Cats are supposed to have nine lives, not two faces.
That’s the situation facing Duo, a San Diego cat born with one head, two mouths, two noses and four eyes.
Duo was born three months ago but was rejected by her mother. Luckily, the mother cat’s owner was friends with a veterinarian, Ralph Tran, who agreed to adopt this special needs cat and give her the necessary love and medical care.
“Raising Duo has been an incredibly rewarding experience, and at the same time, incredibly challenging,” Tran told InsideEdition.com.
At first, Tran fed Duo with a tube and a syringe. But she has since learned to eat on her own,
“Both her mouths meow separately, and both noses are fully functional,” Tran told People.
However, she is not particularly adept yet, Tran admitted on a Duo’s Facebook page.
“Each face fights to eat and, as a result, most of the food just ends up in the middle eye and on her forehead. That’s why her forehead is now bald,” Tran wrote.
Duo has had other issues as well, including a respiratory infection, a possible seizure and issues with walking. In addition, she will likely need surgery on her middle eyes.
She is also smaller than other kittens her age, but that doesn’t stop her, he said.
“She may have her disability, she may have her challenges, but she loves life, she loves to play, she takes whatever is thrown at her and makes the best of it,” Tran told Inside Edition.
Although most “Janus cats,” as Duo is called, rarely live beyond a few days, her condition isn’t necessarily fatal.
One famous Janus cat, named Frankenlouie, lived to be 15 years old.
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