Claws!
Have you looked at the Penallt cats? Not the well-pedigreed Burmese or Siamese, or the neutered and pampered tabby brought in from afar by his ‘new resident’ owners – no, I mean the basic, blotchy, torn-eared farm cat! You’ve noticed them, granted, but have you really LOOKED at them?
You are in for a surprise, for several are ‘polydactyls’! a quick look through the dictionary will explain that this means ‘many-toed’, and that is exactly what many of the local cats are – with six or seven toes – and claws on their front paws, instead of the normal five.
It is whispered that a virile tom (with a small ‘t’) from Penygarn is responsible; so watch out, you owners of unaltered female cats, your moggy may be about to produce a batch of big-footed babies! Offspring have been noted up at the Old Church and in the main village too. Lock up your cat flaps – ‘CLAWS’ is on the prowl!
[from: Penallt – A Village Miscellany]