Cyclops Kitty

Time for that end-of-the-year wrap up and I was thinking about some of the more unusual things I’d seen this year, and thought of Cylcops Kitty. The cat belonged to Traci Allen and was born a year ago today on December 28th, 2005. She says the kitten she named Cy, short for Cyclops, was born with one single eye and no nose. Allen said she stayed up all night with the deformed kitten on her recliner, feeding Cy a liquid formula through a syringe. She says she cared for the kitten the next day as well, until it died that evening. The name of this deformity is called “Holoprosencephaly”, and Life Science discusses the case in length. Some bloggers have questioned the authenticity of the photo distributed. AP regional photo editor Tom Stathis said he took extensive steps to confirm the one-eyed cat was not a hoax. Boing Boing lists “Cyclops Kitty” as one of its most trafficked posts for 2006 Cyclops Kitty by Kipling West Many folks were inspired by the kitten, including artist Kipling West, who painted the lovely “Cyclops Kitty”. Kirsten Anderson and Marlow Harris at Roq la Rue Gallery with Cyclops Kitty I, myself, was so inspired I had to own Cyclops Kitty for myself. Is that so wrong? Here I am with the painting and Roq la Rue gallery owner Kirsten Anderson, in front of this, by now, almost sacred work of art. The gal who owned Cy said she’d never sell her on Ebay, implying that was bad, but apparently selling it to John Adolfi of the New Creation Museum was ok. The owner of the now-dead cyclops kitten sold it to John because a blogger had written that it was “the icon of atheism,” and she didn’t like that. John plans to take the pickled feline on tour this summer, and will later make it the centerpiece of his museum. Other artists were inspired too, including Martha Sue and Phil Corbett. And if you don’t want a doll or don’t own a painting, you can buy your own made from durable latex and completely submersible, from Fiendish Curiosities.