Some cats show multiple moods, but what if they show multiple faces?
Meet Frank and Louie, a cat with not only two names but two faces on one head who was born 12 years ago, the cat known as Janus cat is not expected to live long.
Janus cats almost never survive and most suffer from birth ᴅᴇꜰᴇᴄᴛs, including ᴄʟᴇꜰᴛ ᴘᴀʟᴀᴛᴇs that make it difficult for them to suckle and often cause them to slowly ᴅɪᴇ or ᴄʜᴏᴋᴇ on milk from pneumonia.
However, for unknown reasons Frank and Louie did not suffer from these common ailments and entered the 2012 Guinness World Records as the longest-surviving Janus cat.
Frank and Louie were born with two faces, two mouths, two noses and three eyes. He can only see two of his three eyes. The middle eye can’t even blink, which makes Frank and Louie appear to be staring even when his other eye is closed.
“It’s funny because people walk up to it and think it’s a cute, fluffy white cat and they come over with big smiles on their faces to pat it, like, ‘Oh, what a beautiful cat’ ‘ and I saw a look of horror on their faces when they actually saw his face,” said owner Marty Stevens.
Stevens used a feeding tube to nurse the cat for the first three months of life, hoping that would reduce the risk of choking when food went down his mouth.
It turns out Stevens doesn’t have to worry about him choking, as Frank and Louie only use one of his mouths to eat and the other has no lower jaw and isn’t connected to his esophagus.
So what’s the cat’s personality like? Frank and Louie don’t seem to mind his condition and have developed a friendly personality. The Janus cat is known for its soft and silky coat, docile disposition, and loves to lie in one’s arms like a rag doll.
He’s “very laid-back, not afraid of people, very friendly, and he’s really more of a dog than a cat,” says Stevens. “He walks on a leash, he goes right in the car because he likes to ride in the car.”
Frank and Louie may be the oldest living two-faced cat, but it’s certainly not the only one. This Janus kitten was born with four eyes, two noses, two mouths and two ears on June 8, 2000.