2 Faced Cat 'Frankenlouie' Breaks World Record (VIDEO)
Animal Planet 2008 special on the Janus Feline
Recently celebrating his 12th birthday and thus becoming the oldest Janus cat, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, Frankenlouie has received a wide array of media attention over the years.
In 2008, the Animal Planet’s “Weird, True, and Freaky” did a special on Frankenlouie, describing him as “a feline freak of nature.”
The cat, whose left side is known as Frankie and right side known as Louie, held the Guinness World Record for the longest living Janus feline – a term coined by British zoologist R. Karl Shuker to describe the rare condition that caused kittens to die within a few days of birth.
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The Janus feline refers to the Roman god Janus who had two faces.
The cat’s owner is veterinary nurse Marty Stevens, who rescued the two-faced feline before he was euthanized at Tufts Veterinary Medical School for his condition.
“Every day is kind of a blessing, being 12 and normal life expectancy when they have this condition is one to four days," said Stevens.
Stevens described Frankenlouie as a playful cat who liked to be walked on his leash and go for car rides.
The Animal Planet special attributed Frankenlouie’s biggest difficulty as having too many blind spots, because there is no sight in his middle, second eye.
The genetic disorder, which is caused by excessive production of a certain protein, resulted in many defects that in most cases caused death at an early age. Many kittens with the disease are stillborn and others die of breathing or inability to properly access the mother’s milk.
“Frankenlouie’s deformity is literally jaw dropping. Another case of a genetic signal to build two faces instead of one,” reported Animal Planet.
Many cat loving groups saw the Animal Planet special as a freak show that made a spectacle out of Frankenlouie’s condition.
“It tries to sensationalize the Janus condition as freakishness, and did not treat this cat respectfully,” said the Life with Cats website.
No matter to Frankenlouie. Although he is anything but normal with three eyes, two noses and two mouths, Stevens says that he lives the regular life of a loved cat, with one brain, one stomach, and one heart.
“He doesn’t know he’s any different. He thinks he’s a normal cat,” said Stevens.
A video of Frankenlouie can be found below:
