Kitten season always brings a surge of new arrivals, but in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, this year’s kitten season brought more than just a flood of kittens—it brought literal floods. Amidst this chaos, a rare and lucky kitten named Audio emerged, capturing the hearts of rescuers and the community.
Kitten Floods and Literal Floods Hit ‘True Rescue’
Rescuers at “True Rescue” have been dealing with an overwhelming influx of kittens and puppies needing help, but in late July, they also faced an unexpected challenge: torrential rains caused rare overnight floods, not once, but twice in a row!
As water levels rose, cats instinctively sought higher ground, perching atop cat towers while others were found sitting in water up to four inches deep in the most affected areas.
Fortunately, all 250+ cats were safe, but the floods significantly stalled rescue efforts during their busiest time of the year. The damage was so extensive that the rescue now needs to install a costly drainage system and make foundation repairs. Thankfully, local news brought attention to their plight, and the community responded with an outpouring of support.
“The overwhelming response from the community hit them in the heart on a wonderful level,” the rescuers shared.
“There was no fighting, no judging of our building, no egos or big personalities, and no arguing of religion or politics. There was nothing but just community love and support, with a mutual love of animals and people coming together and simply asking, ‘How can I help?’ We have always been the rescue that says ‘yes’ and ‘How can we help?’ and to now be on the flip side of that, being the ones in need, it was a real ‘pay it forward’ moment,” said Executive Director Amy Simcik.
A Rare Kitten Named Audio with Four Ears
Amidst the backdrop of these extreme floods, the rescue took in a litter of four kittens, one of which stood out for a remarkable reason.
When they took the kitten named Audio out of the carrier, they noticed something extraordinary: nestled inside his larger ears were two smaller, rear-facing ears!
![Video via Facebook/True Rescue]
Such an unusual kitten deserved a fitting name, so they named him Audio. In similar cases, these smaller ear flaps, called pinna, are usually non-functional, but sometimes, the kittens can hear with all four ears!
“Welcome to True Rescue, Audio, where love has no boundaries!”
“EXTREMELY RARE so lend me your ears (snicker)! This kitten came into our shelter today with his 3 other siblings, and he has a rare genetic mutation having been born with FOUR EARS! You ‘heard’ me right (snort)! The last kitten we were able to find research about that had 4 ears came from Turkey and was from 2 years ago,” True Rescue shared.
![Video by Good Morning America featuring Audio the kitten]
A veterinarian is caring for Audio, who will keep his two extra ears unless they cause health issues. Until then, he’s brought great luck to the rescue exactly when they needed it most!
“For Audio to come at this time…it really does feel like a good luck charm,” said Kristin Condite, director of operations, to WGN9.
Thanks to Audio, True Rescue received additional national attention as they continue recovering from the storms. To keep up with the influx of kittens and puppies, they need to adopt out about 150 to 200 animals each month!
Follow and Support True Rescue
You can follow and support True Rescue on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and their website.
Midas the Four-Eared Cat from Turkey
Aside from being harder to clean, Audio’s extra ears will hopefully not cause ongoing health issues. As previously shared, a gorgeous kitty named Midas from Turkey was also born with four ears, and she hears out of them all. While Midas has an additional jaw defect, she is otherwise doing great! We’re happy to see that she recently celebrated her third birthday.
