In a wonderful piece of whimsy, Andrew Taylor (of the Crumplehorn Inn) claims that these are witches cats, and the thumbs allowed the animals to cling on to the broomstick.

Three of the cats have had 5 claws on each paw. A fourth cat has gone one better with six claws per paw. Although the extra lacerating power gives them a fighting edge, they seem to be clumsy in trees, and the Tabbies seem thicker than is normal for a cat - Snuffle (below) was killed by a train, Cringe (too early for photos) was hit by a car, and Marks (next page) also failed to outrun a train. Another drawback of the extra talons is the increased noise when they run around on wooden floors.