well-laundered shirt along with his Sunday suit.  He also had a footlocker at the foot of his bunk.  Tom Coon just had to sneak this beautiful long-haired cat onto the ship and into his cabin.  It would be a great risk.  The cat had snuggled into his arms and was purring.  So, Tom Coon caught some large ships cats, put them carefully into sacks, and buttoned his pretty cat under his coat. It was late when the sailors returned and they were too boisterous to notice.  They put Tom Coon into the dory with his gunnysacks.  Tom Coon got his special cat into his cabin.  He carried part of his meal and anything else that he could find from the galley into his cabin for the cat.  He had never been so happy since he shipped on this vessel.  At night he would cradle his beautiful cat in his arms and think while he listened to her steady, melodious purr.  As the days passed, he kept his secret, but he noticed that his precious cat was making a nest in his footlocker.  One morning when he got up, his cat was not curled up in her usual place on his bunk.  Tom almost panicked with fear that he had lost his cat, so he first checked his footlocker.  There was his beautiful cat with three wee wee baby kittens plying their tiny paws into her stomach, nursing the mother cat.  Tom was overjoyed, but it complicated the situation.  He had to think of something.  He had never had a responsibility like this before.  Tom Coon’s mind was working overtime.  His beautiful cat with kittens so small he could cradle one in his had and completely enclose it…  Tom put this tiny bundle of fur close to his cheek.  He was living, for the moment, in ecstasy.  He would dream he would someday be a chip captain, and all his s hip cats would be beautiful longhaired cats.  He would go inland from the wharves and get the best cats.  Many of his dreams turned out to be true.  Then he would have to return to his current problem.  One kitten was the most beautiful deep orange with a pink nose and white neck and bib.  Then Tom Coon noticed that his kitten had extra toes on all four white feet.  Upon checking the silver colored one and the one marked just like her mommy, they all had extra toes.  He didn’t know if this was good or bad for the kittens, but Tom had other problems for the moment.  Caring for the mother cat and keeping the kittens alive came first.  Mother cat helped in every why she could.  As the ship pitched and rolled, she cradled her babies close to her to form a buffer between the side of the footlocker and herself.  She was so proud, and would put her paw into Tom Coon’s hand to try to reassure him that things would be all right.   Tom Coon was extra careful to do everything just right in the galley to keep the cook happy, and to keep the captain’s cat well fed and cared for.

Still, tom Coon had to come up with a plan.  He finally decided to go directly to the captain and ask for his help.  This was a great decision.  He was so fearful that the captain would be angry and possibly take drastic actions toward his beautiful cat and her kittens.  The time must be right.  His plan must be well prepared.  So, each night he would rehearse it with his beautiful mother cat and her babies.  With a wee baby kitten cradled in one hand and running his fingers lovingly along the mother cat’s back, he would tell her of his plan.  She would open and shut her eyes as if nodding her complete approval, and with all kinds of ideas chasing around in his head he would fall asleep.

The weeks passed quickly and the kittens were now rolling over and playing with one another, still in the footlocker.  They were always listening for Tome Coon to appear.  He would pick each kitten up, press it to his cheek tenderly and carefully, and whisper to it, “you dear, dear little babe.  I just have to get a home for you.  The best home in the whole world, where you will get plenty of good, rich cow’s milk, all you want to eat, and a warm place to live with someone who will love you just like I love you.”  The kitten tucked in his hand would look directly into his eyes seeming to say, “you will, Tom Coon, you will,” and Tom Coon would say aloud, “I will, I will.”  My mother used to tell me, “Where there is a will, there is a way.”

So Tom Coon decided that tomorrow would be the day he would go to Captain Snow with his big problem.  When he awakened, he was excited and his heart was pounding.  He said a prayer asking God’s guidance and help.  This was Sunday, and on the Glen Laurie Sunday was a special day.  Captain Snow held services, which the sailors were welcome to attend.

