Portland Cat Channels Wolverine to Heal Three Broken Bones

PORTLAND, OR – An 11-year-old cat is walking comfortably again after DoveLewis surgeons repaired three broken bones in his paw with thin metal pins placed inside the fractured bones. The pins extended through Benny’s skin and were secured in hardened epoxy outside his paw, creating a spider-like frame that supported the fractures for eight weeks. The unusual repair produced striking X-rays that look more at home in a superhero movie than a veterinary hospital.

No one saw what happened to Benny, so exactly how he broke his paw remains a mystery. His family just knew something was wrong when their normally active indoor/outdoor cat stopped jumping, began hiding, and even turned down treats. When they noticed him limping, they brought him to DoveLewis 24/7 Animal Hospital.

X-rays revealed fractures in three metacarpal bones, the small bones connecting a cat’s wrist to its toes. To repair them, DoveLewis Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Dusty Spencer placed several thin metal pins inside the fractured bones. The pins emerged through Benny’s skin and were bent into a hardened epoxy resin frame that sat on top of his paw, complete with a tiny cat face etched into its surface. Together, the pins and resin formed a Secured Pin Intramedullary Dorsal Epoxy Resin (SPIDER) external skeletal fixator. The SPIDER fixator worked like scaffolding, creating a rigid support to hold each tiny bone in position while it healed.

“This was an intricate repair in a very small space,” said Dr. Dusty Spencer. “Our goal was not only to heal the fractures, but to help Benny become comfortable and confident using his paw again.”

After one night in the hospital for pain management and monitoring, Benny returned home with medication and strict restrictions on running, jumping, and climbing. For an energetic cat eager to get back outside, staying still became one of the biggest challenges of his recovery.

Benny remained affectionate and famously talkative at every follow-up appointment while his veterinary team examined his paw and cleaned around the pins. As healing progressed, the team recommended slow walks in a harness to encourage him to use the injured paw. Without the harness, Benny preferred to race ahead on three legs. Walking at a controlled pace encouraged him to place the paw on the ground and gradually trust it again.

At his eight-week recheck, X-rays showed new bone bridging all three fractures. The SPIDER fixator had done its job. With Benny safely sedated, Dr. Spencer cut the pins free from the hardened epoxy frame and carefully removed each one. Final X-rays confirmed that all the hardware was gone, and the healing fractures remained stable.

Two weeks later, Benny returned to DoveLewis with no signs of pain and only a barely noticeable limp. Although a few more weeks of limited activity remained, he was cleared to complete his recovery at home without additional orthopedic appointments. To mark the milestone, Benny’s orthopedic team signed a “Ready to Run” certificate, placed a tiny graduation cap on his head, and cheered as he officially graduated from their care.

The repair looked like science fiction, but its result was wonderfully simple: Benny was comfortably walking on all four paws again.

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