Persian cat has two-headed kitten

RATCHABURI: Persian cat has given birth to a rare two-headed kitten and her owner is determined to keep it alive as long as possible.

Chabaprai Nilpet, 52, of Moo 2 village of tambon Don Krabueang in Ban Pong district, said the mother cat gave birth to a normal kitten on Monday, but appeared to have difficulty delivering more.

She took it to a clinic where the veterinarian performed a caesarean, delivering two more kittens - and to the surprise of everyone, one of them had two heads, Mrs Chabaprai said.

The rare bicephalic kitten was having trouble breathing, so the vet stimulated its lungs and its life-force strenghtened.

Back home, Mrs Chabaprai said she used a syringe to feed the odd-but-lovable kitten, because it could not suck milk directly from its mother. She also regularly rubbed its chest to stimulate its lungs.

"I named the left head Thong (gold) and the right one Ngern (silver). I will give it the best care so that it can live as long as possible, because I have never seen such a rare cat," she said.

Mrs Chabapral is a professed cat-lover, and has about 10 of them.