Venus, a fine and strikingly beautiful feline, has grabbed many
headlines as of late and become the latest Internet cat sensation.
That's because this cat has a very unique look to her; Venus, a chimera
cat, has what appear to be two different faces with two distinctly
different colored eyes on either side. Truly, the cat, whose face on one
side is black and completely calico on the other, is something to
behold. Venus first made headlines when her photo appeared on the
popular social sharing site Reddit about a month ago. From there, the
feline quickly rose to recognition after the photo went viral. A newly
created Facebook page in mid-August has already garnered over 27,000
likes, as the cat's appearance has piqued the curiosity of the
cat-loving masses.
This feline's odd but beautiful appearance is caused by her unique
genetic composition. As a chimera, Venus' genes are composed of two or
more different populations of genetically distinct cells that came from
her parents. As a result, half of her face is uniformly black, while the
other half is uniformly calico. As Venus' owner explained on her
Facebook page, "[Venus] little split face looked like a combo of the 2
cats I currently had (and still have)."
Venus’ appearance to have two faces as a chimera is not to be confused
with that of a Janus cat, a condition similarly described as
“two-faced”. Janus cats suffer from disprosopus, a condition that
affects craniofacial development and is usually life-threatening. On the
other hand, being a chimera has no effect on an animal’s lifespan.
Venus’ unique nature as a chimera cat is being used to help animals in
need; those flocking to see photos of the cat on Facebook are also
seeing other items in the feed that are working to promote worthy
causes. Taking advantage of those who are interested in seeing the cat,
Venus' owner is posting stories and items that are working to help
animals, either by highlighting specific causes or highlighting
adoptable pets in need of homes.
What do you think about Venus the chimera cat, and her owner’s Facebook
page working to promote a good cause? Share your thoughts in a comment.
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