‘No Feet Pete’: Fresno cat left for dead to get leg implants from Italy
FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A cat who was left for dead on the side of a Fresno road is getting 3D-printed prosthetic paws from engineers in Italy, according to the Clovis-based non-profit funding the life-changing operation.
The Kirkland Foundation says the injured cat was brought in two months ago after he was found on the side of a road. The foundation is a 501c3 public charity that supports animal welfare efforts in the Central Valley.
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Kyle Kirkland, president of the Kirkland Foundation, says the cat is now known as ‘No Feet Pete’ or just ‘Pete’. Pete arrived with a broken front leg and the paw torn off; his other front paw was injured and seeping with maggots. After being treated by a veterinarian and getting his front two legs amputated, Pete was taken away for his long recovery.
“One thing that was positive is that the amputations were below the elbows, so we felt like maybe we can do something with prosthetics or implants,” Kirkland said.
During months of rehab, Kirkland said he spent time researching and trying to find someone or something that could help Pete.
“The process was me going online and going onto social media resources and saying, ‘ok what do you do? Implants or prosthetics’,” said Kirkland. “Through the vet that we worked with most frequently, he connected me with one of his classmates from UC Davis, decades ago, that does a lot of Orthopedic work. I talked to him about it, and he said I might know a guy.”
That’s when he says he was connected to a pair of Bay Area board-certified surgeons who agreed Pete would make a good candidate for implants.
“Through the course of that, we found a board-certified surgeon that had helped a couple in Italy, some professional basketball players, do implants on the rear legs of their cat.”
On Wednesday, the cat was taken to Stockton to get scanned. Approximately 900 images were taken of his legs to send to engineers in Italy to design and recreate new custom-made 3D-printed paws.
“We’re hopeful to get some implants that he can have inserted in his paws that will then allow him to move around in four-paw drive,” Kirkland said.
Kirkland says he’s unsure of how long it’ll take to get the implants, but he reveals that even after they are fitted it will still be a long road of rehabilitation for Pete to recover fully.
To donate to ‘No Feet Pete’ – who will soon be known as ‘New Feet Pete’ – you can visit the Kirkland Foundation’s website.
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