Despite the series of unfortunate accidents that Sprocket the cat went through, he is lucky to have his owner. Sprocket was fitted with a customized 3-D printed leg brace by his owner, in the hopes that the cat could still recover from accidents that damaged his legs and escape the possibility of amputation.
The less-than-a-year-old cat was first hit by a car, which resulted in the need to have his leg wired. Six weeks later, while still healing, a dog mauled Sprocket, causing nerve damage in parts of his limb that prevented him from moving freely, according to The Telegraph.
Amputation seemed to be the only solution for Sprocket, but his owner, Fergus Fullarton Pegg, a Glasgow-based designer, made a 3-D printed temporary brace or an orthosis, that can help Sprocket recover from the nerve damage.
The vet agreed to the set-up, but just in case amputation becomes the only option, Pegg is already at work on a prosthesis for Sprocket, Yahoo News reports.
Using 3-D printing is becoming more common and it is opening a lot of possibilities for pet care, synthetic body parts, custom-fit trainers and even houses, Yahoo News adds.
