Kitten born with 4 ears rescued after being abandoned in box in Tennessee

MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WKRN) — A Tennessee shelter recently welcomed a new litter of kittens found abandoned in a box, including a four-eared feline that the staff has named "Audio."

Kristin Condite, the director of operations at True Rescue in Mt. Juliet, told Nexstar's WKRN that employees first noticed his extra pair of ears during an exam after he was brought in on Tuesday.

"Whenever we took him out of his carrier, my counterpart said, 'What's on his ear?' And when we looked closer, it appears as if Audio has actually four ears on his head," said Condite. "So he has two right-facing and two rear-facing. It's extremely abnormal."

Eight-week-old Audio and his ear-resistible charm are garnering a lot of attention on social media, which is putting the shelter in the spotlight at a time when it's most needed.

"We've had ongoing issues with drainage problems and foundation issues," said Condite. "Sunday night, it was 4 inches [of water] from the rear wall to the front doors."

On top of that, kitten season is in full swing. Right now, staff members said they need 150 to 200 adoptions per month to be on pace with the number of cats coming in.

The flooding issues slowed adoptions significantly, but despite this, True Rescue said the Mt. Juliet community stepped up to foster more kittens in an effort to get the shelter back on its feet. Others donated enough to fully stock the rescue with food.

"We'll go through it very quickly, but it's nice to see a few full shelves. That's pretty rare this time of year," said Condite.

As for Audio, shelter employees said they won't remove his extra ears unless they start to harm him. Doctors are still monitoring him, so he's not ready for adoption just yet.

In the meantime, the four-eared feline is bringing extra joy to True Rescue.

"For Audio to come at this time...it really does feel like a good luck charm," Condite said.