A kitten has been born with ‘two faces’ and has miraculously survived thanks to round-the-clock care.
Named Duo, the cat has a rare condition called diprosopus which stems from an over abundance of a protein called Sonic Hedgehog protein.
She was born with one body and one head but two noses, two mouths and four eyes – and while most cats with the condition die after a few days, Duo has managed to survive for four months.
That’s thanks to Dr. Ralph Tran, a vet from California who adopted Duo after she was rejected by her mother.
Tran, from San Diego, said: ‘I was given Duo just a couple of hours after she was born and I was concerned that due to her special anatomy she would not be able to live past a few days.
‘Duo has a condition commonly known as “Janus”, also known as diprosopus or craniofacial duplication. Duo has two noses, two mouths and four eyes – her two middle eyes have fused into one large structure.’
‘Despite this, her everyday life isn’t too different to other cats – she eats, sleeps and plays with toys!
‘She breaths through both noses and eats through both mouths – and meows from both mouths, sometimes separately and sometimes at the same time.
‘Hopefully, Duo will continue to stay strong and grow. She will have surgery to remove her middle eye. Other than that, she should hopefully live a long kitty life.’
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