POLYMELIA RESEARCH ☾⋆｡°✩ table of contents what is it Cause Symptoms and affects How I will portray it Sources ·˚ • ⚓️ ₊˚˖ * ⊹ What is it? ☾⋆｡ °✩ Polymelia is a birth defect in which the affected individual is born than more limbs than usual. In cats, this means having five or more limbs, more than the typical four seen on cats. These limbs are commonly useless and deformed, and do not give the affected individual any more mobility than before. In fact, it can affect it. ·˚ • ⚓️ ₊˚˖ * ⊹ Cause ☾⋆｡°✩ One cause of Polymelia is a conjoined twin in the womb, which eventually disintegrated besides two or more limbs. (It is, noteworthy, however, that polymelia cannot be caused by chimerism; this is a separate process in which two zygote combine early on in development and wouldn't cause extra limbs, nor does it have anything to do with conjoined twins.) It can also be caused by genetic mutations early on in development. The rapid spread of germs in the embryo, or the abnormal duplication of those cells at the beginning of the embryonic development. Injuries, toxins and infections during critical stages of development can cause it, too. Fragile chromosomes can result in breaks which can also cause this condition, and this is suspected to be yet another common cause. ·˚ • ⚓️ ₊˚˖ * ⊹ Symptoms and affects ☾⋆｡ °✩ The limbs can cause difficulty in walking, which can be a great source of distress for the felines which suffers from the condition. It can also cause difficulty with sitting, and actions like jumping and running can become much more difficult. The limbs themselves are useless. ·˚ • ⚓️ ₊˚˖ * ⊹ How I will portray it ☾⋆｡°✩ Peregrine's extra limbs will weigh heavily on her, and though her ability to walk will be fine, she may have difficulty with things such as running, sitting comfortably, and jumping, due to the size of her defected limbs and their placement on her body (affecting her back legs.) This will weigh on her heavily, as it will affect her ability to be her best and Peregrine will see it as a “weakness,” which she hates. She will come to loathe her extra limbs rather than viewing as anything unique, which she does not care for. ·˚ • ⚓️ ₊˚˖ * ⊹ Sources ☾⋆｡ °✩ Note: sorry, there isn't a lot of information out there specifically on felines, so there isn't a lot of sources. there are very minimal recorded cases of polymelia in felines which limits the amount of information. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339648866_First_Report_of_Polymelia_in_a_DSH_Kitten_in_Tehran_Iran https://www.google.com/amp/s/metro.co.uk/2018/08/02/kitten-six-legs-born-parasitic-twin-7788142/amp/ https://owlcation.com/stem/Duplicate-Limbs
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