A kitten born with a rare congenital condition in Brazil is drawing global attention after being dubbed the “cyclops cat” due to its single eye.
The unusual feline was born on November 4 in the city of Vilhena, in the state of Rondonia. According to local farmhand Gilberto Almeida, the kitten was part of a litter of four, but was the only one to exhibit the rare deformity. Almeida told NewsX, “I’m 32 years old and I’ve never seen anything like this in my life. My cat has had several litters, but this was the first time something like this happened.”
A video that has since gone viral shows Almeida holding the tiny black kitten, whose appearance has been compared to fictional creatures due to its unusual facial structure. Despite the intrigue it generated online, the so-called cyclops cat died just two days later on November 6, reportedly due to complications related to breathing.
Veterinarian Janete Silva explained that the condition, known as cyclopia, occurs when the brain fails to divide properly into two hemispheres during embryonic development. This anomaly causes the eyes to form in a single central cavity instead of two separate orbits. “As the eye follows this division, it ends up positioned in the center,” Silva said.
Cyclopia, the condition that gave rise to the “cyclops cat,” is extremely rare and often results in miscarriage, stillbirth, or early death. It affects fewer than one in 100,000 births, according to medical sources. In both animals and humans, survival is usually limited to a few hours or days due to associated respiratory issues.
While tragic, the birth of the cyclops cat has shed light on the little-known condition and sparked discussions about genetic abnormalities in both animals and humans.