Talk:Paw

Human paw
Is there any sort of semi-authoritative definition of a paw? The current definition, "the soft foot of a mammal", would seem to include, say, human and mouse feet, neither of which are generally called "paws". Is this just an artifact of English usage, or do biologists recognize a concept of "paw" with some sort of narrower definition? --Delirium 20:52, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

AIUI the human foot is technically a paw, though we tend to call it foot to differentiate. Huamsn tend to like to deny our animal physicality, which may be one reason why our fur is called hair, our paws feet, & so on. Tabby (talk) 00:03, 30 November 2007 (UTC)

No actually, our hair is called hair because it is hair and not fur, which would cover a large part of the body. Our feet are actually called feet because of their anatomy, which is that of feet, as opposed to that of paws. --84.119.42.103 (talk) 22:36, 24 May 2016 (UTC)

Six digits?
I can only count five digits on the tiger's paw, if you include the back one. Is this a mistake, or have I misunderstood?--Jcvamp 04:21, 4 September 2006 (UTC)


 * I doubt that the rear pad should be considered a digit any more than the human heal would be considered a digit. Some mammals, dogs, etc, do have additional dewclaws, but I don't see them here. --Bcsr4ever 04:34, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Well, if there were five including the rear pad (I don't know much about cat anatomy, so I was unsure whether it was equivalent to our thumb) and the rear pad isn't a digit, that leaves four, which still isn't six like the picture said. People seem to pick up on the irrelevant parts of my arguments... Anyway, it's been removed.--Jcvamp 15:48, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 30 September 2019
Change "The paw consists of the large, heart-shaped metacarpal or palmar pad (forelimb) or metatarsal or plantar pad (rear limb), and generally four load-bearing digital pads, although there can be five or six toes in the case of domestic cats and bears (including giant panda)." to "The paw consists of the large, heart-shaped metacarpal or palmar pad (forelimb) or metatarsal or plantar pad (rear limb), and generally four load-bearing digital pads, although there can be five or six toes in the case of domestic cats and bears (including giant panda). No mammal has less than five toes on the back feet except for cats, dogs, rabbits, etc." "No mammal has less than four toes on the back feet except for Canidae, Felidae, rabbits and certain rodents." 152.26.177.32 (talk) 00:56, 30 September 2019 (UTC)


 * ❌. It's not clear what changes you want to make.  Please make a precise request and provide reliable sources to verify any claims.  –Deacon Vorbis (carbon &bull; videos) 04:08, 30 September 2019 (UTC)

Do Not Ignore
No mammal has less than five toes on the back feet, right?152.26.177.32 (talk) 00:57, 30 September 2019 (UTC)

Is there a technical term for animals with paws, opposed to animals with hooves?
It would be useful to include a technical terms, if there is one, that includes all animals with paws. This would be similar to the broad grouping of animals in the category ungulate. Does such a term exist? Pete unseth (talk) 16:42, 22 August 2023 (UTC)