Meet Frankenkitten: The Cat with Four Ears

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People usually say that everything happens for a reason whenever something goes wrong, and they cannot explain it. But what about when something great unexpectedly happens? We can only be grateful for the fortune that was sent our way. In the case of one kitten, his hope of living a normal life decreased with each that day passed until one woman with a heart of gold found him and welcomed him in her home. Here is the moving story of Frankenkitten, a cat with four ears.

Frankenkitten finds a home

Dolly Parton sang that at 18, she had lived her life given the many tribulations that seemed to follow her. Similarly, at only two months, Frankenkitten and his brother were already living a life that many cats would have found unbearable. Still, as stray cats, they had no choice but to look for shelter. They, therefore, found themselves beneath a home to get away from the dangerous street life. The owners of the home in Geelong where Frankenkitten and his brother had taken refuge found them and took the cats in to care for them. This was after noticing that the stray cat had not only four ears, but a deformed eye that needed immediate attention. Unfortunately, the homeowners were not well equipped to give the cat the medical care it deserved, so they surrendered him, and his brother, to Geelong Animal Welfare Society.

They say the Lord works in mysterious ways, and this time He used Georgia Anderson to give the kitten a home. As luck would have it, Georgia worked at the shelter, and when she heard about the four-eared cat that had been brought in, she was curious to meet him. Georgia, therefore, went to see Frankenkitten, and as she told The Dodo, his personality was enough to have her fall in love with him. Georgia said that the cat put aside his pain to show her some affection through purring and rubbing his face on hers. In that instant, Georgia decided to foster Frankenkitten immediately after his eye removal. She is the one who came up with the name “Frankenkitten” since the cat had stitches on his face after the surgery.

It only takes a second to fall in love, but staying in love has proven challenging in most relationships. Georgia, for instance, has fostered more than 80 cats and had no problem giving them back. However, after the cat spent the night at her home, by dawn, Georgia knew she would not be giving him up for adoption. Instead, she decided to adopt him after the required 8-day waiting period when he joined her other cats: Toothless, Lucius Malfoy, and Mina.

He has more problems than the deformed eye

Cats born with four ears have more issues that range from dwarfism to cognitive abilities and large overbite. Frankenkitten had a large overbite problem, and they had to wait for him to mature up in five months to remove his lower canines; the step would prevent him from damaging the palate whenever he closed his mouth. Since the upper canines will not do any bodily harm, they are expected to stay, but the cat will resemble Dracula with his teeth. Whatever cost was and will be incurred, the animal shelter is ready to foot the bill.

He is a delight

You would think that for a cat that looks different from his siblings, Frankenkitten would be self-conscious and avoid mingling. He, however, does not let his lack of one eye or extra ears get in the way of his fun. Georgia said that the cat has also stolen her son’s heart. Even when she took the kitten to visit an elderly lady, Frankenkitten did not have a problem with the stranger. He is a friendly animal who believes his only duty is to shower all he meets with cuddles and kisses. Besides, Georgia decided to share the cat’s experience with the entire world by creating an Instagram account in the cat’s name. So far, the account has 46.9k followers, and Frankenkitten has even been fortunate enough to meet celebrities like Peter Hitchener, an Australian television presenter. Further, he receives lots of love from his followers, with each picture getting at least 1000 likes.

He is not the first four-eared cat to hit the headlines

In 2008, Ted and Valerie Rock were having a good time in a Chicago bar when one kitten in a cage was being passed around to the drinkers. The cat’s owners were looking for someone to adopt him since the mother had given birth to too many cats. Ted and Valerie were still grieving the loss of a cat that had been their pet for two decades, so having another cat would bring back fond memories. They were, therefore, not interested in adopting a cat.

However, the cat spotted Ted. While he remained in the cage as other drinkers looked at him, when he came to Ted, he reached for the man, crawled up to his neck, and fell asleep. By then the cat was only eight weeks old and the couple took him into their home in Illinois and named him Yoda, after Star Wars character.

When Valerie and Ted took him to the vet, he was shocked to see the four ears; something that Valerie had not given much thought. With the realization of how rare it is, she was worried that it would be catnapped. To increase Yoda’s security, she and her husband also installed a chip in the cat, in case he gets lost. Besides the four ears, the only other abnormality that Valerie has observed according to Daily Mail is his love for bread and his inaudible purrs.

What could have resulted in the four ears?

Four ears are due to a recessive gene mutation that results in extra flaps, not ears, as they are commonly called. The flaps do not give cats an additional sense of hearing and may lead to smaller eyes or undershot jaw. Cats with the extra flaps usually are inactive, unlike Yoda and Frankenkitten. Matter of fact is most die in utero since the mutation has been considered lethal; therefore, Frankenkitten is one lucky cat to be alive.