World’s Oldest Janus-Faced Cat Dies

Frank and Louie, a Guinness World Record-holding Janus cat, passed away on Thursday at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in Grafton on Thursday.

The two-faced cat was 15-years-old when he died on Thursday, outliving his closest Guinness competitor by three years. Janus cats almost never survive and most have congenital disorders. Frankie and Louie’s owner Martha “Marty” Stevens took the cat in back in September of 1999 when its mother most likely rejected him due to his “oddity.”

Although the veterinarians dissuaded her from taking the cat home saying that he would die in a few days, Marty asked “Can I try to save him?” She explained to the News Telegram that “the next day I came in with him, and the next day, and we started thinking he was going to survive,” she said. “I tube-fed him until he was 3 months old because I was afraid he wouldn’t be able to eat.

Although Marty is sad about Frank and Louie’s unexpected death, she would take another one in in a heartbeat.  Marty said that she knows that they are very rare.