Meet Buddy, our January 2020 Pet of the Month! Buddy was found by Warren Animal Control late in the summer of 2019. He was transferred to Tiger Lily Cat Rescue to help with medical care and potential adoption down the road. At the time that Buddy was found, he was non-ambulatory, meaning that he did not walk. He was found to have multiple fractures in his pelvis, but no broken bones were seen in either hind limb. He also had some neurologic deficits affecting his right hind limb. He had surgery at the Animal Surgical Center of MI to stabilize the worst of his pelvic fractures, but they were unable to stabilize them all due to the complicated anatomy and nerves in the area.
We first met Buddy in August of 2019. He still could not walk, but he could push up his front end and sit more upright. We started first with some cold laser therapy and acupuncture to try to stimulate the nerves and encourage neurologic communication in his right hind limb. We also added exercises that specifically target the hind limb neurologic system. Soon, Buddy was able to stand for periods of time, which gradually increased over the next few weeks.
Slowly, we have been able to add in more exercises to target his core musculature and to strengthen his hind limbs. After 4 months, Buddy is now able to walk, although he still tends to walk on the top of his right hind limb paw the majority of the time. With that being said, he continues to make steady progress on his road to recovery. Buddy still has a little ways to go in his rehabilitation journey and his is up for the task. Another bonus is that Buddy has been lucky enough to have been adopted by his foster family, who have been with Buddy for his entire journey since being taken on by Tiger Lily Cat Rescue. We are so proud of all their hard work and look forward to Buddy starting to do all the normal cat things again!