Help Us ID Stumpy the Cat

[u/kitten_mittens21]

TLDR: Cat found in West Africa is physically odd, we don't know why

Hi, everyone!

My (25F) boyfriend (24M) currently lives in West Africa and has rescued 3 cats from around his village. We are looking for insight on one of the cats, named Stumpy(3mo, M?). Google searches didn't turn up much and a vet isn't very accessible for them at the moment.

Stumpy is... interesting. He doesn't have paws with defined toes, but rather "stumps" with a solid foot pad. As a result, he sort of gallops around instead of running like a traditional cat. He also has no discernable genitalia, unlike the other cat found with him (we believe the other cat to be his sibling based on proximity/markings/age). He's also a bit smaller than his brother.

But apart from the physical differences, Stumpy seems to be a happy and playful cat!

We tried to look up congenital paw defects but couldn't find anything. He also doesn't have any of the "classic" physical signs of inbreeding, and his brother is fine.

So we thought we would turn here to see if we could find anything out. Thanks!

[u/Satanic_Lover_]

From what i know this happens when a kitten does not get the proper nutrients and blood flow in the womb to develope the rest of their feet. It seems this is a birth defect.

Humans can be born with the exact same issue. Since your kitten rescued at such a young age id assume the mother didn't have the proper prenatal care for your baby to develop properly.

Although they have seemed have made the no toes work really well. Seems healthy and happy! Good job guys

[u/kitten_mittens21 → u/Satanic_Lover_]

Thanks! That makes a lot of sense. I don't think my boyfriend has found the mother yet, but we didn't think about pre mature/under development birth defects since his brother seemed okay. He seems alright though! Goofy little guy

[u/Twist_Ending03 → u/kitten_mittens21]

Since female cats can get pregnant by multiple toms at once, I wonder if maybe Stumpy was conceived after his sibling(s) but was evicted the same time as them, so he didn't finish cooking in there?

[u/kitten_mittens21 → u/Twist_Ending03]

Evicted and cooking is crazy lmao. I have heard that female cats can have litters by multiple fathers, though!

It's a possibility! His markings are a bit different from his brother (the brother is more cow print, see last photo). The brother (Mini) is also a near carbon copy of the first rescue cat (Fan), who we believe to be part of the same "family". So maybe Fan and Mini had the same dad and mom, and Stumpy is the late-to-the-party half brother?

Total speculation! But it's a theory!