Science fiction has done a great job at making the concept of genetic mutation so frightening that even thinking of it happening in real life following a nuclear disaster might send chills down one’s spine.
Well, genetic mutations do happen in real life without it being an apocalyptic Fallout scenario. The results might vary, but it can just be an aesthetic change making you look unique and cool.
Animals are no different in that regard. Folks all over the internet are sharing the one-of-a-kind genetic mutations their pets were born with, and We has gathered them all into this neat little list, so enjoy!
#1 Injury At Birth Left Rae With Only The Right Ear. As She Grew, It Migrated To The Top Of Her Head, Making Her A Unicorn
#2 Meet Cinnamon. She Was Born With Ears That Look Like Cinnamon Rolls
#3 This Is Heidi. She Has Vitiligo
So, a genetic mutation is when DNA—that thing that determines who we are as organisms and how we go about being organisms—is replicated and something wrong happens. An error.
In simple terms, DNA is made up of parts that, when put together, determine one thing or another about our bodies. However, sometimes, the parts can get mixed up, additional parts might be added, or subtracted, this leading to mutations.
#4 Frankenkitten The Four-Eared, One-Eyed Cat From Victoria, Australia
#5 My Rare Brown Cat Here. Here’s Bodhi For Your Viewing Pleasure
He is a Suffolk Chocolate cat and has a very unique personality to match his rare brown coat. He is my best friend.
#6 This Is Mr. Poppins. He Has No Teeth
There are a handful of types of genetic mutations in animals. Without getting super nerdy, the DNA code (or parts thereof) can get mixed up in multiple ways: it can get deleted or inserted, duplicated, inverted, frame-shifted, among other ways. These can affect individual cells or entire chromosomes depending on the circumstances, thus leading to varying degrees of mutation.
#7 A Black Vitiligo Kitty
#8 My Dalmatian Is The Size Of A Corgi. He’s The Only One From His Litter To Have Chondrodysplasia (Canine Dwarfism)
#9 I Met A 14-Year-Old Dog With Vitiligo This Morning
So, how do animals get their mutations in the first place?
These can happen throughout the life of an animal or can be inherited from a parent. If a cell is affected by a mutation during life, it’s likely that derivative cells from it will also carry the mutation. In this case, it often only affects a small amount of cells, but inherited mutations, however, will affect all of the offspring cells.
#10 One Of My Bestie’s Kittens Has Dwarfism
He’s two months old and he’s barely the size of one of her pet rats. He is so small but so mighty. His name is Roger, and he’s a cutie.
#11 This Is Mitch. He Has An Extra Vertebrae, So His Tail Is Extra Long. He Carries It On His Back Like A Squirrel
#12 If You Never Saw One, Here Is An Albino Raccoon
Mutations are spontaneous. They happen during the process of replicating DNA. And since the body goes through quite a bit of these throughout the day, errors are bound to happen.
Now, the body does have mechanisms to deal with these errors. The biological mechanism that creates DNA also checks it for errors and if something is wrong, it attempts to fix it. I say attempts because it’s not always successful.
#13 My Beautiful Albino Ragdoll
#14 Maximus Has Some Crazy Whiskers
#15 Jinx Has Unusually Large Eyes And Feet – He Was Once The Mayor Of Hell, Michigan
If you’re wondering how the body does repairs, there are essentially 3 ways to go about it: [1] direct reversal, whereby enzymes directly undo the damage done by the DNA-creation chemical reaction; [2] excision repair, whereby the enzymes quite literally remove the wrong part to be replaced by the right one; and [3] double-stranded break repair, which is when a whole chromosome breaks into two, essentially, and the body fixed that.
#16 First Time In My Life I Saw A Horse With A Mustache
#17 My All-Black Cat Had Five All-White Kittens
#18 My Friend’s Cat Has A Comically Long Tail
How much something will be affected by a mutation depends on the size and location.
The effects of germ line mutations, for instance, can vary from neutral to detrimental to beneficial.
