Double Ear Mite Problem?

A cat named Yoda made a big splash during the summer of 2008, thanks to his crazy kitty ears. He was born with an extra set of outer ear flaps, or pinnae, and once the photo was posted on the Internet, this kitten became a celebrity.

This genetic condition is not really rare. This condition is common enough to have been a subject of research for more than a half-century. You'll find everything you wanted to know about feline four-earedness (and even no-earedness) at the "Feline Medical Curiosities" Web site.

The four-ear trait affects only the outer ear flaps, or pinnae, and not the inner-ear mechanism. It's thought to be a recessive trait, manifesting itself only when the kitten inherits a rare genetic mutation from both sides of the family.




Having extra flaps wouldn't enhance hearing - in fact, it could be a handicap, which might explain why cats with the trait have generally lost out in the survival-of-the-fittest race. Some of the genes that lead to four-earedness may also play a role in other, more serious deformities that would kill the curious-looking cats before they were born. (That was the thrust of the 1957 research paper in the Journal of Heredity.)


Cats aren't the only critters that can go four-eared: Here's a video of a four-eared rabbit that was spotted last year in Bakersfield, Calif.