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Stray cat undergoes hip-replacement surgery

BY CARL MACGOWAN | carl.macgowan@newsday.com

April 10, 2008

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Winston might be the hippest cat in town.

The 10-month-old tabby has a chance to someday chase mice and climb trees again after undergoing hip-replacement surgery Wednesdasy at Long Island Veterinary Specialists in Plainview.

The cat, a stray found recently by staff at the Humane Society of New York in midtown Manhattan, also had a torn knee ligament fixed during 11/2 hours of surgery performed by Dr. Dominic Marino.

After several months at the Plainview animal hospital's rehabilitation center, Winston will be returned to the Humane Society and made available for adoption, Marino said.

"This cat will find a home," said Marino, 43, of Smithtown, who described Winston as a friendly cat who likes to be held.

Hip replacement in cats became possible within the last few years as surgeons learned to operate on smaller animals, said Marino, who donated his services yesterday. He said it was the second time he performed the surgery on a cat.

Marino likened it to replacing a hip on a newborn baby. The ball and socket on a cat's hip are the size of a pea, he said.

Winston had a punctured left eyeball and a fractured hip when he was found by the Humane Society. Doctors could not save the eye, so it was removed, Marino said.

Winston's new hip implant, which normally costs $1,000, was donated by BioMedtrix, a New Jersey veterinary orthopedics manufacturer. The Humane Society covered other costs, including fees for the rest of the surgical team, Marino said. The normal cost of the surgery is $3,900, he said.

The surgery will give Winston a chance to walk normally, Marino said. "Cats are part of the family, too," he said.

After a few days, Winston will move to the hospital's rehab center, which features an exercise room with a mural of a park and artificial trees, Marino said. Winston will undergo strength-building exercises, such as climbing stairs, he said.

Members of the veterinary hospital staff believe Winston once belonged to someone because he is friendlier than a feral cat, spokeswoman Pat Rosen said. The staff suspects he was hit by a car, she said.

Winston could not put pressure on his left hind leg before surgery, Rosen said. She said it will be hard to see Winston return to the Humane Society.

"Everybody's falling in love with him and wants him," she said. "He's such a sweet, sweet cat."

The first Long Island cat to receive the surgery from Marino, a black domestic shorthair named Oreo, owned by a Farmingville family, is doing well one year after the operation, Rosen said.