Even though over a third of the Maine Coon breed was originally represented by Polydactyl cats, some associations in certain countries are still hesitant to allow for them to be shown in Championship class. A severe research error in the 80s had basically turned into an old wives tale, spreading misleading information about a healthy Polyfoot -confusing the cat fancy even now. Through a completely unjustified and partially political sanction, Polydactyl Maine Coons had been, over the past 3 decades, reduced to bare minimum. Instrumental in sanctions like this are usually a few individuals who typically seem to be pulling the strings in “holycat fancy”. Looking at the amazing boning of these beautiful cats, the true motivation factor was very much suspected to be fear of competition in the show ring. So much for history. We decided in 2000 to start a new Maine Coon Polydactyl foundation line here in Canada and proudly called it”The Masterweaver Line”. Over the past decade, we have poured a lot of passion into these cats – improving their weaknesses and enhancing their natural strengths.We started showing our Polydactyl Maine Coons in TICA “New”Traits in 2010 (It’s a very old trait!).Many TICA judges are enjoying their very showable temperament, their wonderful boning and their balanced type . The judges are also pleasantly surprised to find out that there is nothing wrong with Polydactyl Maine Coons at all. Past opposers, through their fear mongering, were simply creating a myth – a myth that has deprived our breed of a lot of valuable genetic material. Showing our “masterpieces” in TICA will not only have a positive reverse effect on an already too limited gene pool, but also serves as a perfect tool to educate a deserving public. We encourage you to visit these great websites with tons of information on the topic: http://www.mcpi.org/ http://crash.ihug.co.nz/~grins/polydactyls/Genetics_and_Research.htm There is an enormous difference between animal welfare organizations, which work for the humane treatment of animals, and animal rights organizations, which aim to completely end the use and ownership of animals. Learn the truth: http://www.animalscam.com/peta_7