Life hasn’t been easy for Vincent, an adorable domestic kitty from Iowa. He was surrendered at the Story County Animal Shelter at a few months old, mysteriously missing parts of both hind legs which rendered him virtually immobile. Now three years old, his life has been transformed by Dr. Mary Sarah Bergh, a surgeon at Iowa State University’s medical center. Amazingly, she’s fitted him with titanium-alloy prosthetic legs, meaning he can walk for the first time.
Now if you’re anything like me, your mental picture of a cat with prosthetic legs is kind of devastating, but as you can see in the video, Vincent’s prosthetics are discreet and he uses them with ease (you may breathe a sigh of relief). The procedure he had was rare, where implants were inserted into the femur bones of his legs–they really don’t stand out. Dr Bergh estimates that there are less than 25 animals in the world who have had this, so Vincent is one lucky feline! His loving carer Cindy Jones was slightly startled when she first saw him with titanium poking out of his backside, but she soon got used to it.
Although his recovery has been long and his implants will require special care to prevent infections, Vincent is finally mobile, and Dr. Bergh assures him that he’ll be jumping and playing very soon. She expects that Vincent’s procedure will open the door for the University to help other animals with similar problems, and we hope so too.
Calling all cat lovers! What do you make of Vincent’s prosthetics? Have you seen something similar? Reach out on Twitter, or make a comment below.
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HT: KCCI Des Moines
IMAGE: YouTube/ISUNewsService
