# Two-faced cat - one animal or two?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-faced-cat-one-animal-or-two/598015
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [September 29, 2011, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-faced-cat-one-animal-or-two/598015 "2011-09-29T15:10:22Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2011, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-faced-cat-one-animal-or-two/598015/1 "2011-09-29T15:10:22Z")
[http://news.yahoo.com/mass-cat-2-faces-lives-12-years-sets-131909351.html](http://news.yahoo.com/mass-cat-2-faces-lives-12-years-sets-131909351.html)
So it seems to me if this sort of condition occurred in a human (conjoined twins that share one body, with two faces) they would still be considered two people. But this article consistently refers to “Frank and Louie” as one cat. Mind you, other than that extra face, they do look like one cat, but isn’t that technically incorrect?
Double standard for non-humans? Seems to me that if you referred to the [Hensel twins](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abigail_and_Brittany_Hensel) as one person, you’d make a jerk out of yourself, but for cats it’s okay? 😕
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-faced-cat-one-animal-or-two/598015/2 "2011-09-29T15:22:00Z")
I think for humans, it would matter whether there were two separate brains, or two seperate senses of consciousness. Otherwise, it’s one individual with two faces.
For animals without much noticeable personality (snakes, turtles), two heads might technically be two individuals, but it might not make enough difference to warrant calling it that - so you’d say it’s a two-headed snake.
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### Author:  [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-faced-cat-one-animal-or-two/598015/3 "2011-09-29T15:23:51Z")
I think it would have been better named Frankenlouie. 😃
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### Author:  [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2011, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-faced-cat-one-animal-or-two/598015/4 "2011-09-29T15:28:10Z")
As I understand it this particular cat has one brain. So it is one cat that just has a few extra body parts. It may have separate DNA in its different parts but that is not as [uncommon as one might think](http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/347046/chimeras_two_people_in_one_body_not.html).
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### Author:  [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-faced-cat-one-animal-or-two/598015/5 "2011-09-29T15:32:22Z")
Is there a dominant head?
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### Author:  [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2011, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-faced-cat-one-animal-or-two/598015/6 "2011-09-29T15:38:32Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#):
>
> Is there a dominant head?
There IS only one head. There are, however, two faces. That’s why it’s one individual, because there’s only one brain.
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2011, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-faced-cat-one-animal-or-two/598015/7 "2011-09-29T15:47:31Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#):
>
> As I understand it this particular cat has one brain. So it is one cat that just has a few extra body parts. It may have separate DNA in its different parts but that is not as [uncommon as one might think](http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/347046/chimeras_two_people_in_one_body_not.html).
The woman who wrote that article needs to bone up on her mythology and terminology.
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### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2011, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-faced-cat-one-animal-or-two/598015/8 "2011-09-29T15:48:33Z")
> [@jayjay](#):
>
> There IS only one head. There are, however, two faces. That’s why it’s one individual, because there’s only one brain.
So, you’re saying it only has one **Sarahbellum**? 🙂
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### Author:  [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2011, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-faced-cat-one-animal-or-two/598015/9 "2011-09-29T15:49:30Z")
Anyone else squicked about the prospect of clicking on that link and seeing any pictures? I’m certainly not brave enough…
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### Author:  [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-faced-cat-one-animal-or-two/598015/10 "2011-09-29T15:55:28Z")
> [@jayjay](#):
>
> There IS only one head. There are, however, two faces. That’s why it’s one individual, because there’s only one brain.
Well, but brains themselves have two halves, and in people (probably cats too), if you cut the _corpus callosum_ that connects the two brain hemispheres you get something at least approximating two centers of consciousness in one body (on some interpretations of the evidence, at least).
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### Author:  [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-faced-cat-one-animal-or-two/598015/11 "2011-09-29T16:00:15Z")
So is it a not so fully absorbed twin?
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### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-faced-cat-one-animal-or-two/598015/12 "2011-09-29T16:00:34Z")
> [@njtt](#):
>
> Well, but brains themselves have two halves, and in people (probably cats too), if you cut the _corpus callosum_ that connects the two brain hemispheres you get something at least approximating two centers of consciousness in one body (on some interpretations of the evidence, at least).
