When Christine Koltun got an email from a former adopter, she couldn’t believe what she had read. An Edmonton cat had been spotted with several extra legs and needed assistance, but surely, there was a mistake.
As the founder and executive director of Furget Me Not Animal Rescue, a registered non-profit that largely cares for cats with special needs, she thought she had seen it all.
From lobster claws to “vampire kitties” that couldn’t go out in the sun, she isn’t a stranger to felines that have unique conditions, but several additional limbs? This was a new one.
“I thought to myself, ‘what could she be seeing that could be wrong. Is it a tumour? Or a mom carrying a baby?’” she told Curiocity.
“Sure enough, it was a cat with six legs.”
Nine lives, six legs, one incredible story
With an animal in need, Koltun and her team got to work right away.
“We had to get her indoors immediately,” she continued. “We assumed she might be feral, and we were very wrong. She was extremely friendly, we were able to just pick her up and put her in a carrier to take her home.”
Once they had the cat in tow, the team was able to determine that she did, in fact, have multiple legs and even an extra pelvis — a case that is explainable, but surprising.
“I could pretty quickly identify that she had absorbed a sibling in utero,” Koltun explained.
“The fact that she survived into adulthood is a medical anomaly. The first thing that we Googled was ‘cat with six legs, what’s going on,’ and the only other case that we could find on the internet was actually also in Edmonton about 10 years ago.”
After making sure no one was looking for her and running several tests, they were able to perform surgery and give her a name — Bitsy, inspired by The Itsy Bitsy Spider.
The additional legs had to be amputated, but Bitsy pulled through and is now doing extremely well.
“The surgery went better than expected and was faster than expected,” she shared.
“Within a day, she was up and walking around, using the litter box, and drinking water.”
Because of her rapid recovery, Koltun said that it was clear her body was better off.
Since the procedure, Bitsy is thriving. With plenty of cuddles and pats, and a weight off her side, she’s on the up and up, but they still need help.
While everything was successful, there’s still plenty of work to be done. With upcoming check-ins and medication, Furget Me Not has set up a GoFundMe to help with additional medical bills.
“We don’t know exactly what she needs while she continues to heal,” the founder told us.
“So far she’s been doing great… but there’s still a lot of unknowns at this point.”
As for what’s next for Bitsy? She’s likely got an exciting life ahead of her.
Koltun said that there’s a pretty good chance her foster Mom will take her in, but if not, she’ll be looking for a new family to call her own in about three to four weeks.
To stay updated, you can follow its Facebook page or check out its website.
In addition to Bitsy, there are plenty of amazing cats in Edmonton with their own stories up for adoption now. You never know. You might just find your soul-critter!
Here’s to furry friends and wonderful organizations like Furget Me Not. Bitsy is an inspiration.
