Famous two-faced cat Frank and Louie dies at 15

Frank and Louie, the cat with two faces, defied the odds, making it to the age of 15 when most Janus felines don't live for longer than a few days.

Frank and Louie died last week after being diagnosed with cancer. He had two noses, two mouths, and one brain. The condition is caused when the abnormal activity of a protein results in the duplication of parts of a face. The term "Janus" comes from the two-faced Roman god.

Owner Martha "Marty" Stevens rescued Frank and Louie in 1999 when he was brought into a Worcester, Massachusetts, clinic at just a few days old to be put to sleep, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports. Stevens was warned that the cat would likely not survive, but she fed him through tubes for several months, and eventually he began to thrive.

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Frank and Louie gained worldwide attention after he became a Guinness World Record holder three years ago at the age of 12 as the oldest living Janus cat, and Stevens hopes she can one day make an impact on another rare feline in need. "I would love to do it again," she said.