Meet Watson

• Posted on 25 August 2015
• By Dr. Jill Tack
• Posted in handi-cat, pets with disabilities, Radial Hypoplasia
• 0

We see a variety of cats and dogs come into The Pet Beastro, but none are quite as unique as Watson, a sweet feline who was born with radial hypoplasia. We've invited his fur mom, Melanie Lusnak, to share his story with us today on our blog. If you're looking to learn more about Watson and local resources for handicapped animals, be sure to check out her blog, Handi-Cat.

We see a variety of cats and dogs come into The Pet Beastro, but none are quite as unique as Watson, a sweet feline who was born with radial hypoplasia. We've invited his fur mom, Melanie Lusnak, to share his story with us today on our blog. If you're looking to learn more about Watson and local resources for handicapped animals, be sure to check out her blog, Handi-Cat.

Meet Watson: A Local Kitty with Radial Hypoplasia

Meet Watson. Less than a year ago, this little guy changed my life. He taught me that animals are more resilient than I could have ever imagined.

Watson was born with radial hypoplasia, a deformity of his forelimbs. Radial hypoplasia displays itself in varying degrees.  Typically, it involves the shortening or sometimes absence of the radius. The abnormal growth causes twisting of the joint. In Watson's case, all bones in his forelimbs are present and are not severely shortened. However, the twisting of his joint has caused the lower half of his front legs to turn up and inward.

The first few months were difficult. No matter how many pillows and blankets littered the floor of our house, Watson would still fall or stumble. His determination would get him up the stairs in our house, but soon after a loud cry would follow, which is my cue to come running so he can be carried down the steps. In addition, the couch and bed have foam steps attached that allow him to get up and down without any harsh landings. Our house continues to evolve with Watson; the more we learn about what he needs, the more we can adjust areas and items to make it easier for him to maneuver.

How We Make Watson's Life Easier

As Watson's gets older, he is learning to depend more on his hind legs. He resembles a kangaroo is his walk and run, and his tail has even taken on the qualities of a typical marsupial, acting as balance and support. Before this, however, his elbows became extremely swollen from the constant impact of hitting the floor when he would run or jump. This can be life threatening because if the skin breaks, infection can occur and the healing process can be next to impossible since the skin doesn't get a break from impact to heal like a normal wound would. We were able to treat the swelling with a combination of cell salts that treat inflammation and fluid imbalances. The next step was finding something to prevent the swelling.

Prosthetics

During this time, I found Animal Orthocare, which meant the possibility of prosthetics. The owner Derrick Campana has worked with me over the past six months to come up with custom designed prosthetics that not only give Watson the support he needs for his front legs, but also act as protection for his elbows. To start out, we took castings of Watson's front legs, which Derrick then used as a mold to develop the prosthetics. Using the cell salts to control the swelling in Watson's joints was key to this process because we would not be able to get an accurate mold of his legs if the swelling was still present. The first set of legs we received did not add any height. They consisted primarily of the base so that Watson could get used to wearing them.

Chiropractic Care

Even with prosthetics, Watson will not be able to walk, run, and jump like a normal cat. The position he is in does not lend to good posture, and just like with humans, this can lead to pain and discomfort. Watson has always been hypersensitive; simply touching his back would cause his muscles to flinch and spasm. No one could provide us with an answer on why this was happening until we met Dr. Christina Cole of Advanced Animal Chriropractic for our initial evaluation at The Pet Beastro.

Dr. Cole meets patients twice a week at The Pet Beastro to give them adjustments. Her patients vary in age and ailment. With her perspective, we were able to make sense of the different symptoms Watson was experiencing. After she initially evaluated Watson and had a look at his X-rays, Dr. Cole decided that Watson would do best to be adjusted like a human. Since Watson primarily stays in an upright position using his hind legs, his spine is developing with the same curve that a human has. After only a few adjustments, Watson was flinching less when touched and would cry less when being picked up and carried around.

Watson has improved greatly since we brought him home less than a year ago. We are about to introduce him to his next set of prosthetics, which will add height to his front legs. Bringing Watson into my life inspired me to start a website called Handi-Cat, which exists to document Watson's story and provide a collection of resources for other people with animals that have deformities, disabilities, or injuries. I continue to add links to resources that have helped Watson or that I thought would be helpful for animals in similar situations. Check out www.Handi-Cat.com for updates on Watson's story. I will be adding details on the process of creating Watson's prosthetics, along with updates on his new prosthetics.

Follow Watson’s journey on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Handi-Cat.com.