South Carolina tech team aims to give "Tiny Tim" the kitten a wheelchair

HORRY COUNTY, SC -- "Tiny Tim" is a kitten that, along with his siblings, was saved from a euthanasia list at a South Carolina animal shelter. However, a new set of challenges await this little survivor. He's partially paralyzed, but now he's getting a chance to walk with the help of a tech organization and 3-D printing.

His disability was discovered as soon as he could walk, but as Cath Salmons, of Friends of Horry County Animal Care Center, said, he's "a happy little kitten."

She added, "He deserves every chance to live."

Tiny Tim, everyone soon discovered, needs a wheelchair, WMBF reports.

That's when Subproto, a self-described "experimental learning collective" stepped in to help the kitty.

Joe Stewart, founder the group, said, "Even though there's existing pet wheelchairs out there that you can buy on Amazon even, there was nothing that you could scale down this small. This was a unique situation."

The SubProto team is making a prototype using a 3D printer to make the wheelchair. The chair is expected to be complete in the next couple weeks.

Meanwhile, Tiny Tim zips around, unaware of his limitations. But the wheelchair is becoming more essential each day, according to his caretakers.

Salmons said, "Now that he is growing, his legs are tending to stay a little bit irritated too. It'd be like dragging your own feet along, you know?

She continued, "We don't put people down if they go blind, and we certainly don't put people down if they're paralyzed. Now, this little guy is just beginning to live."