Diprosopus, also known as craniofacial duplication, is an extremely rare congenital disorder whereby parts or all of the face are duplicated on the head. This condition is classically considered as conjoined twinning but this type of anomaly is not that case, it’s the result of the abnormal activity by the protein SSH.
Recently, a tabby kitty was born with this condition in South Africa, and already won the hearts of many. The tabby’s name is Bettie Bee, and she was born with two noses, two mouths and three eyes. The owner of the cat told that her mother gave birth to three kittens but only Bettie was suffering of this anomaly.
That condition meant that it’s going to be difficult for her to burse, and it was. The owners were worried that she would starve to death. The vets told the owners that her condition will only put her to many complications later in life if she succeeded to leave a bit further, but the owners decided to fight for her life. Little Bettie lives with her rescurer that looks after her and feeds her with a tube. The rescuer said that the kitty is going well so far, it’s two weeks old and she opened her eyes!
“Bettie Bee is still doing great, 2 weeks today and eyes are open,” her rescuer wrote on her Facebook.
The little kitty has already a Facebook page where people can see her photos, and be updated about her health and her grow up, hoping all together that she would grow into a healthy cat.
Cats that are born with this anomaly are called “Janus Cats” after the Roman God. Frank and Louie, was the well-known kitty born in September 1999 in Massachusetts that was also born with two faces. He was expected to die within a few days because this condition usually die in that amount of time but the cat lived for 15 years! In 2012, the Guinness Book of World Records recognized Frank and Louie as the world’s oldest living janus cat.
Updated: Unfortunately the kitty passed away despite all the efforts of her owner to keep her alive. She got pneumonia, so she was put to sleep after 16 days. Still, Bettie Bee had a chance at life. RIP beautiful angel!