Abu Dhabi // Cats are known for having nine lives. But one unfortunate moggy is getting used to life with five legs. Ajeeb, a ginger-coloured Arabian Mau, is a bizarre sight with a fully grown extra limb tucked between the front and back right legs just over his ribcage. "In my 15 years of being a vet, I have never ever seen a five-legged cat," said Dr Jonathan Hale of the British Veterinary Centre, who was examining Ajeeb after the animal had been rescued and neutered. The fifth leg, which also has an extra toe, is a fully grown non-functional limb. Dr Hale said it did not appear to handicap the gentle cat.
"The leg is a birth defect caused by the mother being exposed to toxins or carcinogens while pregnant, and if more such birth defects start appearing in animals here then it is an important indicator of changes in the environment and the effects of development and pollution." Dr Hale said it was not uncommon in the UK for owners to bring in cats with an extra toe that twisted and had to be extracted.
"But a whole full-grown extra leg? Truly a rare case." Ajeeb is one year old and is very friendly, something Dr Hale noted as probably being one of the animal's ways of dealing with its deformity. "I am sure Ajeeb realised early on it is special and that it needs help from humans, and so it made a choice to be friendly and extra trusting of people instead of running away," said the vet, as Ajeeb purred and rubbed against him.
As for what to do with the extra leg, Dr Hale said it was best to let it be. "It is not necessary for us to intervene unless there is a problem, and the cat does not seem to be in any pain and is not hindered by the extra leg," he said, adding that the only problem would be that the limb might get entangled in something. "The future owner will also have more toenails to clip and manicure." Ajeeb was rescued by Raghad Auttabashi, an animal lover who saw him trying to feed from bowls she had put out for her own cats. Ajeeb, whose name is Arabic for strange, was pushed away by the others.
"I just couldn't leave him there on the streets without trying to help him somehow," said Ms Auttabashi, who has adopted nine cats and has no room for another. She decided to have Ajeeb neutered and his ear clipped so the municipality would not pick him up and destroy him as part of a campaign to free the streets of strays. "It does not guarantee he won't get picked up, but I just wanted to increase his chance of being adopted as he is so sweet, so intelligent and really special," she said.
"I just hope we find him a good home," she said. The Arabian Mau is the indigenous cat of the Arabian Peninsula. rghazal@thenational.ae