Two-Faced Cat Defies Science, Sets Guinness World Record

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Screenshot via Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Meet Frank and Louie: One cat, two faces and a Guinness World Record.

Frank and Louie is a Janus cat, meaning he was born with two faces, including three eyes, two noses and two mouths. Usually Janus cats — named after the Roman god who had two faces — only live for a few days. But not Frank and Louie. For 12 years, this miracle cat has survived, earning him a place in the Guinness World Records for the oldest-living Janus cat.

When a breeder brought Frank and Louie (otherwise brilliantly known as Frankenlouie) to the Tufts Veterinary Clinic in Massachusetts to be euthanized just one day after he was born, vet nurse Marty Stevens just couldn’t resist his two faces (can you blame her?) and decided to bring him home with her.

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Although she wasn’t expecting Frankenlouie to live, she nurtured the kitten by carrying him around in a shoe box wherever she would go and feeding him through tubes in both of his mouths. Turns out that wasn’t exactly necessary. Only the Frank side (right) was connected to the esophagus. Not that it stops him from eating enough for two.

At first glance, Frankenlouie (that name is simply genius, isn’t it?) may appear quite jarring, but we think he’s just perfect the way he is. And so does Stevens, who claims that his outgoing nature — apparently Frankenlouie loves to take walks around the neighborhood —  is another reason why the cat has attracted such a following.

“He’s just so affectionate and sweet he usually wins people over,” Marty told the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.

Somehow, we don’t doubt it.

Erin Skarda is a reporter at TIME. Find her on Twitter at @ErinLeighSkarda. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.

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