Tom Coon sat silently in the corner until Captain Snow had finished reading from the Bible and announced, “Here endeth the services,” then repeated the benediction.  Tom Coon prayed for God’s help and walked up to the captain.  In his most mature voice he said, “Captain Snow?”  Captain Snow replied, “Yes, Tom Coon?”  Then Tom said, ‘I need your help.”  Captain Snow said, “I am ready to help you, what is your problem?”  Then Tom Coon poured out his whole story, how he had stowed h is beautiful cat in his cabin, and about her kittens born in his footlocker.  As Tom Coon talked he was so engrossed that he hardly noticed that captain Enoch Snow, who was looking down on him, was such a giant of a man.  He was about six feet three inches tall, his kind face was lined as if etched by the salt sea spray, and his brown eyes were like bottomless pools that seemed to penetrate into the very soul of mankind.  When Tom Coon had finished, Captain Enoch Snow gently laid his large hand on Tom Coon’s shoulder and softy said, “it’s OK, Tom Coon.  You see, in a couple of weeks we will be sailing into Winter Harbor; that is in Biddeford Pool, Maine.  Maine is a new state.  It used to be part of Massachusetts, but in 1820 Maine became a state.  In 1639, all territory as we know Maine today was given over by a Royal charter to Sir Ferdinand Gorges.  The wording of the charter reads that this land shall forever be called the Province and Country of Maine, and not by any other name whatsoever.  That was the first time that Maine was ever officially used anywhere.”  Captain Snow continued, “where this pool makes up it borders farm property owned by Joseph Tarbox, and he is a friend.  He has a big warm barn and the mows are stacked with new mown hay and the tie-up has many cows.  They have a son Jonathan who is about your age.  We will lay over for a week or two so we can replenish our stock of supplies at the Cutts store at Biddeford Pool.  I will leave you with the Tarbox family while we trade down the coast and pick you up when we return.”  Tom Coon was so happy that he almost cried with joy.  So Captain Snow helped Tom Coon transport his mother cat and her kittens to the Tarbox Barn.  The mother cat and kittens seemed so pleased to have the freedom of the big barn to romp and hunt in.  Tom Coon told Jonathan and Molly all about getting his cat in the most minute detail.  Well, these cats were called Coon Cats and Coon Kittens for Tom Coon.  The orange kitten and the silver kitten were boy kittens.  Jonathan called them Tom and Tommy, and I sometimes wonder if that is why a boy cat is called a Tom cat today.  Well, my father went on to tell me that Tom Coon gave his beautiful cat and her kittens to Jonathan.  For many years Tom Coon came back to visit with the Tarbox family, and he was the captain of many ships over the years.  Captain Coon always brought with him a longhaired kitten as a gift for Jonathan and Molly who were married and had a son Joseph who was Papa’s grandfather.  Well, do you know Papa said, “as Tom and Tommy Coon cats visited the neighboring farms and long-haired kittens were born, these long-haired kittens were called Coon Kittens for Tom Coon.  The three colored Coon Kittens or Coon Cats became a much-desired kitten or cat, so much that the farmers would trade a bag of grain or a bag of vegetables to get a three colored Coon Kitten or Cat.  So, they were called Money Kittens or cats.  Then, as time went on, the barn with the three colored Coon Cat in it seemed to bring the farmer luck, so they were also called lucky Coon Cats.”  That still seems to be true today.

As my father talked on, my child’s mind saw a picture of Tom Coon giving his beautiful long-haired cat and her three kittens to him, and the Coon Cat and her three half-grown kittens sitting waiting for a zip of milk were the coon cat and Coon Kittens he was telling me about.

Now while I am telling you this, Papa’s story of the Maine Coon Cat and Kittens, he told it to me sixty years ago.  And, while I am reminiscing, sitting watching me is my Maine Coon Cat, a beautiful large orange male with a bright pink nose and a flowing white bib, with large double paws.  He must be a descendant of the Tom Coon Kittens born on the Glen Laurie.

Maine Coon

·         Requires regular grooming

·         Friendly with children

·         Good-natured

·         Healthy and robust

·         Active and playful

·         Efficient mouser

·         Moderately quiet

The Maine Coon is an old American breed whose ancestry traces back to the cats brought to the northeastern United States by early settlers.  Some far-fetched myths are attached to its origins: one is that it evolved from matings between domestic cats and raccoons (offspring from such breedings are genetically impossible); another is that it descends from Marie Antoinette’s cats that were shipped to Maine in anticipation of her escape from prison during the French Revolution; and a third involves a strange “Captain Coon,” whose reality has never been substantiated.  Most authorities, however believe that Maine Coons resulted from crosses between early Angoras or Persians and domestic shorthairs.  The breed was more than likely named for its area of origin and distinctive color and markings.  Brown Tabbies were (and still are) the most popular color, and the breed’s bushy tail does resemble that of a raccoon.  Maine Coons were popular show cats in the last century, one named Leo being designated “Best Cat” at the first organized show at Madison Square Garden in 1895.  But as the more unusual breeds came into vogue the Maine Coon experienced a gradual decline in popularity until its resurgence in the 1960’s.

Maine Coons are large-boned, solidly built cats.  They tend to mature slowly.  Their heavy, shaggy coats, will-tufted “snowshoe” paws, and busy tails are ideal for harsh climates.  Maine Coons require regular grooming, but their coats are less inclined to mat than most other long-coated breeds, except during heavy-shedding periods.  The breed comes in practically every possible cat color or coat pattern.  They are friendly and devoted (most love to hug), and males of the breed are reported to be more affectionate than the females.

FEBRUARY 2002  Article from Your Cat Magazine - www.yourcat.co.uk

 More Toes than Most

Why do some cats have more toes that others? Depending which side of the Pond you live, it's to be bred out or celebrated says ELIZABETH PERRY.