But not in this particular cat. Did you read the story linked in the OP?
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2011, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-faced-cat-one-animal-or-two/598015/13 "2011-09-29T16:02:35Z")
It depends on precisely what question you’re asking. The Hensel twins, for example, are two persons, but one organism. The specimen in the OP is likewise one organism, but might be two… Well, I’m not sure what the analogous term to “person” would be for animals, but it might be two of those.
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### Author:  [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2011, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-faced-cat-one-animal-or-two/598015/14 "2011-09-29T16:06:33Z")
Also, whether or not a two-headed person is _legally_ one person or two people may be very important. With cats, it’s probably less of an issue since it is unlikely a dispute would arise claiming that each head is owned by a different person.
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### Author:  [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2011, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-faced-cat-one-animal-or-two/598015/15 "2011-09-29T16:11:25Z")
I agree with the brain being the key to identity. This cat would appear to have only one. The Hensel twins certainly had two - that is one each.
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### Author:  [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2011, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-faced-cat-one-animal-or-two/598015/16 "2011-09-29T16:14:20Z")
[QUOTE=John DiFool]
Anyone else squicked about the prospect of clicking on that link and seeing any pictures? I’m certainly not brave enough…
[/QUOTE]
It’s not that bad, just think _Three eyed Picasso cat!_ Just looks like someone fumbled an edit in photoshop.
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### Author:  [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-faced-cat-one-animal-or-two/598015/17 "2011-09-29T16:21:38Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#):
>
> But not in this particular cat. Did you read the story linked in the OP?
I was not suggesting that this cat has had its _corpus callosum_ cut, or that there is any reason to think that _it_ is two animals. I was simply pointing out that number of brains is not necessarily equal to number of individuals or consciousnesses. To imply that it is, is a misleading oversimplification of the brain-consciousness-individual relationship.
ETA: And a very common oversimplification as well. I see **TruCelt** is doing it again.
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### Author:  [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-faced-cat-one-animal-or-two/598015/18 "2011-09-29T16:28:02Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#):
>
> It may have separate DNA in its different parts but that is not as [uncommon as one might think](http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/347046/chimeras_two_people_in_one_body_not.html).
Way too late to edit, but this sentence I wrote is probably wrong. I blame not enough coffee. Apparently it isn’t the case of a fraternal twin absorption or even a non separated identical twin. Its just a genetic problem called [Diprosopus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diprosopus) that leads to the extra copies of cranial features being created.
> [@](#):
>
> Although classically considered conjoined twinning (which it resembles), this anomaly is not normally due to the fusion or incomplete separation of two embryos. It is the result of a protein called sonic hedgehog homolog (SHH). (The unlikely-sounding name of this protein was inspired by the Sonic the Hedgehog videogame character[3] and is part of an idiosyncratic naming tradition in molecular biology research that some have criticized as frivolous.)[4][5]
>
> The SHH protein and its corresponding gene have been found to play an important role in signaling craniofacial patterning during embryonic development. Among other things, the SHH protein governs the width of facial features. In excess it leads to widening of facial features and to duplication of facial structures.[6] The greater the widening, the more of the structures are duplicated, often in a mirror image form. This has been demonstrated in the laboratory by introducing pellets of the SHH protein into chicken embryos, resulting in chickens with duplicate beaks. Insufficient amounts of that protein lead to opposite conditions such as cyclopia where facial features are insufficiently developed.[7]
So definitely not 2 cats any more than polydactyl cats are.
Sigh, must remember the sequence goes research first, post second. Not the other way around.☹
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### Author:  [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-faced-cat-one-animal-or-two/598015/19 "2011-09-29T16:41:22Z")
> [@jayjay](#):
>
> There IS only one head. There are, however, two faces. That’s why it’s one individual, because there’s only one brain.
Finally clicked to see the pic. Not the pure horror I had imagined. It looks like a cute cat badly photoshopped.
So, the brain processes the three eyes? It looked like one half head (right) had two eyes that were linked and the other hafl (left) had only one. How would that work?
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### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-faced-cat-one-animal-or-two/598015/20 "2011-09-29T17:18:09Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#):
>
> So is it a not so fully absorbed twin?
No. More like a not so fully divided twin.
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