Here’s yet another kitty-in-trouble story (why do we do it to ourselves?) that fortunately seems to have turned out alright, and is, in fact, pretty amazing.
Last October, on a farm in the British Channel Islands, a two-and-half-year-old cat named Oscar was having a little kip (that’s “nap” for you non-British kitties) in a sunny spot that just happened to be in the path of a combine harvester… I know, it sounds bad already. Poor little Oscar was run over and the lower portions of his hind legs were severely damaged. The local vet, where Oscar was taken, referred Oscar’s family to Dr. Noel Fitzpatrick, a neuro-orthopedic surgeon. Working in conjunction with two biomedical engineering experts, Dr. Fitzpatrick fashioned metal bionic prosthetic legs, which were fastened to the remaining portions of Oscar’s back legs by means of implanted pegs, and viola… Oscar can now run and jump pretty much like a normal kitty. Cor blimey! (that’s “Holy s--t!” for you non-British kitties). And as Winston Churchill might have said, this is Oscar’s “finest hour.” That’s Oscar in the photo with his new bionic back legs.
Being a cat, Oscar is fairly nonplussed by all the attention. Still, being the world’s first bionic kitty is pretty special. Can a TV show be far behind? In the 1970s, we had The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman, so why not The Bionic Cat? Hey, I’d certainly watch it.
Last October, on a farm in the British Channel Islands, a two-and-half-year-old cat named Oscar was having a little kip (that’s “nap” for you non-British kitties) in a sunny spot that just happened to be in the path of a combine harvester… I know, it sounds bad already. Poor little Oscar was run over and the lower portions of his hind legs were severely damaged. The local vet, where Oscar was taken, referred Oscar’s family to Dr. Noel Fitzpatrick, a neuro-orthopedic surgeon. Working in conjunction with two biomedical engineering experts, Dr. Fitzpatrick fashioned metal bionic prosthetic legs, which were fastened to the remaining portions of Oscar’s back legs by means of implanted pegs, and viola… Oscar can now run and jump pretty much like a normal kitty. Cor blimey! (that’s “Holy s--t!” for you non-British kitties). And as Winston Churchill might have said, this is Oscar’s “finest hour.” That’s Oscar in the photo with his new bionic back legs.
Being a cat, Oscar is fairly nonplussed by all the attention. Still, being the world’s first bionic kitty is pretty special. Can a TV show be far behind? In the 1970s, we had The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman, so why not The Bionic Cat? Hey, I’d certainly watch it.
3 comments:
This kitty seems to be all over the place. Last night we posted a link to a story and video but your explanation is more detailed. We are so glad the technology worked for Oscar.
Oh yeah! I heard about this on the radio. Incredible to see.
Amazing! He is one lucky kitty.
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