Abnormally Strange Cats That Actually Exist

Cats, love them or hate them, they’re undeniably pretty peculiar creatures. From faces not even a mother could love, to Dracula cats, and even some felines with 2 heads and 6 legs, let’s check out some abnormally strange cats that actually exist!

Venus, The Two-Faced Cat

Have you ever seen a two-faced cat? Meet Venus, the two-faced cat! With a face split perfectly down the center, Venus almost looks like some kind of Franken-cat stitched together. So much so, you’ll notice that she not only has different colored eyes, but her nose is even split into two different colors too!

But what exactly is going on here? So while different colored eyes (heterochromia) is a pretty rare genetic quirk in humans, it’s more common in animals, including cats. However, Venus’ condition goes way beyond heterochromia, with some professionals attributing her split-kitty-appearance to her being a chimera. That fancy word means Venus might actually be the result of two or genetically-distinct early-stage embryos that fused together in the womb, one of which possessed red tabby genetics, the other possessing black fur genetics. Despite still being somewhat of a biological mystery, Venus is otherwise completely healthy and as normal as a cat with over 2.2 million Instagram followers can be. It’s always a humbling feeling to realize that a literal cat is more popular than you are.

Cat With Two Heads

As for cats that actually have two faces, this sort of thing has actually happened a handful of times! One example sprang up in 2022 when Ariel Contreras and his wife found that their cat had unexpectedly gone into labor. The kittens emerged into the world and made their first meows, and Ariel and his wife witnessed the miracle of life. This one has 2 heads! Safe to say that the couple were pretty shocked.

Meet Harvey the TWO HEADED Kitten #shorts by NBC New York

However freaky this might seem, there is actually an explanation. This two-headed tabby is what’s known as a Janus cat, gaining its name after the two-faced Roman God, Janus. This incredibly rare condition is due to a congenital disorder called craniofacial duplication, which, unlike our chimera cat earlier, doesn’t usually involve the incomplete fusion of two embryos.

Occurring in both humans and animals, the disorder does happen in the embryo stage, but only when there is an excessive hyperactivity from the gene responsible for instructing the width of facial features, and duplication of facial structures.

Put simply, this gene is responsible for the development of the face, brain, and skull. And by contrast, when the gene under-performs, it can result in the opposite; as seen in this one-eyed kitten in the image below, for which the condition is known as cyclopia, which is, sadly, almost always a death-sentence.

But returning to the Janus kitten, which the couple named Harvey, he had basically two of everything: two sets of eyes, two noses, two mouths, and even two brains, all squeezed into one skull! Dr Tim Addis, the vet who dealt with Harvey, assured that, if bottle-fed, Harvey would have a great chance of survival.

As a matter of fact, one of the most famous two-headed cats, FrankenLouie, made it to the ripe old age of 15! So, looks like we might be seeing our two-faced pal, Harvey, for a little while longer.

Cat With Six Legs

If two-faced cats weren’t already freaky enough, meet our next cat, Pauly. Currently, he’s like any ordinary cat though, you ought to have seen him before his surgery! And it wasn't some kind of Hollywood style face-lift, believe it or not there was a time when Pauly had 6 legs!

Pauly the six-legged stray to have extra limbs removed by Edmonton Journal

When he was found by the Little Cats Lost Society wandering the streets of Edmonton in Canada, he had 2 extra appendages dangling from his underbelly. These, were non-functional, and as you can imagine, hindered his agility. But it was Pauly’s lucky day, as the charity immediately sought medical attention and, after some online fundraising, were able to have his spare wheels surgically removed. The question is, why did Pauly have 6 legs in the first place?

The likely scenario was that, as an embryo, Pauly had absorbed a partially-formed sibling in the womb. This rare anomaly can result in the growth of what appear to be extra appendages, which are remnants of the absorbed sibling. In fact, it wasn’t just extra legs that Pauly had borrowed from his twin, but an extra testicle too! Though unfortunately, all three of his baby-makers were removed during the surgery.

Thankfully, Pauly is now a happy and healthy cat with an appropriate amount of legs. Perhaps they could donate his extra legs to the photoshopped cat from the meme below, which looks as if it’s missing it’s back two? This image actually triggered a photoshop battle on Reddit, with submissions including Portal cat, smash cat, piano cat, etc.

