Awww. Kitten Born With Two Faces

Jan 23, 2006
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Surprise: Renee Cook did a double take when her cat Amber gave birth to this little critter who was born with two faces


The male kitten snuggles up to mum Amber, who appears unconcerned about his special features

Cats are known for having nine lives, but a feline born with two faces is practically unheard of.


So you can imagine the shock on Renee Cook's face when her three-year-old cat Amber produced this cute little critter - who was born with two faces. Miss Cook, of Amarillo in Texas, said she arrived home from work to find her three-year-old Persian and Calico mix had delivered a litter and was shocked when she discovered the two-faced kitten


The special needs children's nurse said: "I picked it up and said, 'Oh my goodness, two faces'," she told the Amarillo Globe-News.
"I thought it was dead at first because it was cold. But then it started to wiggle and it kept wiggling and wiggling.
"He has a strong heartbeat and was kind of feisty. So now I'm thinking that it's going to live."
The kitten has two mouths, two noses and four eyes, but just two ears. Ms Cook got some infant formula from a local hospital to feed the as-yet-unnamed kitten.


As the kitten has two mouths, it cannot nurse from its mother, leaving Ms Cook to fill in as surrogate.
"It can't nurse, but it will take formula," she said.
The kitten's unusual feature has also shocked the veterinary community which said births of this kind were very rare, and those that were born often didn't survive kitten-hood.
Veterinarian David Hodges said: "You don't see many adult cats like that, so the chances of a long-term survival are pretty slim."
However, two years ago, a cat with two heads was born in Arizona, America. Lil'Bit has not only beaten the odds by surviving but has gone on to live a healthy life.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=495373&in_page_id=1770
 
wow!!! poor kitty... i'm surprised that the momma cat was able to deliver that kitty on her own, i would think that the head would be too big. the momma looks like one of my childhood kitties.
 
:love:

Reminds me of one of my favorite poems (although I hope this baby lives!) -

The Two Headed Calf
by Laura Gilpin

Tomorrow when the farm boys find this
freak of nature they will wrap his body
in newspaper and carry him to the museum.
But tonight he is alive and in the north
field with his mother. It is a perfect
summer evening: the moon rising over
the orchard, the wind in the grass. And
as he stares into the sky, there are
twice as many stars as usual.