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Baby the bionic cat
Mark Prigg, Science Correspondent23 Nov 2007
An accident-prone moggy has been dubbed the "bionic cat" now that she has metal implants in each of her four limbs.
As this X-ray shows, the six-year-old cat, named Baby, needed extensive surgery on her injuries at the Blue Cross animal hospital in Victoria. And yesterday, staff gave her the all-clear.
Baby was taken to the hospital in September after falling from a third floor window for the second time at her owner's home in south London.
Staff found she had suffered multiple fractures in both back legs before discovering from an X-ray that she already had metal implants in both front legs, which had been inserted after a similar plunge when she was a kitten. "Baby is extremely lucky to be alive," said Jess Gower, Blue Cross chief veterinary surgeon at the hospital, who carried out the latest operations.
"We think she fell from the third floor of a building. Contrary to popular belief, cats don't always land on their feet - Baby landed on her back.
"We were stunned to find it was the second time she had done it. Now she has metal implants in all four legs, staff decided to call her the 'bionic cat'.
"Amazingly, she has healed extremely well and can already move around very well. We hope that in around eight weeks, when we take off the frame, she will move as normal and you'd never know what happened to her."
Ms Gower added: "She's had two lucky escapes but needs to be very careful to keep her remaining lives intact. We have had a long chat with her owner as we believe Baby was probably sitting in the sun on the edge of a balcony - we recommend people in high-rise blocks with pets keep their windows shut."
The Blue Cross provides treatment and care for the pets of owners who cannot afford private vets' fees.
