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Vet performs surgery on two-legged cat - View Video
By: Tracey Early & Web Staff

(RALEIGH) -- Doctors at N.C. State's College of Veterinary Medicine made history. They've given a cat, born with only two legs, a chance to walk. They used a first-of-its kind implant and News 14 Carolina reporter Tracey Early was in the operating room for the procedure. He was the runt of the litter and if that wasn't enough, year-and-a-half-old George Bailey was also born with no back feet. His owners kept him out of pity. But now he's making history.

"I found Dr. Marcellin on the Internet,” Al Simmons, the cat’s owner explained. “I was looking around. Surely somebody's done animal prosthesis, and I found him. So that's how we got started over here about a year and a half ago." Dr. Denis Marcellin-Little is the brain behind George Bailey's procedure. He used a custom-made metal implant about half the size of a pencil. It's a design never used before. In a two-hour surgery, Dr. Marcellin-Little attached the implant to the cat's tibia.

"Within about a month, bone will grow into the porous part of that implant,” Dr. Marcellin-Little explained. “When bone is grown into it and the implant is secure, we'll attach a lower part directly to that implant." Kathy and Al Simmons said the payoff is worth the price tag.

"When he walks, he doesn't really have any back points to stay on and at some point it's going to cause him a lot of problems in his hips,” Al Simmons stated. “If there was something we could do to make his life a little easier." That’s an easier life that will take some time getting used to.

It will be at least a month before doctors know if the surgery is a success. If it is, George Bailey will then have to go through weeks of therapy to learn how to use his new leg. At this point, the owners have no plans for another surgery. Doctors also said George Bailey should be able to walk with just three legs.