[VIDEO] Two-faced kitten born in Oregon

By GABRIELLE LEVY,   |   June 13, 2013 at 12:23 PM
The Internet loves its cats, and a newborn kitten named Deucy has come into the world as a strong contender to become a new favorite.

The tiny female kitten was born at 6:11 a.m. on Tuesday -- 6/11 -- in Amity, Ore., but she might more aptly be called "four eyes."

Deucy is a rare Janus cat, named after the Roman god with two faces.

Her owner, Stephanie Durkee, took her to the veteranarian, who told her the newborn appeared to be healthy with a single set of organs and everything in working order. She has four eyes, two noses and two mouths.

Deucy is apparently very lucky: Janus cats often die very shortly after birth thanks to duplicate or conjoined internal organs, such as Gemini, a kitten who died after just a few days because he had two tracheas going into one throat.

Still, a few are able to survive into adulthood, such as Frank and Louie, a two-faced cat who set the record as the longest-living Janus cat at the age of 12 in 2012.

Deucy was rejected by her mother, so Durkee is feeding her formula with a syringe and keeping her warm in a drawer with a heating pad and towels. Durkee said Deucy appeared to be stronger than the two other kittens in her litter, with a good chance of living a long, healthy life.

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