Rescue center plans to turn cute cat with rare anomaly into mascot to attract funds

Dec 9, 2011 16:16 GMT  ·  By
Daniel, the cat with 26 toes is the new mascot of the Milwaukee Animal Rescue Center in Greendale
   Daniel, the cat with 26 toes is the new mascot of the Milwaukee Animal Rescue Center in Greendale

A cute cat suffering from a rare anomaly can change the fate of the The Milwaukee Animal Rescue Center in Greendale. Cute Daniel has 26 toes and this does not stop it from becoming famous worldwide.

The shelter encourages people do donate $26 (€19.4) in its honor, to make sure the facility will stay open and continue supporting Daniel and other abandoned creatures, weak, ill or injured that otherwise would have to be put down, Huffington Post reports.

Usually, cats have 18 toes. Daniel has two extra for every foot because of a rare genetic mutation called polydactylism. This characteristic makes it special and its guardians plan to exploit this feature to obtain a much-needed amount of money.

For a while, the center experienced no difficulties in sheltering cute defenseless creatures in a shopping mall, but it started experiencing financial difficulties after the owners of the building decided to raise the rent. Since the center does not benefit from governmental funding, its representatives are now forced to take this matter into their own hands.

The cute cat is expected to attract the sympathy of contributers, while making them open their wallets for a noble cause. It had been sentenced to death but its fate changed after people from Milwaukee Animal Control started taking care of it.

Officials hope its story will encourage people to donate online a dollar for each of its toes, stating that every animal from the shelter just wants to be taken home.

So far, representatives have succeeded in collecting almost $80,000 (€59,777) since October 24, but expect to fill their pockets with no less than $120,000 (€89,665) by the end of this month, so they won't have to worry about not having a roof over their heads.

If their initiative doesn't attract enough funds, Daniel and his 26 toes along with many other orphan creatures could end up on the street or even risk loosing their lives.