Heroic recovery for Batman the rescue cat after major surgery gets him back on his feet

Batman, who is thought to be around 18 months old, was rushed to Charter Vets in Newcastle-under-Lyme, part of the VetPartners family of vet practices, by his new owner when he suddenly went lame and had difficulty moving around.

The cat had been adopted by blacksmith Genesis Rowley after he was found inside a scrap car at a garage and nobody came forward to claim him. Mr Rowley nursed the malnourished cat back to health, but then Batman started showing signs of being in discomfort.

At Charter Vets in Queen Street, vet Dr Steve Calveley examined Batman and took X-rays which revealed the young cat was suffering from a rare degenerative condition that was affecting both his hind legs.

He was found to have Legg-Calve-Perthes disease, which causes the head and neck of the thigh bone (femur) to become brittle and both of Batman’s hips had fractured.

After discussing options with the cat’s owner, it was agreed that Batman’s best chance of a full recovery was to have both hip joints removed.

Steve said: “I haven’t seen many cases of Legg-Calve-Perthes disease in my 25 years as a vet and Batman was severely affected. While it may be possible to treat some pets non-surgically in the short term through pain relief, limiting movement and physiotherapy, the bone in both Batman’s hip joints had already crumbled and surgery was the best option to give him an active, pain-free life.

“The surgery involved taking away the ball part of the hip joint together with the neck part of the femur and filing down sharp edges that had formed at the top of his thigh bone. The body then repairs itself and creates a new joint out of muscle and soft tissue.”

Due to being such major procedures, Batman underwent two surgeries, starting with his right hind leg as that was most severely affected. Five weeks later, he had his second surgery.

Steve added: “We’re delighted how well Batman has recovered and he’s gone from strength to strength. Even a few days after his surgeries he was clearly more comfortable and he’s built up muscle around his hindquarters, which had weakened when he wasn’t using his hind legs properly. He will probably have had the condition for a few months and the signs will have been quite subtle at first, then it gradually got more painful.

“He’s very lucky that his owner brought him to us as soon as they noticed there was a problem and they’ve also been great at bringing him back for check-ups to monitor his recovery and doing physiotherapy exercises with him at home. Throughout the whole process, Batman has been a little hero and he’s a gorgeous cat with a lovely character.”

Batman’s owner, Genesis Rowley, who creates art and other objects from metal, found Batman inside a scrap car that had been sent to a garage next to his forge. He said the cat was extremely thin and, after extensive efforts failed to trace an owner, he adopted the pet.

He added that Batman is a house cat but often takes him out and about for mental stimulation, including trips to the pet shop to choose new toys.

Genesis said: “We don’t know how Batman came to be a stray, but a mechanic at the garage noticed the windows were steamed up in a car that had come to be scrapped. He suspected there might be an animal inside and asked me to take a look - I opened the door and Batman crawled out.

“He was skin and bone and very nervous, but with a few months of love and care he put on weight and turned into a happy cat. Then, suddenly he seemed uncomfortable on his back legs and started dragging himself around by his front paws.

“I took him to the vets straight away and it was shocking to hear the diagnosis and be told that he needed to have his hip joints removed. However, the care Batman received from Steve and the team at Charter Vets was amazing. Steve explained everything very clearly, so I knew what to expect and how I could help Batman recover when he came home.

“It’s incredible how well he is after having the joints removed and he’s back to enjoying running around and playing and he can easily jump up onto the sofa. He’s like a different cat and the surgery was life-changing for him. I love him to bits and couldn’t imagine being without him.”