Can you spot it?
One ordinary day at an auto repair shop, an employee stumbled upon a taped-up box left near the back gate. Inside, she discovered four tiny kittens. Acting swiftly, she contacted True Rescue, a Tennessee-based animal shelter, which took them in immediately.
True Rescue staff are accustomed to unusual stories, but when Kristin Condit, the shelter’s director of operations, began the intake process, she knew this situation was anything but typical. As she was about to inspect one of the kittens, another shelter worker named Ross pointed out something unusual.
“As I pulled him from the carrier, Ross asked, ‘What is that on his ear?’” Condit recounted.
To their astonishment, the kitten had an incredibly rare and adorable genetic anomaly: an extra pair of ears. These additional ears, nestled inside his regular ears and facing backward, created a “clamshell” effect, Condit explained.
“We quickly noticed that he could move all four ears,” Condit said.
The shelter staff had never encountered anything like this before.
“This mutation is congenital and extremely rare, requiring genetic contributions from both parents. We haven’t found any other reports of cats with rear-facing extra ears,” said Amy Simcik, executive director of True Rescue.
They decided to name the kitten Audio, humorously reflecting his “surround sound” hearing.
Initially, Condit and Simcik thought Audio was the only kitten with this rare feature. However, they soon discovered that two of Audio’s siblings also had small ear mutations — his tortoiseshell sister had a tiny extra ear on her right side, and his calico sister had one on her left.
To ensure that Audio’s extra ears weren’t causing him any issues, True Rescue took him to the vet. The vet confirmed that Audio was in perfect health and was thrilled to work with such a unique patient.
“You’ve never seen someone get so excited as our vet did when I brought him in,” Condit said. “He thought it was the coolest thing ever.”
After all he had been through, Audio deserved a happy ending. Simcik decided to adopt him herself.
“I chose to keep Audio,” Simcik said. “He’ll be an ambassador for feral cats.”
Though Audio now has his forever home with Simcik, anyone who met him won’t forget his remarkable uniqueness.
“He’s truly one of a kind,” Simcik said.