Two Faced Cat

[Johnny Pneumatic]

Too weird, video also--> http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/strange/news-article.aspx?storyid=33749


Burn the witch!


No word on one-faced catwomen yet....

 

[Eos of the Eons]

You can see more examples here.

As well as other things. Don't click in if you are sensitive to seeing young cats with various anomalies.

 

[Bruce]

You can see more examples here.

As well as other things. Don't click in if you are sensitive to seeing young cats with various anomalies.

Also don't click just before going to bed. Egads!!

 

[Dr. Imago]

Sadly, similar things happen to human fetuses/neonates as well. And, I've already had the misfortune of seeing a couple such instances in the NICU.

-TT

 

[Soapy Sam]

Yes. God works in mysterious ways.
Or sometimes he screws up.

Or maybe he does the right ones and evilootion causes the copying errors?
But there is no evilootion...

What a conundrum.

 

[Rolfe]

Thanks for that link, Eos. I clicked through from it to an astonishingly exhaustive and very interesting article on feline polydactyly, which I'm still perusing.

Anyone who doesn't know why I'm interested in feline polydactyly, may contemplate the cuteness.

According to that article, Caramel is in fact relatively unusual in that he's polydactyl on his hind feet as well as his forepaws.

Rolfe.

 

[Eos of the Eons]

Awwww!! Neat! I wonder if there is some benefit to being polydactyl? Are the genes becoming more common if they are getting polydactyl in both the front and the hind legs?

 

[Rolfe]

Awwww!! Neat! I wonder if there is some benefit to being polydactyl? Are the genes becoming more common if they are getting polydactyl in both the front and the hind legs?

No benefit, no disadvantage to the common brand of polydactyly. It's just a curiosity. Some polydactyls have been observed picking up toys and small objects, but as cats are quadripedal it's not the sort of ability they tend to do much with.

The gene has always been common around here. I never really inspected the hind paws of any polydactyl except Caramel, and I only found out that most are only fore-paw polydactyls from that web page. The stuffed one in the Science Museum in London is polydactyl on all four feet, much like Caramel in fact only with all the extra toes well-defined (while a couple of Caramel's extras are a bit half-hearted).

The article is amazinly comprehensive (though she's wrong about the rules of British cat shows, and Caramel has two first prize rosettes to prove it), and one point covered is a separate mutation which is indeed harmful which includes polydactyly in its expression. Cats with this mutation can have small and deformed forelegs, and there is even one mad breeder deliberately selecting for that because for some inexplicable reason some people think it's cute. Because of this, and not understanding that most polydactyls are just the common sort with no harmful connotations, some European countries are attempting to legislate against polydactyly along with other harmful genes like Manx and Scottish Fold. I don't know how they're going to break it to the feral population of the Ashdown Forest (which is where Caramel got his genes from).

Rolfe.

 

[Jas]

Another excuse to post pics of my kitties!

Mr Darcy (sort of hard to see in this pic), has the curly (Selkirk) Rex hair, while a mutation, thought it was kind of odd to be listed along with the two-faced cats and other deformities.

Dora was exposed to distemper (feline parvo?) in utero. Her retinas are deformed, her balance is a bit off, but when she runs, it's kind of a skipping motion, I think her legs are kind of wonky, you can sort of see it in the pic. We're pretty sure she's deaf as well. The contractors at my house love her, as she cuddles up next to the compressor, she seems to like the vibrations. Unfortuanately, she fell through the floor when it was ripped out and ended up inthe sump pump. Poor thing. She was quite good about being washed off, as she smelled horrible!

 

[Just thinking]

Anyone who doesn't know why I'm interested in feline polydactyly, may contemplate the cuteness.

I too have a polydactyl female cat with extra claws on the rear legs -- not of much use and are not noticable, unless you become curious. Keeping the front claws trimmed is a bit of a chore, but she doesn't struggle much.

The cat is very affectionate and friendly -- and she's a licker.

 

[Art Vandelay]

Awwww!! Neat! I wonder if there is some benefit to being polydactyl? Are the genes becoming more common if they are getting polydactyl in both the front and the hind legs?

Even five fingers are hard to draw without them looking silly, which is why if you look at many cartoon characters, they only have four fingers. If cats with six fingers become common, this problem will just escalate.

 

[crocodile deathroll]

Let this be a lesson, do not to feed pregnant cats radioactive Whiskers or Snappy Tom. + =

 

[Psi Baba]

My cats are not only two-faced, they're damned liars as well.

 

[toddjh]

Someone I used to talk to on the net claimed to have a cat with a paw deformity that functioned a lot like an opposable thumb, although she didn't have any pictures. Has anybody heard of something like this? 'Twould be interesting.

Jeremy

 

[Rolfe]

Someone I used to talk to on the net claimed to have a cat with a paw deformity that functioned a lot like an opposable thumb, although she didn't have any pictures. Has anybody heard of something like this? 'Twould be interesting.

Yes, that's just what we've been talking about, ordinary polydactyly. Some cats seem to use the extra toes more dexterously than others. Here's the web page about it.

It's debatable whether the ordinary form is even a deformity. More of a variant. (And if I don't say that, somebody I know has 26 claws, all the better to scratch me with....)

I really need to get someone to hold Caramel still for long enough for me to try out the super-macro lens on my smart new camera. The view from the pad side is particularly intriguing.

Rolfe.

 

[toddjh]

Yes, that's just what we've been talking about, ordinary polydactyly. Some cats seem to use the extra toes more dexterously than others.

Ah, she didn't mention extra toes, so I didn't put the two together. Thanks for the info!

Jeremy

 

[AWPrime]

From Rolfe's link:

A correspondent to the New Scientist noted that the innermost extra toes on the front paws are often opposable and some cats use them with quite startling proficiency to manipulate small objects with almost human dexterity. Some owners of polydactyl cats joke that their cats are more intelligent because of this and represent the next stage in feline evolution - the ability to open cartons and cans unaided.

Cool

 

[Rolfe]

Ah, she didn't mention extra toes, so I didn't put the two together. Thanks for the info!

Jeremy

Sorry if I misled you, I was talking about my derail, not the original OP which was about an old report of a single instance of the partial conjoined twinning which gives a "two-faced" appearance. The messybeast site (referenced by Eos) has a much more comprehensive account of the whole phenomenon, including news of what happened to the kitten referenced in the OP (it's a lethal malformation), and then I just sort of gravitated to the polydactly pages.

Now, I note the singular absence of seven-toes paws trying to type this post for me, which suggests that the beast has been shut out. I'd better go and see to his comfort before he contacts the RSPCA (who are about two miles away, so we have to be careful...). In other words, time for bed!

Nighty-night.

Rolfe.