Tiger has an amazing 27 toes. At just nine months old this cutest of kittens, owned by Gareth Ukrainetz, from Leduc in Alberta, Canada, has been officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the Cat with the most toes'. Tiger has seven toes on each front foot, and seven on her left hind foot, but only six toes on her right hind foot. Most cats have five toes on the front paws (four toes and one dew claw) and four on each of the hind paws, a total of 18. Tiger has beaten the previous record holder, Twinkle Toes, owned by Gloria Boensch of Birch Run, Michigan. The three-year-old female has a mere 25 toes. Tiger was born with a condition called polydactyly (Greek for Omany fingers'), which is a fairly common mutation in the domestic feline world.

Many toes Polydactyly has affected cats for hundreds of years but was only scientifically recognised in the mid-1800s. It is an inherited condition in which a dominant gene causes extra toes to be formed on one or more feet. Though the condition varies from animal to animal, it will always affect the front feet and sometimes the back feet as well. The abnormality may simply be an enlargement of the inside digit into a thumb, (known as a Omitten cat'), or there may be up to three extra Oentire' toes on the paw. In general, polydactyl cats are not disabled and have no problems in walking, climbing or jumping and balance. Because the extra toes are a different length, the cat is unable to strop the additional claw and it can grow so long that it may actually grow into the paw pad. Owners must therefore clip the claws regularly. If there is a persistent problem, the toe may be declawed by a vet, one of the few circumstances where the operation is allowed in the UK. If two extra toes are fused together the nail bed will also be fused. This leads to the growth of one Osuperclaw', which is much stronger and thicker than normal, making it more lethal for furniture and human flesh! The claw may twist as it grows and become ingrown. When an extra toe causes repeated problems, it can be removed in a simple operation.

Hemingway Cats

Writer Ernest Hemingway, a great cat lover, had polydactyl cats among the 50 or so that shared his island. One, Princess Six Toes, became famous and appeared in the New York Times' and other American magazines. Because of this, multi-toed cats are often referred to as Hemingway cats. Other famous polydactyl cats include President Teddy Roosevelt's cat, Slippers. There is a high incidence of polydactyl cats along the United States' east coast. At one time, 40 per cent of the original Maine Coon population in New England were polydactyl. This led to claims that the cats developed extra toes to act as snowshoes! The most likely explanation is that polydactyl cats were considered lucky (probably because their large paws meant they were good mousers) and often taken on as ships' cats. When many of the seamen settled along the US coast their cats remained as well. There is also a high incidence of polydactyl cats in south-west England, perhaps for the same reason.

No Show

Polydactyly is generally seen as a fault in show cats and was Obred out' of Maine Coons, yet in the US efforts are being made to reinstate the condition for both Maine Coon and Pixie-Bob breeds. New breeds are also being developed that include multi-toes as part of the breed standard, such as the Hemingway Sphynx, a hairless polydactyl cat. In the UK, polydactyly is seen as a breed fault. Frances Peace, secretary of the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) says: "Additional toes are on our standard list of defects. Though polydactyl cats can be shown, they would not receive a certificate or a first prize. Our list of defects applies to all standards of breed. I cannot think that it's a feature that benefits the cat," she added. Penny Bydlinski, general secretary of FIFe, (the worldwide cat show/breed body) reveals why multi-toed cats are banned at Cat Association shows. "To allow such abnormalities would encourage inbreeding in pedigree cats," she explains. "It is a fault and polydactyl cats are not allowed to be shown."

Personal Experience

Jane Burton, one of the UK's top animal photographers, has helped with research into polydactyly in cats. "I was given a rescue moggy in 1993 who was a polydactyl cat and had 26 toes. I liked her and I decided to mate her with a Burmese cross. The kittens were Burmese lookalikes and around half of them were born with extra toes. Jane continued breeding from her polydactyl cats and kept records of family trees, which she passed onto researcher Dr Susan Long at Bristol Vet School. "I tried mating two polydactyl cats and their kittens varied with what extra toes they had," she explains, "though none of the kittens I bred had as many as the original female. I didn't notice any problems with the polydactyl cats, but somebody I rehomed one to did say that the cat caught his feet on the covers of the furniture." Unfortunately, after four years, Jane was persuaded to part with her last polydactyl female, putting an end to her breeding programme.

The Genetics

Dr Susan Long is a senior lecturer in reproduction at Bristol Vet School and is director of the course in genetics. After conducting research into polydactyly, she is able to explain how it is passed on through the generations. "The simplest assumption, in the absence of other evidence, is that the mutation originally occurred in one cat and was passed down through its offspring. "Polydactyly is caused by an autosomal dominant gene. Through research we know that if one parent carries one copy of the gene and the other parent has none, the inherited genes are heterozygous and half the kittens will be born with polydactyly. If one parent has two copies of the gene (passed down by one copy from each grandparent) the genes are homozygous and all the kittens will be born with polydactyly. "It's actually a very interesting gene," enthuses Dr Long. "Because there are various manifestations in the way the toes are formed, how many and on which feet, this suggests it's a main simple gene with variable expression."