Tootsie (a rescued “typey” Maine Coon)

This is an update on Tootsie, a rescued, polydactyl Maine Coon who has been described as “typey”. That cat breeders’ word means that she looks the way a Maine Coon should look. In other words, Tootsie is a genuine purebred Maine Coon, the salt of the earth American barn cat mouser turned show cat. She lives with Valley Girl in Atlanta, USA. Valley Girl (an internet name shortened to “VG”) has a blog about cats and other things that is a sub-domain of PoC. “Sub-domain” means it is a part of PoC but a free standing website at the same time.

Tootsie a typey rescued Maine Coon photos by Vallegy Girl
Tootsie a typey rescued Maine Coon. Photos by Valley Girl.

VG is a science lecturer who likes her photography. She is more used to SLR cameras. SLR stands for “single lens reflex”. This comes from the old days of film. The term is still used. You look through the lens via an eyepiece, a pentaprism and a mirror.

Tootsie is quite a well known cat on the internet. If you google “polydactyl maine coon” you’ll probably see a couple of pictures by VG of Tootsie at the top of page one. Great. One of the pictures illustrates an article on a cat’s sense of touch, which I wrote years ago.

Tootsie’s coat is described as “silver patched tabby”. Tabby is the best for Maine Coons as it is the way they looked 400 years ago. It makes them look more like barn cats. We know that Maine Coons have a predisposition towards polydactylism. Some people say this is because the original Maine Coons were long haired ship’s cats from Europe and sailors selected cats with polydactyl feet because they believed they were better seafarers. The extra toes making them better on deck.

I’ll finish with a few quotes by VG on Tootsie from her Flickr webpages and her website. Tootsie is a pretty active cat and she has a good turn of speed:

..I clocked her on one long stretch about a week ago- well it was a “guesstimate”, but she was moving at ~ 25 mph…

VG found Tootsie online:

I found her online, via a local cat rescue charity. Uh, this was the photo they posted….And, the description was not exactly encouraging either- shy, needs patient person, etc. But, she is a purebred Maine coon, and I’ve long been fascinated by tales of the Maine coon. She was put into rescue because her owner became ill, and could no longer care for her.

Here is the picture of Tootsie as advertised by the rescue center.

Tootsie, purebred Maine Coon at rescue facility waiting to be adopted by VG.
Tootsie, purebred Maine Coon at rescue facility waiting to be adopted by VG.

I’ll let VG make a comment to fill in some blanks that I have no doubt left. Associated page: American Polydactyl Cat.

21 thoughts on “Tootsie (a rescued “typey” Maine Coon)”

  1. The author of the best comment will receive an Amazon gift of their choice at Christmas! Please comment as they can add to the article and pass on your valuable experience.
  2. HI Leah,

    Best send them to Michael, b/c I’m still suffering from the demands of my “day job” and get overwhelmed with that.

    I’ve posted a lot of Tootsie photos on flickr- Michael’s a flickr member too. It doesn’t eclipse POC, of course, and has a different purpose. You might consider joining. As things have transpired, I’ve made friends with various people from all over (well mostly US, Canada, England, Scotland, Wales and France) who have Maine coons. Although flickr is a photo site, it’s also a social site. I certainly don’t know all of the people who post pix of their Maine coons, but among the people I “know” virtually, we are kind of a “Maine coon” family. Nothing exclusive about it, and no need to be an expert photographer. It’s fun share our Maine coon tales.

  3. Hello again yes thats our Ozzie however we got him off Tracey and Nick. He’s fully grown now and yes he’s amazing and very spoiled! I’m not good with the photo posting so when I get chance I’ll ask Michael if he will post some photo’s either that or I will email them to you if you’re happy for Michael to send me your email address.

    I think you are correct sometimes its not easy to photograph Black cats because its quite difficult to capture the detail.

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