We all face challenges in life – but Duo the cat has been forced to contend with more than most after being born with two faces.
But thankfully she is being given a fighting chance thanks to the love and care of her owner, Dr Ralph Tran.
Dr Tran, a vet from California, explained that he adopted Duo in the middle of a move across the country from New York to California.
Duo is a kitten who was born with a rare defect called diprosopus or craniofacial duplication which means she has two independently functioning faces
Duo has two functioning noses, two mouths which eat independently, and three eyes – though the central eye cannot see and will need to be surgically removed when she is old enough
He was travelling through Colorado when a friend called to say her cat had just had kittens, including one suffering from diprosopus.
The birth defect, which is also known as craniofacial duplication, means that she was born with one body and head, but two faces.
Dr Tran volunteered to take care of Duo, and was soon driving to California with her in his car – along with his eight other cats and menagerie of birds.
He has been tracking her progress on a Facebook page, including the many challenges she has face in her four short months of life.
Dr Tran explained how she initially refused to feed and showed no interest in food, forcing him to feed her by tube and then syringe every five hours.
She also contracted a respiratory infection which required powerful antibiotics to treat, which he was worried would badly affect her developing kidneys.
Her central eye is also not viable, meaning it will have to be surgically removed once she has gained enough weight to undergo anaesthesia.
Dr Ralph Tran explained that he adopted Duo while passing through Colorado on a cross-country trip from New York to California after his friend’s cat gave birth
While most cats with diprosopus don’t live more than a few days, expert care from Dr Tran means that Duo has defied the odds to live to four months
Duo will also need surgery on her two viable eyes, because the lids have grown inwards, meaning the lashes irritate her eyeballs.
He also believes she suffered a seizure several weeks ago, and was temporarily unable to move her legs, although appears to have recovered since.
Despite all her setbacks, Dr Tran says she does not appear to be in much pain or discomfort, and is developing – although at a slower rate than most kittens.
During his last update Dr Tran said she weighs around 600 grams, less than half a typical kitten her age, but has learned to eat on her own.
The only problem, he says, is that both mouths want to feed at the same time and have to battle it out each meal time.
‘Each face wants to eat and doesn’t wait for the other to finish,’ he wrote.
After several months spent laying down she has slowly learned to walk, to recognise Dr Tran and other cats, and now likes to play and be scratched.
Dr Tran recently revealed that she managed to climb to the top of a cat tree and spent hours relaxing in a bed at the top.
During her short life, Duo has been forced to contend with a serious lung infection, a possible seizure, and the collapse of her central eye, which will need to be removed. Despite this, Dr Tran says she shows no obvious signs of being in pain
Duo is less than half the size of a typical cat her age, but has learned to walk, climb, eat independently, and interact with humans and other cats
Speaking to Inside Edition, Dr Tran added: ‘She may have her disability, she may have her challenges, but she loves life, she loves to play, she takes whatever is thrown at her and makes the best of it.’
Despite appearing similar to conjoined twins – which is caused by the improper separation of an embryo – diprosopus is an entirely different condition caused by the malfunctioning of a protein named Sonic Hedgehog.
Cats born with the condition are often known as Janus cats, after the Roman god with two faces.
Most of those born with the condition don’t live longer than a few days, but Frank and Louis – also known as Frankenlouis – was a diprosopus cat who lived to the ripe old age of 15.
Frankenlouis, who lived in Massachusetts, was recognised as the longest-lived Janus cat by the Guinness Book of Records in 2012, two years before his death.