When a cat scratches a piece of wood, does it leave five scratches (lines) or four? (Per front paw.) Or does it vary?
Of course, this question assumes that the cat in question has five claws on each of its front paws.
I’m writing a book for which this is important.
Thanks in advance for the help!
For your book: it has to be a fairly highly polished wood to show scratches. Often cats don’t really dig their claws in that hard. Just like if you scratched your fingernails on a chalkboard to annoy the teacher, it generally didn’t leave any marks behind. Cats are most often trying to leave behind a smell from the glands in their feet to mark their territory, not scratch marks particularly. (Cats have a better sight of smell than of sight. Their eyesight is especially tuned to see motion, like a mouse moving through the grass.)
But if they do scratch, you’ll most likely see 4 scratches.
Have you ever held a cat?
The 5th claw is a dew claw - a residual flap well above the paw. The cat (none I have seen) cannot flex it. Some will learn to drag the leg so it will snag, but they cannot extend it.
However there are exceptions ;). Polydactyly is not terribly uncommon in cats.
Weird word, polydactyly. Entirely too many closely set y’s for my comfort.
My dad had a beautiful new table with a highly polished top. One day he walked into the room to see the cat laying on top of the table. It is then that he learned never to yell at the cat to get down. Yes, 4 scratches were left as the cat got off the table as fast as it could.
Soft painted wood will show scratches quite well too. The pine window sills, window trim, doors, door frames, etc. were all easily and clearly marked by cat claws.
Polydactyly cat vs. carpeting … too funny …
I had a polydactyly cat. Instead of eating his dry food out of the dish, he would pick up the pieces and bring them to his mouth.
Cats will scratch various items, such as door frames, couch legs, etc. to sharpen their claws. That’s why you should have several items made for that specific purpose. The horizontal scratching mats are better than the vertical because the vertical will tip over unless you can affix it so it will not. Some of those scratching items contain a hollow inside to add catsup – or probably better catnip. 
I tested, polydactyly cats only leave four scratch marks on human flesh, seems the extra digit is a “thumb” or dew claw … please don’t ask me to duplicate the experiment.
No, I haven’t. Thanks to the awesome people on this list for the assistance!
