Rare two-faced cat

A kitten born in South Africa with a rare condition that caused it to grow two faces is beating the odds by thriving, its caretaker said.

The cat, dubbed Bettie Bee, was born last month with three eyes, two noses and two mouths due to a rare congenital condition called craniofacial duplication. Felines with the condition are often called ‘Janus cats’ after the two-faced Roman god.

The owner of the mother cat contacted a local rescuer who had experience with special needs cats.

“She was born on December 12 and I went to fetch her the very next morning,” the rescuer told. “I took her to the vet that day and his first opinion was to put her down. But she was, at one-day old then, very feisty. We wanted to give her a chance. And she’s been thriving.”

The rescuer said Bettie Bee initially had trouble feeding, but she found success with tube-feeding the kitten and has since found that the feline can eat with both of her mouths.

Bettie “can feed either mouth, both are functional, both lead to the stomach,” the rescuer told.

Men find out they’re brothers after 60 years of friendship

A pair of Hawaii men who have been friends for 60 years said a family DNA matching website brought them some surprising news — they’re brothers!

Alan Robinson and Walter Macfarlane, Oahu residents who have been best friends since they met in sixth grade, said they individually signed up for Ancestry.com because Robinson was adopted. They did not expect to discover they had the same birth mother.

“It was a shock,” Macfarlane told. They said they never suspected they could be related, but in retrospect it all makes sense.

The men said they revealed the discovery to their families. “It was an overwhelming experience, it’s still overwhelming. I don’t know how long it’s going to take for me to get over this feeling,” Robinson said.

The brothers said they are now looking forward to enjoying their retirements and travelling together.

Bird attacks phone screen showing video of itself

An amused pet owner in China captured video of an annoyed bird pecking at a cellphone showing a video of itself chirping.

The video shows the thrush perched on its owner’s hand while she also holds a cellphone displaying a video of the bird chirping. The bird chirps in unison with the recording until the image draws its attention.

The real thrush, apparently mistaking the image for a rival bird, angrily pecks at the phone screen.

Published in Dawn, Young World, January 20th, 2018