Anakin the Two-legged Cat Pensacola, Florida

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Anakin, part of a feral cat family, was born in April 2012 with no pelvis or back legs. He was rescued and taken in by Carrie Hawks, a fantasy cat artist, and her family of Pensacola, Florida in the USA. Lifelong animal lovers, they already had a dog Buddy, 13 years old, who's been used to cats all his life, and several other cats — George, Trixie, Pixie and Zoe, the 14-year-old matriarch. They were determined to give Anakin the best possible home, care, love and attention; he was estimated at 6 to 8 weeks old when they adopted him.

The family vet said she'd never come across a case like his before and was surprised the mother had taken care of him in spite of his handicap. Apart from the usual fleas and worms he was in good health, and X-rays showed that there was no malformation of his insides.

It really doesn't seem to bother Anakin that he has no back legs! — and the other animals treat him quite normally. He's developed his own method of locomotion — quite rapid when he wishes — and climbing seems to present no problem at all to him. He loves playing and all in all is a very happy cat, full of life.

He's had one or two health problems since, but those have been successfully overcome, and he has also been neutered. The other animals have accepted him, although Zoe remains rather stand-offish — but that's her nature, and her privilege as 'senior cat'! There's a very informative FAQ page covering all aspects of Anakin's life and care, an entertaining composite video (recommended viewing) of his first six months; and a website/blog.

Since February 2013 Anakin has had a soul mate in the form of ginger cat Mika (right), adopted from a Texas shelter; he also was born handicapped and has only half a tail, no back feet and only half of one back leg. He also gets around quite happily, although a little more awkwardly than Anakin, and a prosthetic limb is under consideration for him. Actually Anakin was a bit slower than the others to welcome Mika; black cat George, though, became a firm friend and Trixie and Pixie are quite happy with him, as is Buddy. Latest reports suggest that 'Ani' has come round!

There's a video showing Mika at YouTube, and regular updates on these amazing cats are to be found at the blog page linked above and at their Facebook page. Oh, and the remaining feral kittens of Anakin's family were caught and rehomed, although their mother managed to escape again.