• Cat with two heads nods its way into the record books
    46 replies, posted
[release] [img]http://filesmelt.com/dl/c7ba581d4f74a386c2bf65e238a2.jpg[/img] WORCESTER — Frank and Louie is a cat who was born with two faces, so he has two names. Does that mean he has 18 lives? It almost seems so now that he has earned a spot as the longest lived Janus cat in the new edition of the Guinness World Records (Guinness has dropped the word “book” from the name in this digital age). The cat's owner is a Worcester woman named Marty, who asked that her last name not be used to shield her identity and her unusual pet from curiosity seekers. She has owned Frank and Louie since a local breeder brought him into Tufts Veterinary Clinic to be euthanized when he was a day old. Marty was a veterinary nurse at Tufts at the time and offered to take him home. The prognosis, however, was not good. Janus cats, named after the Roman god with two faces, are extremely rare and seldom live more than a few days after being born. Often they die within hours. But under Marty's dedicated care Frank and Louie flourished. He turned 12 years old on Sept. 8. Frank and Louie has two mouths, two noses and two normal eyes with one larger non-functioning eye in the center. “That was the first eye to open up when he was two days old so I had a little Cyclops for a while,” Marty said. That's not an endearing image, and, as often happens with animals and even people who are not exactly like everyone else, Frank and Louie often draws a shocked reaction from onlookers. But that first impression quickly fades. “He's just so affectionate and sweet he usually wins people over,” Marty said. The cat has two faces, but only one head and brain, so the faces react in unison and not as separate entities. Also, two faces doesn't mean two cans of cat food every morning. The cat's right side — or Frank's side — is connected to an esophagus while Louie's isn't, so Frank eats for two. If you look at the cat from the left he looks completely normal. Look at him from the right and he does as well. It is only when you look straight at him that you can see how unusual he is — so different he attracted worldwide attention after a local news story and video about him was picked up internationally about six years ago. One of those articles captured the attention of British cryptozoologist and science writer Karl Shuker, whose books include “From Flying Toads to Snakes with Wings: In Search of Mysterious Beasts, Bizarre Creatures and Mystery Animals” and “Mystery Cats of the World.” Mr. Shuker also happens to be the life sciences consultant for Guinness and it was he who submitted details of Frank and Louie for inclusion in the 2012 edition as the world's longest surviving Janus cat. It is a term, he said in an e-mail to the Telegram, that he coined several years previously in relation to cats born with diprosopia, or two faces on a single head. Though rare, it is a phenomenon that occurs in many species, Mr. Shuker says, including humans. Mr. Shuker said he was thrilled to learn the cat was still alive when Marty tracked him down by email after finding his blog online. ([url]http://karlshuker.blogspot.com[/url]). She wanted to tell him that the cat had been included in the 2012 Guinness edition. She was surprised to learn it was he who submitted the cat's information. The Guinness entry on Frank and Louie says the cat lives in Millbury, Ohio, and had reached the age of six by 2006, the last year for which Mr. Shuker could find press accounts. The cat and Marty actually lived in Millbury before moving to Worcester. Even in 2006, Frank and Louie was the world's longest living Janus cat. As a newborn kitten the size of a hamster, he wasn't expected to live 12 days let alone 12 years. Because he had to be fed every two hours, Marty carried him in a shoebox everywhere she went, including work, feeding him with a special veterinary kitten formula. She had to put a tube down into his stomach and injected the formula with a syringe. Veterinarians advised her not to get her hopes up. “But every day he got stronger,” Marty said. “He just kept beating the odds.” There wasn't a special celebration Sept. 8 because cats, after all, aren't exactly party animals. “I just kept calling him ‘birthday boy' all day,” Marty said. [/release] [url=http://www.telegram.com/article/20110926/NEWS/110929683/1116]Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette[/url]
[QUOTE=SPESSMEHREN;32512753] [url=http://www.telegram.com/article/20110926/NEWS/110929683/1116]Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette[/release][/QUOTE] Very nice tags you have there, i hope the cat lived a good life.
Any pictures yet?
First it's disturbing, then.... D'AWWWWWW
What a ugly kitty.
So, what happens if you put it in a box with deadly neurotoxins? You know, I think it's actually creepier when you realize that it's not a cat with two heads and / or two brains, but just one head, and that [I]that's its one face[/I]. Like if nose to nose is just one big fucked up nose. It's really hard to explain different mental references of a single image. (Especially since I'm crap at explaining things in the first place.)
You know, once your mind gets past how unnatural that is, it actually looks kind of cool. Was expecting the cat to actually have two full grown heads though.
that cat looks badass!
Awww.
Aww
It's still adorable, I love all cats.
you lot are fucked in the head you say it's "D'AW" and "cool/badass" but it should've been put down on day one. even if thats "cruel" atlest it wont suffer
Its not in pain
My cat has 7 claws on both his front paws.
Awww. It will probably appear in my nightmares, though.
i like the parrot that sings opera
[QUOTE=krakadict;32513677]you lot are fucked in the head you say it's "D'AW" and "cool/badass" but it should've been put down on day one. even if thats "cruel" atlest it wont suffer[/QUOTE] Unless it actually happens to be in constant pain that isn't appropriate.
My cat's on my lap at the moment. While I read the article I noticed him glaring at the image.
Well it looks like two heads are better than one
[img]http://imgkk.com/i/tr-0.jpg[/img]
[img]http://cdn.ifanboy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/cat047.jpg[/img]
my cat is still cooler
[QUOTE=gazzy_GUI;32512762]Very nice tags you have there, i hope the cat lived a good life.[/QUOTE] It still is...?
A really cute cat, but mine has a shirt and tie, so instantly better. [IMG]http://puu.sh/53SK[/IMG]
Big deal. I got 7 cats, all from 1 cat and I'd have more if their mom didn't eat them. Yesterday, the 4 babies were all curled up with each other, they looked like a much cuter mutant then... this...
Title is incorrect. [i]The cat has two faces, but only one head and brain[/i]
The photo in the OP looks shopped, that said as long as it is not in pain DAAAAAAAAAAAAAW!
Meanwhile, the casting call for a Kitty Production of the Harry Potter series has officially wrapped up! [img]http://cache.reelzchannel.com/assets/content/blogimages/voldemortcat-476.jpg[/img]
Diprosopous cats are cool and all, but dicephalous snakes are badass because they often end up trying to kill and eat each other.
[QUOTE=The Castro;32516791][img]http://cdn.ifanboy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/cat047.jpg[/img][/QUOTE]If the Transmetropolitan movie concept ever gets off the ground, they need to recruit this cat. [i]Need[/i].
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