Toilet-Trained Cat

This next cat, Courtney, is so refined and clever that she’s even mastered the little kitten’s room, if you will.

Courtney the cat masters human toilet by ABC7

Astonishingly, according to Courtney’s owner, her potty usage is self-taught, seemingly having picked up the behavior from observing her owners! A potty-trained cat is impressive but the same, unfortunately, cannot be said for this next cat who is evidently yet to master the litter tray.

Тоже на море хочу by Кильть

But do you know what’s arguably even more unlikely than a toilet-trained cat? A cat that likes taking a bath! The species’ disdain for water is far from being a secret, which is actually due to their fur absorbing water and taking a long time to dry, making them less nimble and more vulnerable to predators. Just look at how utterly shocked and appalled the kitten below is by running bath water!

However, some kitties aren’t like the others. The kitten below surprisingly enjoys the relaxation of a long soak.

One cat that certainly isn’t relaxed, by contrast, is this next little fella, who seemingly lied on his resumé about being able to bravely catch a mouse.

Someone get that kitty some water to drink, he needs to calm down. Though, it seems for some weird cats, drinking is easier said than done. Take a look.

English Cat Completely Misses While Trying to Drink From Kitchen Sink by CatNips

Who’s gonna tell him that he’s not actually drinking anything? Then again, he seems chill, so who are we to get involved? Anyway, when it comes to cats drinking, we all know how much cats love a tipple of milk. Unfortunately, in reality, most cats are actually lactose intolerant, meaning that consuming milk could cause them stomach pain, diarrhoea, and even sickness. Still, that didn’t stop this next cat who took a certain opportunity by the udders and guzzled it fresh from the source.

Barn cat gets a sneaky sip of milk from leaky dairy cow by Localish

If that is disturbing, I’ve got another clip that is arguably more unsettling: a kitten feeding off a dog mother! Check it out.

Mama Dog Who Lost Her Puppies Was Heartbroken Until She Got Kittens | The Dodo by The Dodo

Interestingly, it’s actually not unheard of that a female dog may begin lactating, if they live with kittens who still require nursing. This is a natural biological response in the mother animal’s body to certain maternal behavior signals, like the high-pitched crying of puppies or kittens, and the relative visual similarity between babies of the two species. It goes the other way, too, and there have even been instances of female cats adopting baby squirrels, and nursing orphaned hedgehogs! So, perhaps cats and dogs aren’t the natural sworn enemies we think they are!

Chimera Cats & Cabbits

A chimera in the classical definition of the word represents a fusion of multiple different animals. Like mermaids, manticores, and centaurs, and historically, hybrid kitties have also fallen into that category. You may assume that hybrids between cats and other animals could have no possible basis in reality, bringing to mind some wild imagery, like the snail cat photoshop version of the stair kitty we mentioned earlier, or like these peacock-cats created by talented CG artists on the Novum Terram world-building wiki.

But there’s a lesser-known mythological hybrid creature with a long-standing history in cryptid folklore, and a surprising basis in reality. A fusion of a cat and a rabbit, known as a cabbit. They’re described as having a cat-like body shape, pointed ears, short front legs and larger hindlegs.

You’d be forgiven for thinking adorable photoshop renderings online are all we’ll ever see of the creatures, but there is in fact a factual basis for cabbits! In 1845, Scottish writer Joseph Train reported upon a cat-rabbit hybrid creature he observed while visiting the Isle of Man. While he was mistaken in his suggestion it was literally a hybrid of two species, the creature he wrote of did, and does exist, and is in fact a cat with remarkably rabbit-like features.

Meet the Manx cat! Native to the Isle of Man, this bizarre breed is naturally tailless due to a spinal genetic mutation. Their hind legs are also longer than their front legs, giving them a slightly more rabbity movement style.

Manx Cat on Isle of Man by Pen Cil

Their unusual set of genetic mutations can sometimes cause spinal issues, but for the most part, Manx reportedly make for great pets. Similarly cabbit-like is this next little lady, Roux, or, as she is called on Instagram, Lil Bunny Sue Roux. Having been born with what her owner calls ‘nubs’ in place of her front two legs, Roux has gained internet popularity due to looking like a bunny, amassing a meow-some 462,000 Instagram followers!