#19 Meet Mochi, Our Adorable Rescue Kitty With Three Legs, No Ears, And No Tail
#20 My Cat Olaf Has Heterochromia (One Green Eye, One Blue Eye) And When Photographed With A Flash On He Only Gets Red Eye In His Blue Eye
#21 This Is Beaux Tox. He Was Born With A Facial Deformity
If the effect is neutral, this means that the mutation affected the DNA that has no function or the part that doesn’t affect amino acid sequences.
In serious cases, mutations can limit or completely destroy an animal’s ability to survive or reproduce. Marfan syndrome, for example, can affect cattle, specifically their heart and blood vessels, the skeleton and muscle tissue, and even cause ocular diseases.
#22 This Beautiful Dachshund With Vitiligo
#23 This Is My Handsome, Cross-Eyed Cat, Gus
#24 The Absolute Ears On This Bunny
Other genetically-caused illnesses in animals include epilepsy, polydactyly (extra fingers or toes), cancer, congenital heart anomalies, eosinophilic skin disease, polycystic kidney disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, progressive retinal atrophy, vitiligo, among others.
#25 Chocolate Brown Tuxedo Kitten
This was posted by a Northern Colorado TNR organization, shared with them by a trapper in Denver where this cutie was apprehended. They said that brown is a rare genetic mutation of the gene for black fur, and that they trapped another brown cat in the area. He’s already spoken for, so wish him a happy life off the streets!
#26 Meet Quasimodo, The Dog With The Short Spine. Even If You’re Different You Can Still Enjoy Life
#27 Scrappy, A Cat With Vitiligo
But there are also mutations that benefit the body. Insects can develop an immunity to pesticides that cover certain crops. Not really good for humans, but, hey, the animal found a way to survive, so it benefits it.
Another example is nylon-eating bacteria. Now, it might not necessarily benefit the bacteria itself, but it does solve the problem of degrading nylon-based waste.
#28 A Highlander Came In Today. 24 Toes In Total
#29 A Permanently Startled Rescue Cat Shocks Social Media With His Sweet, Expressive Face
#30 Blaze, The Vitiligo Labrador
If you’ve enjoyed this listicle of cute, inspiring and interesting genetic animal mutations, there’s more where that came from on We.
But if you can’t be bothered with that, why not leave a comment and upvote before you go on your next online adventure?
#31 My Friend’s Cat Bianca Has Thumbs
#32 Duo Is A Special Kitten With Two Faces On One Head. Duo Has A Condition Commonly Known As “Janus”, Also Known As Craniofacial Duplication
#33 My Friend Ran Into This Cat Today. Never Seen This Combination Before
#34 Meet Ivy, The Pitbull With Short Spine Syndrome. She Is A 3-Year-Old Queen Now
#35 It’s A Very Weird Webbing In My Cat’s Eye (The Vet Has Checked It, Nothing Harmful)
#36 Full-Time Cat. Part-Time Gargoyle
This is Wilbur. He’s my soulmate! He is albino and the black crust is due to an autoimmune disease. He’s very happy and healthy.
#37 This Is Our Polydactyl Boy, Jax! He’s Odd
Lynx-Siamese, for anyone wondering.
#38 Here’s A Pic Of My Chonky Rottweiler, Kaiser. He Was Born With Gigantism So He Was Absurdly Large As A Puppy And Is Still Large
#39 Met This Unique Gentleman At A Petting Zoo This Weekend
#40 Our New Highlander Kitten… Polydactyl On All Four Paws And Curled Ears. We Love Our Unique Little Kitty
#41 My Cat’s Fangs Are So Long His Mouth Doesn’t Close All The Way
#42 I Met A Dog With 2 Noses At Work
#43 Gioia And Her Beautiful Wavy Fur (Cornish Rex Cat)
#44 Roo Was Born With A Condition Called Radial Hypoplasia Which Means That His Front Forelegs Are Abnormally Short And Twisted
This is where it all began, well one of his new beginnings anyway. As a tiny kitten (prior to this pic) someone witnessed someone else throwing something into a lake in a plastic bag and heard meowing. The person saved Roo and brought him to animal control where Florida Humane Society took him to treat him and find him a home.
