Cat without hind legs walks thanks to titanium prosthetics

This article is more than 12 months old

Dec 07, 2015 05:13 pm

A three-year-old cat that was born without hind legs has been given a new lease of life thanks to high-tech prosthetics.

Vincent, a short-haired cat born in Nevada, suffers from an abnormality that left him without half of his hind tibia bones and unable to walk.

While the condition would have been a death sentence for most kittens in a similar situation, the abandoned Vincent found his way to the Story County Animal Shelter in Iowa, where he was taken in by shelter worker Cindy Jones.

Vincent as a kitten. PHOTO: YOUTUBE / ISUNEWSSERVICE

As fate would have it, Ms Jones' daughter studied veterinary medicine at Iowa State University and put her in touch with Dr Mary Sarah Bergh, who conducted the rare procedure where titanium implants were inserted directly into Vincent's thigh bones.

According to Dr Bergh, fewer than 25 animals in the world have undergone the same treatment.

While Vincent requires antibiotic spray treatments twice a day, the feline is getting about on his new limbs, which will be gradually be lengthened to match a normal cat's legs.