Impressively, in spite of her disability, Roux is able to maintain full mobility and mostly gets around via just her hindlegs, which, admittedly, does look pretty bunny-ish.

Spooky Cats

If cat-rabbits aren’t your cup of tea, then perhaps a wolf cat will be. Did you know that there is actually a rare breed of cat that looks like a wolf? The Lykoi cat, more commonly referred to as the wolf or werewolf cat, is a breed with a unique genetic quirk that causes it to have unusual, grey hair which grows less densely than regular cats, especially around the eyes, ears and mouth. Cute or creepy? You be the judge.

The scare-factor is never in doubt for some cats, though like this knife wielding criminal that will definitely Grand Theft Auto your ass if you don’t give him any kibble. You’ve been warned.

But as far as weird and spooky cats are concerned, they don’t come much spookier than a cat named Oscar. He's a normal-looking cat, but it’s not his appearance that makes him scary; it’s his behavior.

Back in 2007, Oscar had quite the reputation round Rhode Island. How so? Belonging to a nursing home, he would patrol the hallways and provide comfort to the residents. He wasn’t the friendliest cat, but would provide affection to certain people, at certain specific times.

And these specific times of affection are precisely where the scariness lies. Because it seemed that Oscar’s snuggles were, to a quite literal effect, the kiss of death. As crazy as this sounds, staff at the home noticed that when Oscar would choose to curl up in a resident’s arms, they would, within no more than a few hours, die.

Oscar the Cat by HyperionBooksVideos

This didn’t just happen once, nor twice or thrice. We’re talking 25 consecutive times, documented by staff and reported by several reputable news outlets! And sure, you could put this down to coincidence, but staff were convinced that Oscar truly possessed some kind of death-predicting supernatural power. So much so, the staff began alerting families when Oscar would snuggle up on their loved one’s lap, fearing that they would imminently kick the bucket.

World's Fattest Cat

Cats are typically known for their sleek slenderness, which allows them to effortlessly slink from one place to the next. Though that was evidently lost on this next cat who is, quite possibly, the world’s fattest cat. Say ‘meow’ to Russian pussycat, Liznya! Though with her waistline, ‘Lasagne’ would probably be a more fitting name.

This feline fatty weighed in at a scale-breaking 26-pounds at her heaviest, more than double the average house-cat weight, which left her with a floor sweeping underbelly and severely limited mobility. Other complications of being a plus-size puss could possibly include a weakened immune system, metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease, and arthritis, just to name a few!

But despite this cat looking like a relative of Jabba the Hutt, Liznya’s owner claims she has never tried to overfeed her. Instead, she insists that Liznya rapidly began to gain weight following a pregnancy. Still, even since being on a vet-recommended diet, and apparently losing 6 pounds, Liznya continues to resemble a literal fur-ball. Now that’s a real chonker.

So while Liznya is undoubtedly large in width, what about the world’s longest cat? Back in 2015, the official Guinness World Record title for longest cat was claimed by a Maine Coon named Ludo, from West Yorkshire in England.

OMG! ...our 38lb cat won't stop growing! by Ludo World's Biggest cat

Long-bodied Ludo measured at an impressive 3 feet and 10.59 inches, which, FYI, is about the height of an average 7 year old child! But by 2017, there was a new cat on the block, an even bigger cat, Omar: a Maine Coon from Australia who reportedly measured 3 feet and 11 inches.

Meet Omar, possibly the world’s longest cat by WION

However, while Omar was set to become the next reigning champ, he was pipped to the post by Barivel, an Italian stallion Maine Coon who is 3 feet and 11.2 inches long, and is currently the official world record holder.

Barivel: The Longest Cat in the World! - Guinness World Records by Guinness World Records

It’s important to note, if you didn’t already know, that Maine Coons are considered one of the largest breeds of domesticated cats, so it’s hardly surprising the world record for longest cat is held by, indeed, a Maine Coon. In fact, it’s actually not uncommon for the average Maine Coon to grow up to about 3 foot and 3 inches, which eclipses the average domestic cat that sprawls out to typically about 2 foot long.

Skateboard Cat

We all know that cats are very agile creatures they don’t say "a cat always lands on its feet" for nothing. But taking this agility to a-whole-other level is this next cat who has some pretty gnarly skills on the board. Check it out.

