Kitten born with 2 faces - now have photo

I found an amazing photo of the cat in the Roseburg local paper. This photo has not been altered. Check the source link at the bottom of the page for validity.

Two-faced kitten shocks owner, veterinarian


?'Gemini,' a now 4-day-old kitten belonging to Lee Bluetear of Glide, is a cat with two faces.
Laurie Kell / courtesy photo

The News-Review
DAN TRAYLOR
June 16, 2005

It was born with four eyes, two noses, two mouths and two tongues, but it's just one cat.

A two-faced female kitten, named Gemini, was born late Sunday night. The kitten is owned by Lee Bluetear of Glide.

"It's like it's got one head. Up at the front is where it's split," Bluetear said. "Right at the front (the faces) are basically independent."

The two mouths appear to flow into one throat, Bluetear said.

"The vets and I both agreed that she probably has one brain," she added.

So far, Gemini is alive and well, much stronger and drinking more milk than its first days.

"Everybody is totally amazed that this thing exists," Bluetear said.

That includes Roseburg veterinarian Alan Ross, who examined Gemini on Tuesday. "With the three of our veterinarians here, we have a combined total of 50 years of experience," Ross said. "We have never seen anything like this."

Ross is cautious when he talks about Gemini's future. He says he cannot be sure how long the kitten will survive, especially because he has not seen it since Tuesday.

"When I saw it the other day, I wouldn't have given it more than a 10 percent chance of survival," he said.

He said there are simply too many unanswered questions in a case like this.

But after hearing that Gemini was doing a little better, Ross said the kitten might have a better outlook.

"If this kitty makes it I'll be extremely surprised, but happy to hear it's doing better," he said.

Ross said that if Gemini does survive, it might need surgery to remove some extra tissue in between the two mouths.

Bluetear, 40, has lived in the Glide area for six years, and has been breeding different kinds of animals, starting with dogs, since 1980.

But about three years ago, she discovered a litter of smaller than normal kittens she calls "miniature cats." She now has plans to market the miniature cats on the Internet.

The miniatures grow to about 3 1/2 to 5 pounds, Bluetear said. Gemini was born to a miniature mother and a full-size father.

"She's going to have a maximum weight of five pounds," Bluetear said.

Bluetear is aware that her kitten might not live a full life.

"I kind of feel sorry for her, because I can't know for a fact if she's going to live or die," she said. "If she makes it, she should be a perfectly normal and healthy cat. Other than having two faces."

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looking at the kitten, I dont see how it can swallow?
what looks like 2 origins for 1 tongue leads me to believe it wont be able to suckle, lap water or even close its mouth.

Amazing. thanks for posting this.

wow, she wont only have stereo vision, sheel be a walkin IMax

The 2nd article does mention the vet saying that the kitty may need some surgery to remove some tissue.

What I'm wondering if one of the faces /mouths are dominant. In other words, would one or the other be the preferred mouth for taking in milk or food.

I will watch for a follow-up story, if one is printed.

I would like to see an X-ray.
If both craniums share one brain then yeah. One side will dominate. Picturing it in my mind, I guess the closest assumption would be that it is fused at the base of the jawbone/skull. If that is the case then it will have to have its face reconstructed to be able to injest liquids.

the 5 year old inside of me is playing with the idea of having 2 mouths. Being able to talk about 2 diffrent things at once, eating 2 diffrent things at once...

Weird.

Wouldn't it be totally freaky if it were a Siamese?

(Okay okay I know it's now "conjoined" twins.)

Re: Kitten born with 2 faces - now have photo
What are they putting in the watter over there in roseburg?

That has got to be the most disgusting pussy I've ever seen. And trust me, I've seen my share of disgusting pussies.

Bad Kicky! Bad, bad BAD Kicky!

Bad kicky!!

But that photo IS totally amazing! I wish Gemini every success.....

Thanks for sharing that Reyn.

Thanks! I'm always looking for interesting news. I guess I'm a bit of a news junky.

Nothing wrong with that my friend!

I think the cat should have been named Janus instead of Gemini.

...or both, as you can see by the Wikipedia explanation!

Janus (mythology)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In Roman mythology, Janus was the god of gates, doors, doorways, beginnings, and endings. The month of January was named for him. He was usually depicted as Janus Geminus (twin Janus) or Bifrons, with two faces looking in opposite directions. In some places he was Janus Quadrifrons (the four-faced).

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This is Bonsai Kittens gone bad!

(sorry, I thought that was funny)

I could take that and REALLY make the peta people angry..