Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first bionic man. Oscar will be that cat. We can make him better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster.
Poor Oscar was just your normal everyday house cat from the British isles. He was just happily wandering around just being a cat when his little world changed very quickly. He got his hind legs caught in a combine harvester.
His family was horrified, and they immediately got him to their favorite vet. This was not just your ordinary vetrenatiran. While others would simply leave the cat as an amputee cat and probably euthanize it, this veterinarian had a plan.
The cat was sent to Dr. Noel Fitzpatrick, a neuro orthopedic surgeon in Eashing. Fitzpatrick with the help of a handful of biomedical engineers fitted the Oscar with a new set of peg shaped fit that are fused to the bones of his legs. The pegs are shaped a bit like antipope hooves so that they operate more "foot like". The special shape, despite being awkward looking, allows an almost perfect gait for Oscar to walk with.
The process was to attach the metal pegs to Oscars bones via a drill, then the pegs were coated with a substance that allows the bone to grow over the metal peg to lock it in place. And the skin then grows around it to seal it all up.
The spokesman for the British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Dr. Mark Johnston said, "This is a pretty lucky cat... Giving a cat artificial limbs is a very novel solution". Novel is an understatement. Oscar is now the world's first bionic cat.
The cost of the legs was a grand total of about 3000 dollars. However, it was a price that Oscars owners were glad to pay. Oscar being a cat would not have done well after that. Cats unlike dogs will not be able to function in a wheelchair like device like dogs can. Cats cant jump and climb very well with wheels.
I know its sappy, but I am an animal lover, and its things like this that brighten up my day.
For links to other articles I've written
http://rlwoodsiii.blogspot.com/For the original article
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/25...