Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Bionic Cat Gets World's First Implant Paws

Posted by kdawson on from the ten-lives dept.

Several readers send in the news of Oscar, the first bionic cat, whose hind paws got cut off in a harvester accident. In a world's-first operation, a neurosurgeon has now given him exoprosthetic paws that are implanted directly into his leg bones. The BBC artlcle has a video captured just after the operation, and PopSci has an apparently later one in which Oscar is walking and running almost completely normally.

28 of 225 comments (clear)

  1. of course by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    /me whispers "i for one welcome our new bionic cat overlords"

  2. And? by Pharmboy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Big deal, they have been grafting lasers onto sharks for years now.

    After all, everyone deserves a hot meal.

    --
    Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
    1. Re:And? by chudnall · · Score: 5, Funny

      He used to have four paws. Now he has fore paws and faux paws.

      --
      Disclaimer: Evolution comes with NO WARRANTY, except for the IMPLIED WARRANTY of FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
    2. Re:And? by El_Muerte_TDS · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yeah, but only two are fur paws.

    3. Re:And? by Megane · · Score: 4, Funny

      This whole fe-line of inquiry is giving me paws. I just cat take it any meow.

      --
      #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
    4. Re:And? by interkin3tic · · Score: 2, Funny

      They have accomplished what I would have thought an impawsible feet. I certainly would have been stumped by it.

  3. Claws by IflyRC · · Score: 5, Funny

    Does this mean that the kitty gets adamantium claws next?

    1. Re:Claws by kolbe · · Score: 3, Funny

      In a related story, Oscar was found leaping 10 meters (32 feet) into a tree, catching an unsuspecting bird in the process.

    2. Re:Claws by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      No, but i'll buy it a pack of kitten mittens.

  4. Perhaps by bugs2squash · · Score: 4, Funny

    they should have replaced his paws with rabbit feet, that way he might be luckier next time he meets farm machinery.

    --
    Nullius in verba
    1. Re:Perhaps by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Funny

      they should have replaced his paws with rabbit feet, that way he might be luckier next time he meets farm machinery.

      Yeah, just look at how well it works for rabbits.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    2. Re:Perhaps by asukasoryu · · Score: 3, Funny

      Bender: Oh, no? I'm 40% lucky. [He bangs on his chest twice.] The scrap metal I'm made from included a truckload of horseshoes from the luckiest racehorses in Mexico, who had just been sent to a glue factory.
      Fanny: They don't sound so lucky to me.
      Bender: Not without their shoes.

      --
      There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
  5. Can opener by MrEricSir · · Score: 4, Funny

    They should have given him can opener paws so he could open his own tuna.

    --
    There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
    1. Re:Can opener by Ichijo · · Score: 3, Funny

      They should have given him can opener paws so he could open his own tuna.

      And named him Edward Canopenerpaws.

      --
      Any sufficiently unpopular but cohesive argument is indistinguishable from trolling.
  6. Slow motion by www.sorehands.com · · Score: 4, Funny

    The bionic cat in the video looks like it is running in slow motion, but we all know it is running at 60mph.

    --
    Fight Spammers!
    1. Re:Slow motion by Chris+Burke · · Score: 5, Funny

      No, it plays the Meow Mix jingle. Which admittedly takes some of the drama out of it.

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    2. Re:Slow motion by operagost · · Score: 2, Funny

      CHchchchchchchch...

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
  7. Darth Cat by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/7296/darthcat.jpg

    Well... is obvius.

  8. Re:Laser Cats! by MagicM · · Score: 4, Funny

    Because that's almost completely ridiculous.

  9. Re:Meanwhile in Africa ... by Nadaka · · Score: 3, Funny

    Damn strait, we should be giving those malaria victims prosthetic feet instead!

  10. occupational therapy by Kreplock · · Score: 2, Funny

    i wonder if the treatment included retraining the cat on burying its business in the cat box.

  11. whassat? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Given:

    Oscar was struck by the combine harvester whilst dozing in the sun.

    I think the first order of business should have been some hearing aids.

  12. "You're a kitty!" tag by WilliamBaughman · · Score: 4, Funny

    What happened to the "You're a kitty!" tag? I think it's very appropriate. For those who haven't seen it, XKCD's "Cat Proximity" http://xkcd.com/231/

  13. Pirate Cat! by ArbitraryDescriptor · · Score: 3, Funny

    They really should have gone with a faux-wood finish on those prostheses.

  14. Re:And how does the kitty-kat feal about all this? by misexistentialist · · Score: 5, Funny

    Most cats probably find being born with a tail to be more confounding.

  15. Re:And how does the kitty-kat feal about all this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I once watched a kitten that kept grabbing its own tail, bit it and then growl at the pain he caused himself. He would then let go and start all over again.

    Most of the time I called him "dumbass", but sometimes I called him "Kelso".

  16. Re:And how does the kitty-kat feal about all this? by dreamchaser · · Score: 3, Funny

    Everyone knows cats prefer cheezeburger over steak.

  17. Re:Meanwhile in Africa ... by mcgrew · · Score: 3, Funny

    Which strait, and why do you want to damn it? Ot did you really want to dam it and there's just a typo because the m and n are close together?

    --
    Free Martian Whores!