Internet Obsessed After Cat With 25 Toes Captured Making 'Biscuits'

A cat with lots of extra toes has melted hearts online this week after a video of her "making biscuits" was viewed over 900,000 times.

Not the only feline to delight viewers this week, a video of two identical cats cuddling up together was branded "impossible to resist," while just last week a rescue cat that was finally ready to accept kisses from its owner spread happiness online.

Nala the cat lives with owner Amy Lewandowski in San Diego, California. Under the handle miloandnala2, Lewandowski shared the video of her polydactyl cat. Sometimes dubbed "mitten paws," polydactyl cats are born with more than the usual number of toes on their paws.

This is the result of a genetic abnormality that can affect any breed, male or female, big or small.

Lewandowski told Newsweek: "She has seven toes on each of her front paws, six toes on one back paw, and five toes on the other back paw. They are all functional and she loves to use them for climbing."

A condition was made famous by Ernest Hemingway's cat Snow White, a six-toed Maine Coon given to him by a drinking buddy. For this reason, extra-toed felines are also sometimes referred to as "Hemingway cats."

The fairly common occurrence doesn't generally cause cats any problems. While around 60 percent of polydactyl cats have extra toes on their front paws only, about 10 percent will also have extra toes on their back feet.

The world record for the most cat toes is held by two cats. One of these is three-year-old Paws from Minnesota. He has a total of 28 toes with three extras on each front paw and an extra on each back paw.

But back to viral kitty Nala, who has 25 toes, and in the video shared on TikTok on Tuesday, she showed them off by performing the classic cat move of kneading on a blanket with the caption: "Have you ever seen a cat with 25 toes make biscuits?"

If you have a cat, it's likely you've seen them knead with their paws on a blanket, pillow, or even your lap.

The most popular theory on why cats enjoy performing this repetitive action is linked to a kitten's instinct to knead their mothers to stimulate milk flow while nursing. While adult cats kneading a soft surface will not produce milk, it is thought that it still evokes the same nurturing feelings of safety and comfort that they recall from their early days.

Other suggestions for why cats knead include a way of showing affection to you or another animal and activating scent glands in their paws to claim objects as their own. In the wild, cats will often make a nest in the ground to sleep—pushing down grass and getting rid of unwanted items with kneading before lying down.

"I had never seen a polydactyl cat make biscuits before and once I did I just thought it was such a cute sight that I had to share it," explained Lewandowski.

In the video, which has over 159,000 likes and thousands of comments, Nala perfectly demonstrates kneading and has melted hearts in the process.

"They can mass produce the biscuits," joked one commenter: "Gonna put other cats out of business!"

Another reply said: "She's the final boss," while one TikTok user wrote: "I have enough issues trimming my cat's nails with the regular amount of toes. I can't imagine what it would be like with 25."

"I'm so happy that people enjoy Nala as much as I do," said Lewandowski: "She's such a great kitten and the comments have been hilarious."

UPDATE 08/10/22, 05:45 a.m.: This article was updated with a new video, image and comment from the poster.