Kitten born with TWO faces is purr-fect! Cat defies the odds to survive and is being bottle fed by its owner after mother abandoned it
A rare two-faced kitten has become a village sensation, with locals flocking to see the newborn kitten, who they believe bring good luck.
The kitten, which was abandoned by its mother, is now being cared for by its owner in Thailand, who also believes the kitten is a good luck charm.
Grandmother Durian Intawiset, 82, from the northern province of Phetchabun, found the helpless kitten still attached to its mother’s placenta on Friday morning.
She posted on social media: ‘Wow! A cat at home gave birth to a kitten with 2 heads, 4 eyes, 2 noses and a placenta.
“The kitten is still alive.”
A rare kitten born with two faces has become a village phenomenon in Thailand
The kitten is a lucky charm, according to its owner
Durian Intawiset, 82, from Phetchabun province, found the helpless kitten still attached to its mother’s placenta on Friday morning
Officially known as Janus cats, after the two-faced Roman god Janus, two-faced cats are extremely rare and most live less than a day
She added that the mother cat, named Nang Proh, had since disappeared, but when they found the kitten, “it was healthy and meowing like a normal cat.”
With the help of her children and grandchildren, Intawiset has been feeding the kitten goat’s milk ever since.
“When he is full, he falls asleep,” she said, adding: “Nang Prae gave birth to a kitten before, but left the kitten there, causing it to die.
‘I kept it and since then everything has been going smoothly, whatever the family does, and she is happy.
“I think this cat also brings luck.”
Officially they are called Janus cats, after the two-faced Roman god Janus. Two-faced cats are extremely rare and usually live less than a day.
They suffer from a condition called craniofacial duplication or diprosopus, in which parts or all of the face are duplicated.
This is due to a defect in the protein, which allows the face to split and duplicate.
Since Intawiest posted a message on social media three days ago, Intawiest’s home has been flooded with people from the neighborhood who also think the kitten has lucky charms.
In 2022, another Thai kitten with two heads was born in the northern province of Lampang, 385 kilometers away.
But against all expectations, it died four days later.
In 1999, a two-faced gray kitten named Frank and Louie was born in Massachusetts. They lived for 15 years.
In 2012, the cat was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-lived Janus cat.