Apparently, someone didn’t think he deserved to live because he was different. He doesn’t use his right front leg to put weight on so he is more or less a tripod cat when he walks and he stands in the position you see here. We think there is less bone in that right leg than the left leg since it never touches the ground. He was otherwise healthy and required no special treatment as cats born with this adapt very well to getting around having known life no other way. He was adopted out not long after this photo was taken.
#45 Unique Looking Akita
#46 My Tiny Little Potato, Whose Ears Never Seemed To Grow
#47 This Kitten From Sonoma Was Born With 24 Toes
#48 My Dog Buster Has The Skin Condition Vitiligo. It Causes Depigmentation Of The Skin (And Fur). It’s Been 9 Months Between These Pictures
#49 My Cat Has Wide-Spaced Eyes
#50 Polly – Polydactyl, Checking In! 8 + 7 = My Two Front Feet
My name is Polly. I talk with my people, like cuddles, and I nibble on noses, ears, and hair because some monster left me in a dumpster before I was properly weaned. I have a good life and a good sister-friend Crackers now though.
#51 Cute Little Boy Looking For Attention (Persian With Hypertrichosis)
#52 My Polka-Dotted Lizard, Metric. Born Footless
#53 She’s So Unique With Her 3-Colored Eyes
When I adopted her I thought her eyes would be green and blue and as she grew the blue revealed a hazel corner that makes her unique. I love her so much, she’s 4 now and my very best friend.
#54 Curly Brow
#55 My Cat Was Born With Two Different-Sized Ears
#56 Furry Baby Yoda
#57 Introducing My Foster Kitty Who Was Born With Only Three Legs
#58 Bean Does The Best Baby Bat Impression
Her nose didn’t develop properly so her nostrils are inside her mouth where her incisors are.
#59 Meet Garfield! He Was Born With A Unique Smile And Loves Life
#60 I Heard You All Like Whiskers, So Here You Go
#61 Dog Born With Nose Trying To Become Two Noses
A coworker sent these to me from another hospital she was helping at. No concerns, been like that since birth.
#62 A Gecko At My Parents’ House With A Deformed Trident Tail
#63 Bentley’s Lucky Paw
#64 My Dog’s Nose Has Slowly Been Turning Black Over The Last 9 Years
#65 This Dood Has A Slight Genetic Mutation That Keeps His Facial Hair A Little Short. He Was The Only One In His Litter To Look Like This
#66 This Gorgeous Girl With Canine Vitiligo Deserves All The Treats In The World
#67 My Cat Carl Has Freakishly Long Arms
#68 His Name Is Sky, You Can See Why
#69 My Parent’s Cat Has A Single White And Curly Whisker, The Rest Are Black
#70 Today We Achieved Maximum Ears
#71 Too Many Beans – 7 On Each
#72 This Is Memphis. He Was Born With Two Noses
#73 My Low Rider With Dwarfism. He’s A Rottweiler/Australian Shepard
#74 Curled Polydactyl Footsies
#75 Meet Atlas – Staffy/Boxer/Aussie With Vitiligo. He Has A Tail That Wags 100 Miles Per Hour
#76 My Cat Has Different Colored Claws
#77 All 4 Of My Cat’s Paws Have Unique Black/Pink Combinations
#78 This Is Kaylis, My Sweet, Special Boy. He Was Born With Half-Eyelids, So He Always Looks Grumpy, But He’s The Sweetest Boy
#79 My Cousin’s Cat Has Only Two Toe Beans
#80 My Red Heeler Mix Puppy Has Sectoral Heterochromia That Runs Straight Through The Middle Of Her Eye, Giving Her A Half-Brown And Half-Blue Iris
#81 Sir Chonks. Yes, That’s My Dalmatian With Dwarfism. He Smol
#82 Both Of These Kittens Are Genetically Black, But One Has Albinism
#83 Anyone Else’s Tortie Has Opposite Color Whiskers And Eyelashes?
#84 My Two Pups Put On Their Best Bow Ties To Introduce Themselves – Ruby And Dino, They Both Have Canine Dwarfism
#85 This Cat I Rescued From The Street Has Partial Heterochromia
#86 My Special Boy
Bruno was one of four in his litter born with a cleft palate, and the only survivor He needed tube feedings around the clock for the first few months of life. He’s now almost 2 years old and 80 lbs. He’s the sweetest, goofiest, happiest boy.
