Meet Bitsy the cat. Image Credit: CBC / Furget Me Not Rescue
The unusual feline, named Bitsy, is certainly one of the most unique cats rescue workers had ever seen.
The six-legged cat originally came to the attention of Edmonton-based cat rescue Furget Me Not when a member of the public sent an email to report seeing the stray feline prowling the area.
Christine Koltun - the organization's founder and executive director - initially couldn't believe it.
"There's no way that there's a cat with extra legs," she said. "Cats only have four legs."
"Then I got the pictures and went, 'Oh, my God! This cat has extra legs.'"
After bringing the cat home, it soon became apparent that Bitsy (named after Itsy-Bitsy Spider) must have absorbed one of her littermates while still in the womb, resulting in two extra legs and a second pelvis.
"I had a little bit of a cry when I first brought her in," said Koltun. "Because it was just so overwhelming thinking, 'Where is this going to take us? Will we be able to help her? Will we be able to fix this?'"
Fortunately, veterinarians at Windermere Veterinary Hospital were ultimately able to significantly improve the cat's quality of life by surgically removing three of her limbs.
"Within less than a day, Bitsy was up using the litterbox, drinking the water all by herself," said Koltun.
"So we really couldn't have asked for a better outcome."
You can check out some pictures and footage from Bitsy's journey below.
Does anyone remember the six-legged deer that was found about 20 years ago? Somewhere in rural america a dude hit a deer with his truck and discovered it had six legs. It had extra appendages off the back of its hind legs. Word got out and the dude was eventually interviewed by the news. They asked him questions about it and all he could really say was that it "tasted delicious". edit: not sure which was worse... that he ate road kill or that he ate a mutated animal
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