All cats, and all living individuals in general, are unique, I can give you that, but some are more unique, not because they’re superior to others, but because some individuals are more than just one individual. The latter statement might puzzle you. “What do you mean some individuals are more than just one individual? That’s elitist!” Now now, this is not what I meant at all! Actually, there’s a rare genetic condition that causes two or more zygotes to merge at the inception, making an individual a mix of two individual forming cells. The condition is poetically called “chimerism,” named after a Greek mythical creature Chimera, which was part lion, part goat, and part dragon… Actual chimerism isn’t as dramatic as in the myths, but, fortunately for us, it’s much more beautiful and wonderful to see in reality! Here’s Geri, a rare genetic specimen (or should I say specimens?) that has chimerism, and looks so cute that hundreds and thousands of fans find it hard to resist.
Meet Geri, a “chimera” Persian Ragdoll who’s becoming popular on the internet as of late
Image credits: Geri.cat
But an owner will always describe their pet better than any writer ever could, no matter how good. Erika, Geri’s owner, told everything to Bored Panda herself. “I found her at my favorite pet shop in 2019. She was 2 months old. I used to be a dog person but as soon as I got her, I changed to a cat person, lol.”
Image credits: Geri.cat
You might have noticed that she has a rare condition making it seem like she has two faces
Image credits: Geri.cat
As for Geri’s recent success on the Internet, Erika is “happy for Geri! Makes me realize again that I’m the lucky one to have Geri.
Image credits: Geri.cat
The phenomenon is called chimerism, and it occurs when an organism forms from two or more individuals (zygotes)
Image credits: Geri.cat
The photos are very beautiful, and Erika credits it all to Geri.”I truly enjoyed taking photos because as a part of my job, I used to be a travel writer. Also, Geri shows me lots of expressions and I found it very lovely so I take photos of her a lot. I’d like to enjoy and keep every moment with her.”
In other words, it might not be an insult after all to call this particular Persian Ragdoll a two-face, as she has genetics of two cats
Image credits: Geri.cat
Image credits: Geri.cat
Here’s Geri’s owner trying to be cheeky and match his face with a Cruella de Vil costume
Image credits: Geri.cat
Geri has an actual sibling brother named Taiga
Image credits: Geri.cat
“She has a younger brother, Taiga (the white one). They are actual siblings, same father. Taiga loves her so much, always following her, which makes her get annoyed and they end up fighting. But sometime she is licking Taiga and it makes me so happy.”
Though he’s not as “special” as Geri, he’s still as cute and fluffy as any cat is
Image credits: Geri.cat
Together they make a good duo
Image credits: Geri.cat
As for Geri, well, he’s enjoying a bask in the internet glory
Image credits: Geri.cat
Image credits: Geri.cat
Here’s one of the cutest Geri’s pictures as a bonus. The end!
Image credits: Geri.cat
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We too have a cat with this characteristic. Very pretty colour blend. This is Gem. Jemma-61cf...204778.jpg 
Pretty kitty! Not a chimera though, she's a lovely tortoiseshell! (you can't tell a chimera without genetic testing.)
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Pretty sure I have a cat with chimerism as well. Her name is Willow and one side of her face is orange, the other side is gray. She’s still a kitten but wow she’s pretty!
It’s an example of X-inactivation mosaicism. All female mammals have two X-chromosomes. In a cat, one gene for fur color is located on the X chromosome. And in any female, expression of all the genes that are on the X chromosome will be “mosaic”—that is, half of them will express one version of the gene (e.g., black fur) and half will express the other version of the gene (e.g., orange fur). .
Thank you! I was just coming here to say that. She's not a chimera (okay, she could be but she'd have to be tested) she's a calico/tortoiseshell!
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Cruella De Vil? That's Sia costume. Please Bored Panda, don't slip more on copy-pasting everything from other sites/ apps...
The kid version of Cruella in the film by the same name had this hairstyle, so it could be correctly named.
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Beautiful kitties! My cat is literally a loaf of bread with a tail
This is the most BEAUTIFUL cat that I have EVER seen! Her brother is gorgeous too! 😍
I'm not sure about cats! In human biology, the mixing of the blood (and blast cells) of embryos of double- egg twins so that even though each twin originally had a different blood group, each now has a mixed group. I would imagine extensive testing must be done in cats to find out if they are true chimera! Just not the different or split shading of a cat!
Growing up my family had a calico much like this one, her face bright orange on one side and pure black on the other. She was such a darling! I wonder if she was a chimera, too.
I love how even though her brother doesn’t have chimerism, he looks exactly like her.
Neither have chimerism. This is typical sloppy “journalism”.
Load More Replies... We too have a cat with this characteristic. Very pretty colour blend. This is Gem. Jemma-61cf...204778.jpg
Pretty kitty! Not a chimera though, she's a lovely tortoiseshell! (you can't tell a chimera without genetic testing.)
Load More Replies... Pretty sure I have a cat with chimerism as well. Her name is Willow and one side of her face is orange, the other side is gray. She’s still a kitten but wow she’s pretty!
It’s an example of X-inactivation mosaicism. All female mammals have two X-chromosomes. In a cat, one gene for fur color is located on the X chromosome. And in any female, expression of all the genes that are on the X chromosome will be “mosaic”—that is, half of them will express one version of the gene (e.g., black fur) and half will express the other version of the gene (e.g., orange fur). .
Thank you! I was just coming here to say that. She's not a chimera (okay, she could be but she'd have to be tested) she's a calico/tortoiseshell!
Load More Replies... Cruella De Vil? That's Sia costume. Please Bored Panda, don't slip more on copy-pasting everything from other sites/ apps...
The kid version of Cruella in the film by the same name had this hairstyle, so it could be correctly named.
Load More Replies... Beautiful kitties! My cat is literally a loaf of bread with a tail
This is the most BEAUTIFUL cat that I have EVER seen! Her brother is gorgeous too! 😍
I'm not sure about cats! In human biology, the mixing of the blood (and blast cells) of embryos of double- egg twins so that even though each twin originally had a different blood group, each now has a mixed group. I would imagine extensive testing must be done in cats to find out if they are true chimera! Just not the different or split shading of a cat!
Growing up my family had a calico much like this one, her face bright orange on one side and pure black on the other. She was such a darling! I wonder if she was a chimera, too.
I love how even though her brother doesn’t have chimerism, he looks exactly like her.
Neither have chimerism. This is typical sloppy “journalism”.
Load More Replies...
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