#87 This Is Cali. She Was Born With 3.5 Legs And Is The Sweetest Cat I’ve Ever Known. She Is A Certified Derpy Princess
#88 Roary Is A Small Dog – Only With Very Long Legs
Roary is a rescue from Bosnia and was found to be an unusual mix between a Chihuahua and a German Shepherd, hence why his legs are a bit longer than your average Chihuahua’s!
#89 Unique Eyes. Never Seen Tri-Colored Eyes Before We Met Milo
#90 Dwarfism In Chickens? + Crazy Polydactyly
This is my sweet lady, Matilda. She is a naked neck, frizzle, silkie mutt, who I believe is inbred and also has dwarfism. I adopted her from Craigslist. She got terribly attacked by another hen of mine, so I’ve been keeping her inside until her feathers grow back. During this time I noticed a plethora of ridiculous things with her: her skin and toes were so pale, she had barely any energy, and she’s got poly-polydactyly (there are toes on her extra toes!). No matter what, she is always freezing or overheating, her feathers are always falling out and super dry or growing incorrectly. Despite being a similar age to my other silkies, Matilda is so tiny (3rd pic is her next to a 6-month-old silkie rooster).
#91 Where It Started And Where We Are Now At 9 Weeks Old
Winter is the runt of her litter, and she has a fast metabolism, but she’s growing up big and strong. Loving her heterochromia. And yes she can hear from both ears. We got her checked.
#92 My Cat Only Has One Eyebrow
#93 This Dog With A Split Nose
#94 My Cat Has Double Canines, A Condition Known As Retained Deciduous Teeth
#95 Fitzgerald And His Favorite Toy
#96 Gizmo And His One Curly Whisker
#97 Figured You Would Find This As Interesting As My Colleagues And I. A Baby Hare With A Severe Cleft Palate, No Nose (Or Nostrils) Formed
#98 My Puppy, Edgar, Has All-White Whiskers On One Side And All-Black On The Other
#99 Polydactyly Dragon
I thought I knew everything about my boy but only noticed tonight that he has an extra toe on one of his back feet! He is in the middle of finishing a shed on his legs so that’s why the coloration is off but I was so excited when I saw this! He is 2 years old.
#100 Amber With Her Extra Toes
#101 Dwarfism In Chickens
I never knew dwarfism was a thing in chickens. All three of these hens are from the same hatching.
#102 My Dog Salem Has Persistent Pupillary Membrane
#103 Albino Ball Python
#104 Y’all Want Some Beans?
#105 Pumpkin Spice, Paw-Print Nose, Papillon Season Has Officially Started
#106 My Dog’s Iris Has A Dark Spot
#107 My Dog Has Heterochromia
#108 A Golden Retriever Puppy With 6 Toes Came Into This Vet’s Office
#109 Tailless Kitty
It’s a birth defect I think, her front legs are shorter than the back, runs like a rabbit hopping.
#110 A Tale Of Two Tailless Best Buds
#111 My Friend’s Illegally Small Cat Has Dwarfism (Small Suitcase And Hand For Scale)
She’s a sick little lady due to her health conditions, but she’s still living her best life! She’s 5 lbs, smaller than your average toaster and pictures will never do her smollness justice.
#112 My Autistic Cat With Some Extra Features
#113 This Is Lumi (~2 Years) She Has Polydactyly And Lives With Hazel (~9.5 Years) Who She Sometimes Uses As A Pillow
#114 My Friend’s Cat Has Extra Toes
#115 Our Rescue Kitten Is Polydactyl
#116 A Puppy With One Eye, 2 Tongues, And No Nose
#117 Say Hi To Stevie. She’s Got A Cleft Palate But Doesn’t Seem To Mind. Loves People And Animals, Hates Trash Bags And Snores Like A Bear. 8 Months Old And 100% A Goofball
#118 My Cat Has 2 Thumbs On Each Paw
#119 Reservation Dog With An Extra Toe
#120 My Dog Has Extra Toes On Her Hind Legs And They Wiggle When She Walks. They’re Boneless And Cute
