Cute Animals

Semi-Paralyzed Cat is Now Turbo Joe with Wheels [Video]

Published

4 years ago

January 13, 2021

Joe was a stray cat who dragged the lower part of his body with his front legs.
He was taken to a shelter and fostered by Sheila Burdick, who has knowledge in taking care of pets with special needs.
Rescuers worked on getting him fitted with a wheelchair that enabled him to play and run, which eventually got him adopted.

Thanks to a worried onlooker, Joe was taken off the streets and brought to the Meow Village, a nonprofit organization that finds homes for strays.

He was dragging the lower part of his body when the onlooker found him. No one knows the reason why he is half-paralyzed, but they figured that he must have been in an accident.

The Meow Village fortunately found him his foster mom, Sheila Burdick. Sheila has been taking care of special needs pets as she already has two one-eyed cats at home. Sheila made sure that Joe had all the tender loving care that he needed.

To add to being fostered and having a caring mom, his rescuers were also busy working to have him fitted with a wheelchair. They teamed up with Back On Track Veterinary Rehabilitation Center in Portland, a center that provides therapy and education for owners and their pets to achieve mobility.

With his new set of wheels, Joe can now play, run, and keep up with the other cats. However, he still needs more practice by doing some core strengthening.

Burdick jests that when other cats jump, Joe reacts like: ‘Aw, man. How dare you.’

Joe now speeds around in his wheelchair which has earned him the nickname Turbo Joe.

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A post shared by Sheila Burdick (@mv_catmom_she)

His mom’s Instagram account showed Joe’s antics. Being mobile is a plus when people look for cats with special needs for adoption. And the wheelchair did its magic!

With the help of the wheels, Joe is now enjoying his first year with his new forever home.

But don’t worry. His new parents made him a new ‘Gram to update fans on Joe’s new life with his cat sibling, Sidekick Slick.