With the curiosity of a traveller he used to wander all day long and fight in battles. But one night he barely managed to make his way back to the house and collapsed. Brave black and white Pooh the cat was defeated for the first time.

Pooh returned home covered in blood and without his back paws. His owner helped him the best way she could and immediately contacted the Let's Adopt Bulgaria organisation, which helps animals in trouble and with their help the cat was admitted to the Sofia Central Veterinary Clinic. Like other cats from small towns Pooh used to spend most of his time living freely and returned home just for meals and sleep. That's why nobody saw the accident. Vets think Pooh was injured by a train.

Despite the terrible accident, it turned out that Pooh was born under a lucky star. When he was admitted to the clinic, a young doctor refused to put the severely wounded patient to sleep. Doctor Vladislav Zlatinov not only made the courageous decision to give new paws to Pooh, but managed to do a miracle, previously done once by a doctor in UK.

“The operation included placing titanium implants into the bones,” Dr. Vladislav Zlatinov says. “It is very important that the skin heals on top of the implant and that there is no mechanical irritation. Then an external prosthesis is placed. It can be replaced if it breaks or wears out. The idea, however, is that the titanium implant would remain for life or for as long as possible. Unlike individual cases described so far, Pooh had a deformation and shortening of one of the bones, so it was extended by about 1.5 cm."

After placing the prosthesis Pooh immediately started walking without fear. According to the doctor, Pooh accepted his new paws sensationally well. He turned out to be a really special cat and after three months spent together in the clinic his doctor said: We should thank Pooh!

“In order for the operation to be successful the patient must go through gradual rehabilitation. He must use his limbs and muscles, but at the same time the load on the prosthesis should not be too big. The process is complicated and takes longer because an animal cannot follow the recommendations of a doctor.”

Currently Pooh lives in a foster home in Sofia. And although he has almost fully recovered, it is not good for him to return to his previous life of a wanderer. The cat now needs a friend to protect him from extreme jumps and from time to time to bring him to the clinic to see his rescuer, who also remains his friend for life.

“I decided I wanted to become a vet when I was in high school. Working in such a good clinic allows me to concentrate on orthopedics and neurology. Here we are open to external sources of information that come from the western world and from international conferences and events, and we pay much attention to postgraduate education.”

The doctor is currently taking care of three other patients with similar injuries as Pooh. And when he achieves consistent results, Dr. Vladislav Zlatinov will report about them in medical media all over the world. Thanks to foreign experience we managed to save Pooh, so it is good for us to share our achievements, the doctor says.

English: Alexander Markov