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In April, Furget Me Not Animal Rescue of Edmonton, Alberta, got a call that they will never forget about. "[W]e were contacted by a former adopter who was very concerned about a cat who had turned up in her yard and appeared to be in medical distress. When she mentioned the cat had extra legs growing out of its side, my immediate thought was 'that isn't possible,'" Christine Koltun, Furget Me Not's founder and executive director, told PEOPLE.
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via Courtesy of Furget Me Not Animal Rescue -
But it was true. The rescue had sent someone to check on their cat, and to their surprise, Bitsy did indeed have two extra limbs, leaving her with 6 legs total. They also realized that Bitsy was not a stray cat her whole life. "When we first met Bitsy, she was quite dirty and had sores on three of her six legs. Fortunately, she was incredibly sweet and gentle, which confirmed that she was definitely not a feral cat and had been cared for by someone up to that point. We were able to scoop her up and pop her in a carrier," Koltun said.
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03 via Courtesy of Furget Me Not Animal Rescue
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"She was quite skilled at moving around, but it was obvious that she was in pain. Simple tasks like positioning her limbs to be able to reach a good dish were challenging. As an animal advocate and an animal lover, it was heartbreaking to watch her try to navigate mundane tasks with difficulties no animal should have to face," Koltun explained.
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04 via Courtesy of Furget Me Not Animal Rescue
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The rescue worked with Windermere Veterinary Hospital to figure out some kind of solution to Bitsy's pain. It looked like Bitsy was only bearing weight on three of her legs as she walked instead of all six, and X-rays showed that Bitsy's hind legs was attached backwards and upside down, confirming that she could only use those three. And so, it was decided that the best solution for her was to amputate the limbs she was not using that were causing her pain. Windermere veterinarian, Dr. Boctor, suspected that Bitsy had “absorbed a twin in utero, but the legs somehow had survived.”
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"The radiographs allowed our surgeon, Dr. Wood, to see how the other limbs were attached and formulate a plan to amputate. The extra legs were attached to one of her back legs by an extra partial pelvis that had also not been absorbed, so we had to amputate the two extra limbs and the back leg to ensure the best quality of life for Bitsy," Mackenzine explained.
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The surgery was an incredible success. "This was the first time we had ever had a case like this come to our hospital. She will definitely be sticking out as one of our most memorable cases," Mackenzie said. And Bitsy felt better immediately afterward.
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"We sent a soft, comfy bed to the vet clinic for her recovery, and the first few days, she wouldn't get out of it; she was so comfortable. She had been unable to lie down properly pre-op; she had to splay her legs out to the sides like a spider. Knowing she could lie in a cat bed comfortably for the first time in her life was extremely moving," Koltun added, "losing the dead weight put a spring in her step almost immediately."
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"Bitsy has recovered beautifully. Her incision is all healed, and she has taken to having three legs so easily. She is able to run, jump, and play as any other cat would. She is free of pain and we expect her to live a normal, happy, and healthy life," Mackenzie said just two weeks after the surgery. “Had Bitsy not been rescued, who knows what her story could have been. She has been given such an incredible second chance at life because of Furget Me Not Animal Rescue.”
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