While the motivation to get on the board is certainly unique, the ability to balance is hardly surprising. Cats possess highly-flexible spines, counterbalancing tails, and finely-tuned inner-ears which allow them to precisely orient themselves even while in the air, collectively contributing to an amazing ability to balance while in motion. Yet again proving that cats are correct in thinking that they are better than us.

Lucy, The Bat Cat

Onto something a little weirder now, and this strange looking Sphynx cat is called Lucy, though she is better known as the Bat Cat. With her striking appearance, it’s easy to see why she has been given such a nickname.

Her bat-like looks are in part due to her breed, being a hairless sphynx cat, but also partially due to a rare condition known as hydrocephalus. This is essentially where there is an excess of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain, which can cause seizures, blindness, and neurological dysfunction, not to mention the physical characteristic of a dome-shaped skull.

Life certainly hasn’t been an easy ride for Lucy, from initially experiencing bowel incontinence, to needing surgery on her eyelids due to her misshapen skull. However, having now ironed out all of her health conditions, Lucy is somewhat of an online celeb, what with her having a somewhat impressive 31,000 Instagram followers.

Still on the topic of peculiar looking sphynx cats, allow me to introduce you to Xherdan.

Hardly a mystery, though, as to why he’s been dubbed the world’s scariest looking cat. But despite looking like some demon that clawed its way from the depths of hell, his owner insists he’s quote to be a "very lovely" cat. And while you might assume Xherdan has some kind of condition which causes him to look this way, the truth is he’s just a very wrinkly guy. His owner grew their Instagram page to 40,000 followers, before having it tragically hacked.

Let’s not forget that a normal sphynx cat is pretty wrinkly anyway due to their excess skin, not to mention terrifying. Just take a look at the cat below with all its wrinkles pulled tight. It’s like a raw chicken had a baby with a potato. Oddly mesmerising. Intriguing, yet, highly disturbing.

Wilfred Warrior Cat

When it comes to distinctive looking cats, they don’t come much more distinctive than this next little fella, Wilfred. With his bulging green eyes and severe underbite, the poor puss constantly looks as if he’s been on the losing end of a vicious cat-fight.

And while some might be quick to assume Wilfred’s striking look of dishevelment is maybe a photoshop job, it's a fact that he is genuine. Weird looking Wilfred has been capturing the internet’s imagination since 2018, becoming the center of many a meme. Particularly memes of the Steve Buscemi variety, with many spotting a resemblance between the two.

Funny Cats

If we’re talking about truly bizarre-looking cats, then get a load of this one, who I can only assume is called Dobby the House Cat.

A face only a mother could love with ears so big it could probably take flight in a strong wind. This weird-looking puss is belongs to the Siamese breed, which are famous for their oversized ears, making them look more like a Pokémon than a pet.

And speaking of Pocket Monsters, when one woman was attempting to treat her cat’s fungal infection, she decided to apply a turmeric scrub to the pure white cat. Needless to say that the poor cat ended up a fluorescent shade of yellow, and with just a few more markings could make a pretty good real-life Pikachu.

In a similar vein, in 2017, one cat was spotted prowling the streets of Varna, Bulgaria with a bright blue-green hairdo. Locals were baffled by the sight of the stray, but were eventually able to follow it to the source of its peculiar coloration: a large, abandoned paint can which it had been using as a shelter, picking up the residual hues of the interior!

On the topic of kitty hair-styling, this cat here has so much fur that it was able to get this sweet mohawk cut that makes it look like some kind of dragon-cat hybrid. Bizarrely, this style of cat-cut, known as a "dragon cut", isn’t a one-off. Countless examples exist of felines given this questionable fashion treatment.

Pallas Cat

Ever wanted to know what it would look like if a cat and a grizzly bear had a baby? Wonder no more, as that’s pretty much what a Pallas cat looks like.

Found mainly in parts of Central Asia, Pallas cats are one of the smallest species of wild cat, though their broad heads and thick fur still leave them looking somewhat chonky. Don’t try to pet them though! Their temperament is said to be similar to that of larger wild cats, making them innately aggressive.

If you were amazed at these abnormally strange cats, you might want to read about the rarest cats that exist. Thanks for reading!