Custom wheelchair made for Cassidy the kitten who lost part of his back legs
A Canadian kitten who lost part of his back legs has been given a new lease on life with a tiny wheelchair designed by students from a nearby high school.
Cassidy was part of a pack of feral cats in Langley, a suburb near Vancouver, when he was found by volunteers from TinyKittens Rescue who were slowly assessing the pack and taking them to be neutered.
Cassidy the kitten walks in his new wheelchair.Credit:Facebook
He was born with four legs, but somehow lost the back two below the knee joint shortly afterwards. However, he kept fighting, managing to remain mobile for nine weeks until he was found.
"He actually had learned how to lift his little bum off the ground and walk like a reverse velociraptor," Shelly Roche from TinyKittens Rescue told Canada's GlobalNews.
His stumps were in bad shape, and the group started consulting with a vet to get him fully healthy again.
As part of Cassidy's rehabilitation, Roche asked on Facebook if there was anyone who could help him move around. Josh Messmer and Isaiah Walker, students from Walnut Grove Secondary School, responded by designing a kitty wheelchair and making it with a 3D printer.
"We modelled the [wheelchair] in 3D and then it just prints it out," Messmer said.
Volunteers then filmed the first time Cassidy used the wheelchair to walk.
"He just is so much happier and having the freedom to be able to move is something he's never had before," Roche said.
The happiness is contagious. Cassidy has gained a passionate online following, with fans keeping up with his progress through a live stream on the TinyKittens website that shows him sleeping, eating, playing and having his legs massaged.
The wheelchair will be tweaked as Cassidy grows.
Fairfax Media