Amputee Cat – Oscar the Bionic Cat

Oscar, a cat from the Channel Island of Jersey (between England and France), is a walking miracle!

In October of 2009, when Oscar was just two years old,  he met with a horrific accident while he was in a maize field.  A combine harvester cut off his back legs between his ankle and his feet.  A cyclist found him and brought Oscar to his "mum and dad’s" home.  Oscar’s "parents",  Mike Nolan and Kate Allan, fearing that they would be advised to have Oscar euthanised, rushed Oscar to their local vet, Dr. Peter Haworth of the New Era Veterinary Hospital.  Dr. Haworth immediately contacted another vet, Dr. Noel Fizpatrick, of www.fitzpatrickreferrals.co.uk,  a world-renowned state-of-the-art practice in Surrey, England, which specializes in small-animal neuro-orthopedics.

Dr. Noel Fitzpatrick

Dr. Fitzpatrick, a pioneer in his field, has developed many novel techniques and technologies to save his animal patients from being euthanised. After reviewing Oscar’s x-rays and photos and much discussion with Dr. Haworth and Oscar’s "parents",  Dr. Fitzpatrick stated that, due in part  to Oscar’s young age,  he would make an ideal candidate for a revolutionary new procedure he had been developing: bionic cat legs. 

Oscar was flown to the United Kingdom to meet with Dr. Fitzpatrick and his team while Oscar’s "mum" and "dad" did a lot of "soul-searching" before agreeing to go ahead with the ground-breaking procedure.

The first video shows Oscar enthusiastically using his new legs and the second is a follow-up.  There’s a lot more of Oscar’s story below the second video.

This second video shows Oscar after he has had time to heal, now filled with prosthetic flexible paws instead of the pegs. This allows him to move around easier and have a more realistic "cat-like" walk. To me it doesn’t even really look like he has "bionic-legs", more like he has really adorable little "booties" on.

Collaborators & ITAP

Interestingly, Dr. Fitzpatrick claims to have got the idea of  bionic legs for animals from the character Wolverine of the original X Men movie. Dr. Fitzpatrick  had previously used this novel idea on a labrador dog with chronic crippling arthritis, but never on a cat.

Dr. Fitzpatrick collaborated with Gordon Blunn and colleagues of  the University College London’s Centre for Biomedical Engineering to create steel rods coated with hydroxylapatite, known also as hydroxyapatite, (the official name for them is intraosseous transcutaneous amputation prosthetics –ITAPs).  These were drilled into what was left of Oscar’s hind legs. The material itself, combined with the way it is attached, encourages the bones cells and skin to grow onto the rods creating a seal to prevent infection.  This mimics a natural process, similar to the way deer grow antlers. The ITAP technology is now being tested on humans.

Dr. Fitzpatrick currently appears on a BBC 1 television series, The Bionic Vet.  I have not found this show available on U.S. TV yet, but hope that it will air here soon.

Thank You

A huge kudos and thank you to Dr. Fitzpatrick and his team for his pioneering work, to Dr. Haworth for having the insight to contact Dr. Fitzpatrick, for Gordon Blunn of University College London and all who worked on the ITAPs, to Oscar’s "parents", Kate Allan and Mike Nolan who agreed to go ahead with the pioneering surgery and to the cyclist who found Oscar in the field.  Thank you all for daring to create a world that you and Oscar desire to live in.

Blessings to Oscar

And finally huge meows of love to Oscar.  You are one fabulous feline.  The love, dedication, collaboration and innovation you have inspired in others is astounding and has impacted people around the world.  You, dear Oscar, are simply spectacular, or may I say, spec-"CAT" -ular!  Blessings to you for a long, healthy and joyful life.

Much of this story is compiled courtesy of Wikipedia and Cnet news.  

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Coping with Sadness – Steps of Grief – Motivational Moment

Are you feeling overwhelmed with sadness and/or grief?   You are not alone. Grief occurs because someone or something to which we have formed a bond has been lost or changed.  Grief can occur not only because of the physical death of a person, or beloved animal companion (pet), but also due to the loss of a relationship through divorce or separation, the loss of a  friendship, job, home, health, possessions, country, sense of safety, dream, and a myriad of other losses.      

We respond to grief in a variety of ways. Experts in grief often cite the pioneering work of Swiss born psychiatrist, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, who in 1969 wrote the book On Death and Dying in which she described in detail the 5 Stages of Grief.  This has now become known as the Kubler-Ross Model.  In recent years some have adapted this model to include an additional two stages and have suggested that these "stages" be referred to as "phases" instead of stages.

These stages are:

1. Shock or disbelief
2. Denial
3. Anger
4. Bargaining
5. Guilt
6. Depression
7. Acceptance

Several years ago I was trained by the American Academy of Bereavement to become a Grief Facilitator. During this exceptional training it was instilled upon each of us present that while the Kubler-Ross Model provides an overview of the different  "phases" we might experience when grieving, it is very important to remember that people do not move through the model in an orderly and predictable way.  Grief has no prescribed time limit, and will vary from person to person and be influenced by that individual’s personality, family, culture and spiritual/religious views, and inherent beliefs.

For example, people may not experience all seven phases of grief or they may work through the steps in a different order. Then when they experience another loss, they may respond in a completely different manner than they did before, depending on the support they have available to them and the integration of previous losses that may or may not have occurred. 

If you are grieving or experiencing loss or sadness, you may find that you are able to work through your loss independently.  However, please know that there is help out there:  grief and bereavement counselors and grief support groups. In the United States, local hospice agencies can be an excellent first contact if you are seeking bereavement support.

The important thing is to reach out and get help if you are feeling overwhelmed by feelings of grief, loss, or sadness. You are not alone.  Support is available.  You are loved and you are valuable.

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Christmas Peace Slideshow & Video

A beautiful slideshow for Christmas.  Allow yourself the luxury of unwinding from the hustle and bustle of this busy time of year and take a few moments to meditate on these beautiful images.  Be sure to turn up your speakers to enjoy the tranquil music.  Blessings to you and may the wonderment and awe of the season be reflected in each of us as we dare2create a world where peace truly does prevail.  

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