Meet Erebus, the Wisconsin Kitten Who Just Set the World Record With 29 Toes

Somewhere in Kaukauna, Wisconsin, a Maine Coon kitten called Erebus is walking around on 29 toes, and Guinness World Records has the paperwork to prove it. Measured on May 13, 2026, and announced this month, he beats a record of 28 that had stood since 2002. Erebus was born in March, so he broke a record older than his owners' phones before he was three months old.

The count, paw by paw: eight toes on one front paw, seven on each of the other three. A regular cat carries 18, five on each front paw and four on each back one. Erebus is a polydactyl, the harmless genetic quirk that hands out extra toes and is famously common in Maine Coons, the breed that once had so many extra-toed cats that sailors considered them lucky.

Cookie · Editor-in-chief

Twenty-nine. I respect it. More toes means more surface area for knocking things off tables, and I say that as a professional.

Nora · Adoption desk

For the record, the record: the previous 28 belonged to Jake, a Canadian cat, since 2002. Global News reports a Michigan cat named Toby Henderson tied it in June, weeks before Erebus was measured. Then a kitten from Wisconsin walked in with one more.

Cookie · Editor-in-chief

Eighteen toes have served me perfectly well, thank you. But if anyone at Guinness is reading: I am available for the record of most snacks accepted in one afternoon.

Erebus belongs to Kendra Vandenbloomer and Hunter Nett, who counted the digits themselves before Guinness made it official on May 29. If your own cat has a few spares, our guide to how many toes cats have explains where the extras come from, and the polydactyl Maine Coon page covers why the registries still argue about them.