Cats have an uncanny feline ability to walk away from potentially fatal injury.
But what happens when they seem to have used up their nine lives? Well, all is not lost. Cats who lose their legs in an accident now have renewed hope, after two cats in Bulgaria recently each received a pair of bionic back paws, enabling them to walk normally.
The first bionic cat in the UK, called Oscar (left), received two Guinness World Records in 2010. One for being the first animal with two bionic limbs and the second for being the first animal to have implants inserted into its joints. Inspired by the way deer antlers grow through skin, artificial pegs are drilled into the ankle bones and coated in hydroxyapatite to encourage bone cells to grow onto the metal. Skin then grows over an ‘umbrella’ at the end to prevent infection, and the rest of the peg protrudes from the bone and skin, allowing artificial paws to be attached.
The treatment is now being tried around the world, offering injured cats a new lease of life.
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