Four-eared cat 'a target for catnappers'

This four-eared cat is so rare that his owners keep him indoors to prevent him getting catnapped.

The feline, named Yoda, has two extra “flaps” behind his normal ears, but is otherwise in good health and appears to have perfect hearing.

His owners, who picked him out from a litter of eight-week-old kittens being handed around in a bar, say that local vets were mystified when they took him for a check-up. "We began to realise that we had something very special,” said Valerie Rock, 65. As a result, he has been an indoor cat and has a chip installed in case he gets lost,” she added.



"Yoda is so different that we were concerned that he might be catnapped.”

Yoda's extra ears – which are not thought to help him hear - are not attached to the base of his skull, with one placed slightly behind the other. They are believed to be the result of a genetic mutation.

Multi-eared cats are rare, but not unheard of. In 2004, a six-month-old cat with two extra ears was put up for adoption at an animal shelter in Germany, and in the same year Russian media reported that a kitten had been born with seven ears.