Yoda The Cat - Four Eared Feline

A gray cat named Yoda was born with a strange defect - the feline has four ear flaps. The cat, one in a litter of eight, was put up for adoption by a bar owner in the South Side of Chicago in 2006.

The cat was adopted by Ted Rock and his family. Their pet cat of twenty years died six months before taking the cat that some believed was a "devil cat," into their home. His wife Valerie said that as soon as Ted held the cute kitten with extra ears, there was no doubt he was going to be their next family member.

She said, "Ted and I had just lost a cat that was our pet for over 20 years, and we were sure we were done with cats. When he was passed around he reached for Ted, crawled up into the crook of his neck and fell asleep - Ted was a goner. It was a done deal when the kitten made himself at home on Ted's shoulder. We decided to name him Yoda. I understand the Star Wars character was based on George Lucas' cat."

Picture of Yoda the cat with four ears.

Since this particular birth defect can cause hearing impairments, the Rocks have had Yoda examined by a number of different veterinarians and all of them have given him a clean bill of health.

It's no surprise that Yoda the four eared cat is kept indoors, since a cat like him would surely be the target of catnappers. Mr. Rock said, "We always let the cats go outdoors, but this one was so unusual we decided we didn't want to do that so we had him chipped, and we keep him inside."

Now Yoda leads a life of playing with the Rock's grandchildren. Not bad for a little gray cat in a world of little gray cats.