Janus kitten born with two mouths leaves Llangedwyn cat rescue ‘speechless’

Warning: This story contains an image that some readers may find upsetting

A cat rescue has been left “speechless” after a cat in their care gave birth to a kitten with two noses and two mouths.

PurrfectlyFeral in Llangedwyn, Powys, shared the discovery after the kitten was born with a rare congenital disorder called diprosopus, also known as craniofacial duplication.

Known as Janus cats, the condition is named after the mythological Roman god who is traditionally depicted with two faces and is extremely rare in cats.

Rescue founder Shelley Jones said most Janus kittens are either stillborn or survive only for a short time after birth, so the “little miracle”, who has been named Gemini, is being monitored “around the clock”.

The mother cat gave birth to a total of eight kittens after she was brought into the rescue’s care as a stray three weeks ago.

On Friday, Jones said: “In all our years of rescue, we’ve seen so much. Tiny kittens who have fought against impossible odds, cats who have survived things they never should have, and moments that have left us completely speechless. Today was one of those moments.”

Jones said she was “shocked” when she saw the kitten, as she had never seen or heard of the incredibly rare condition before.

“My first thought was this was a conjoined twin, so quickly did some research to see if I was right”, Jones said.

Unfortunately, the kitten was rejected by its mother after being the first born from the litter and requires bottle feeding every hour.

Jones said Gemini was “very keen to feed from both little mouths” which is “quite funny to watch”, because she can only feed one at a time.

“It’s remarkable but very sad,” she added.