02/06/2026
CAT PAW FACTS
If you think kitty paws are the cutest part of a cat, you’re not alone! Here’s a rundown of all the ways cat paws and their toe beans are not just adorable, but pretty amazing.
FRONT PAWS HAVE MORE TOES
If you look closely at a cat paw, you’ll see that it has an extra little “toe” on the front paws. There are five digits, or toes, on each front foot, and four on each back foot, for a total of 18 digits. The extra toes on each front paw are actually dewclaws, which are kind of like thumbs for kitty paws, and they’re located a bit higher up than the other toes.
EXTRA TOES
Some cats can have even more toes on their kitty paws. They’re called polydactyl cats, and they can have as many as six or seven toes on each paw, the world record for most toes on a cat is 28 toes.
Many people refer to them as “Hemingway cats,” after the white six-toed cat that was given to Ernest Hemingway by a ship’s captain when he lived in Key West, Florida.
SWEATY PAWS
They don’t have to speak in front of a crowd of people, but that doesn’t mean your feline friend doesn’t get nervous. Just like we get sweaty palms, cats can get sweaty paws. While people have numerous sweat glands to help them cool down, cats only have these glands in their paw pads.
BUILT-IN LOOFAH
If you’ve ever watched cats groom themselves, you’ll see how they use their paw as a tiny fur scrubber to clean their ears, nose and head. First, they lick a paw, and then they rub the paw repeatedly in a circular motion over each area. These built-in loofahs come in handy when there’s no other kitty sibling to groom their face for them.
COLOUR COORDINATION
The color of the pads generally coordinates with your kitty’s fur color, which makes sense. But sometimes, the paw pad color will match the nose.
Doing a Regular Paw Check Is Good Practice.
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