Two-face

The odds are nearly one in 2 million, but a 2-faced cat was born this week.  

Facial duplication or Diprosopus, is extremely rare, although there is another cat with this condition which lived to adulthood:

http://www.ripleys.com/daily-digest-blog/animal-oddities/2-faced-adult-cat/

The kitten, named "Two-face" has been given a 50% chance of survival by a local veterinarian, although it's mother refused to nurse the kitten, suggesting that without this  human intervention the kitten certainly would not have survived. 

Dr. Erica Drake said the kitten was born with a rare condition called diprosopus, which means the kitten literally has two faces. Two Face has four eyes, two noses and two mouths.

Drake said the kitten's two mouths act independently and she believes each mouth has a separate esophagus leading to one stomach. 

Two Face's veterinarian said animals with the condition rarely survive for very long, but the kitten's owners are hoping the animal beats the odds. For now the kitten appears to be in good health. 

The Kanawha Humane Society is helping the owners provide the kitten with the specialized care it needs. But when a call was made seeking help for the kitten, animal services worker Stephanie Gomez said she thought it was a prank.

"There was a lady who called and said she had a two-headed cat, and I really didn’t believe her. I told her give him some milk, and two bottles, cause there are two heads," she said.

from Komo News Story Published: Jun 14, 2010 at 10:22 AM PDT