An adorable cat who lost all four legs due to frostbite was fitted with a new set of titanium feet.
The abandoned cat, Tom Ryzhik, was in Siberia at -40 ° C, causing gangrene which made him remove his paws. Wounds like this would normally put the cat to sleep.
However, his new owners insisted that this not happen and took him to a clinic in Novosibirsk, Russia, to have new artificial limbs fitted.
The legs were created using sophisticated computer-assisted tomography and 3D modeling and are considered a “world first”.
Veterinarian Sergey Gorshkov told the Siberian Times: “He is without doubt the first cat in the world to have undergone such surgeries. The limbs are perfectly connected to the skin and bones.
“The part of the limb that goes inside the body is spongy, the bone tissue grows inside.”
Adding that the surgeons “obtained a good result”.
Although little Ryjik looks a bit unstable, veterinarians think he will find it easier to walk on his new legs. They also said that the cat had not tried to remove them, which made him happy with the situation.
The only clinic where the operation was carried out is trying to patent its technique for attaching artificial limbs to birds and is also studying ways to reconstruct the beaks of parrots and the hooves of cattle.
Earlier this year, an American cat managed to survive in extreme weather after being found buried in the snow.
Poor Fluffy was found by her owners “in a basically frozen and insensitive state” in Montana in February of this year, where the weather fell to -1 ° C (30 ° F) and -8 ° C (17 ° F).
Fortunately, she was taken to a local animal clinic where they could save her life.
A shocking photo shared on Facebook shows huge clumps of ice tangled in Fluffy’s fur.
Dr. Jevon Clark told ABC News that when Fluffy was brought to the clinic, her temperature was so low that it hadn’t even been recorded on the thermometer.
Dedicated veterinarians spent hours trying to warm the kitten with warm water and blankets until it finally returned to normal.
In an article, the Kalispell Animal Clinic wrote: “Incredible success and a story of survival this week. Some clients found their injured cat buried in the snow.
“They brought her basically frozen and insensitive. Her temperature was very low but after several hours, she recovered and is now completely normal. Fluffy is incredible!”