# Is she real?



## jusjim (Jun 30, 2009)

Is she real, or has some clever photographer been playing games with a heterochromic cat? Could it be dye? 

Meet Venus the famous two-faced cat who's winning fans world-wide | Mail Online

Heterochromia. Chromia is colour, and I suspect hetero is different. Put the two together and it sounds very scientific.


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## kty78 (Mar 18, 2012)

Hmmm, it's hard to tell. I have seen animals with the face color divided like that. The eyes really top it all off, don't they?


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

I'd say it's possible, sure. Of course it's so rare that it's naturally got a lot of attention, though. I know a few cats with different colored eyes - they're white cats, though, which seems to be the most common odd-eyed cat coat color.

I searched online and the first page I found was a video of her, which adds a great deal of credibility.

Venus The Chimera Cat Attains Viral Fame (VIDEO)


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

Tried to edit my post again, and failed...

Odd-eyed cat - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## minikin44 (Aug 25, 2012)

*I believe it...*

I believe she's real. I've seen multiple pictures of her in different poses, and two videos... the owner also posted pictures of cats with similar patterning on the facebook page she made for the cat. If there can be one, there can be more. The cat also passed the "Snopes" test, if that means anything to you...


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## binkyhoo (Feb 16, 2003)

Aint that awesom! It is within the realm of possibility, but the one thing I find more curious is the blue eye on the orange side? I will need to read up on my kitty genetics.


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## JasonBond (Aug 25, 2012)

She's a chimera cat. Chimera cat is one individual organism, but genetically its own fraternal twin. A chimera is typically formed from four parent cells (either two fertilized eggs, or two early embryos that have fused together). When the organism forms, the cells that had already begun to develop in the separate embryos keep their original phenotypes and appearances. This means that the resulting animal is a mixture of tissues and can look like this gorgeous (but bizarre) kitty. 
She also has complete heterochromia, a condition when the eyes are different colours.


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

binkyhoo said:


> Aint that awesom! It is within the realm of possibility, but the one thing I find more curious is the blue eye on the orange side? I will need to read up on my kitty genetics.


There are orange cats with blue eyes... don't ask me how, but they are out there. I even saw one recently at my local shelter's adoption page.

Maybe they have Siamese in them, maybe not. It could also have something to do with the Ojos Azules cats, which I know nothing about besides that they exist. I've also read that the Ojos gene is similar to the Scottish Fold one in that two cats with the same gene should not be breed.


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## lyttleravyn (May 5, 2010)

I doubt she is a chimera. Her body coloring indicates Tortoiseshell which are Mosaic to begin with (mosaics combination of different color genotypes but in the same embryo, chimeras are combination of different color genotypes from 2 embryos combined), here's a good explanation with the link:


Mos*aics are more common than chimeras; in fact all female mammals (including humans) are mosaics. This is because females possess two X chromosomes, and one of these is always inactivated – in about half the cells it will be the X-chromosome from the mother, in the other half the chromosome from the father. The individual is therefore a mosaic of these two types. This leaves no trace in humans, but can be readily seen in tortoiseshell and calico cats where the coat colour (orange or black) is carried on the X-chromo*some. Their fur is an uneven, seemingly random patchwork of orange, white and black showing the distribution of the two types of cells. 

Chimeras and Mosaics | Science | Strange Days | Fortean Times

I have seen cats before with the divide down their face in Torties and Tortie-Points before. The black and red (orange) patched together is the sign of the mixed color combinations.


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## JasonBond (Aug 25, 2012)

Thank you for pointing that out! I paid more attention to her face than anything else.


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## Lucas718 (Feb 19, 2012)

She was on the Today show this morning. Seemed like a really sweet cat.


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## Lucas718 (Feb 19, 2012)

Carmel said:


> There are orange cats with blue eyes... don't ask me how, but they are out there. I even saw one recently at my local shelter's adoption page.
> 
> Maybe they have Siamese in them, maybe not. It could also have something to do with the Ojos Azules cats, which I know nothing about besides that they exist. I've also read that the Ojos gene is similar to the Scottish Fold one in that two cats with the same gene should not be breed.


My orange cat has a blue eye. The other is amber. It's pretty cool.


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## GhostTown (Jan 12, 2012)

Some friends and I have been following her story for the past few weeks. She is absolutely stunning. There are no words grand enough to describe how beautiful nature can be sometimes. That cat is the perfect example of it.


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## heston (Nov 17, 2011)

What seems odd to me is the exact middle of the face that changes color. It just seems like it was drawn there, just too perfect but who knows.


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

heston said:


> What seems odd to me is the exact middle of the face that changes color. It just seems like it was drawn there, just too perfect but who knows.


That's not unheard of... Torties can have a divide like that, it's call "split face"... this one in particular happens to be very precis.


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## GhostTown (Jan 12, 2012)

Carmel said:


> That's not unheard of... Torties can have a divide like that, it's call "split face"... this one in particular happens to be very precis.


My Alice.


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## Calisphere (May 14, 2011)

I saw her photo on Facebook and was wondering if she was considered a chimera or a mosaic. She's pretty either way.


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## fruitriver (Feb 10, 2012)

Wow shes amazing! So adorable! Her whole body looks just like my tortoise shell, Emmy. She seems real to me!


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## cinderflower (Apr 22, 2012)

jusjim said:


> Heterochromia. Chromia is colour, and I suspect hetero is different. Put the two together and it sounds very scientific.


hetero = opposite. think about it, heterosexual. anyway, that only refers to her eyes. the way the color is split on her face fur looks suspicious, but if you look closely at her nose you can better see the slight imperfections you'd expect. especially on the end.

my gut reaction to anything like this online is "clever photoshopping," but look at dutch rabbits. it's possible. she's a beautiful cat regardless.


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## Sinatra-Butters (Aug 9, 2010)

I wonder which side of her is the cuddly one and which side wants to claw your eyes out.

I'm guessing the torti is the mean one.


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## hrlw817 (Oct 4, 2012)

I think she's real. If you look real close at a pic of her straight on, you will see that her whiskers are black on the black side, and one tiny white whisker. and all white on the orange side. My all black cat has black whiskers, and gets a white one every so often. Also, look at her green eye. The picture I have seen of her, shows the light reflecting from the camera and lights. I don't think anyone would really go through the time to create features that exact. Photoshop is good, but, you can 98% of the time know when it's Photoshopped. Besides, there are videos of her walking and jumping around.


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Ive seen several split face torties but never with two different color 
eyes. I actually downloaded the photo when I saw her on FB. 
I thought it was so cool!


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## jadis (Jul 9, 2011)

No where near as dramatic, but this girl that our rescue has is getting alot of attention because of the other one.... Petfinder Adoptable Cat | Calico | Alpharetta, GA | Iris


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Jadis she is a beauty. I could stare at her all day long. So sad her owner had to give her up. Seems during his recover he would need her the most! How could a cat compromise this mans health? I hope she is adopted right away!


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## jadis (Jul 9, 2011)

Mitts & Tess said:


> Jadis she is a beauty. I could stare at her all day long. So sad her owner had to give her up. Seems during his recover he would need her the most! How could a cat compromise this mans health? I hope she is adopted right away!


I have no idea what a stem cell transplant entails, but I do know I would definitely want my animals with me if I was ill. It would be heartbreaking not to be able to keep them.


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