Two-Faced Kitten Dies Two Days After Capturing Heart of Internet
A two-faced Janus kitten died Thursday in Oregon, two days after it was born and a day after it captured the attention of the internet.
The kitten named Deucy was born Tuesday in Amity, Oregon and owner Stephanie Durkee was beyond surprised when her children told her that there was a kitten with two faces in the litter.
Deucy suffered from a rare congenital disorder called diprosopus. Cats with this disorder are known as "Janus" cats, named after the two-faced Roman god, Janus, who also lends his name to the month of January.
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Following the kitten's birth Durkee took the rare pet to her local veterinarian where it was determined that despite the extremely rare abnormality, the kitty's organs are all functioning perfectly and intact, and overall Deucy was in a good and healthy condition, according to NWCN.
Two-faced cats are extremely rare, however, cat lovers may remember that there were reports of another two-faced cat in 2012.
In that former case, a cat named Harvey Dent (seemingly after The Dark Knight character) was born in February 2012. However, unfortunately, in that case the kitten died after just two days due to health complications.
A few months after, in July 2012, another two-faced kitten was born, named Gemini, but that kitten also died within days.
As seen by those past cases, two-faced cats often suffer from related health problems which result in their early deaths.
Deucy's early medical report of good health was a good sign, but Durkee will not be overwhelmed by the loss given the two other cats she must care for.
This is not the first time that a kitten was born with two faces.
Frankelouie, who was famously entered into the Guinness Book of World Records in 2011 when owners celebrated the cat's 12th birthday, is the longest a so-called Janus cat is thought to have survived for.
