August 20, 2008: Yoda the Cat was born with four ears. Ted and Valerie Rock picked Yoda out of a litter of eight kittens in 2006.1
"We were at a pub on the south side of Chicago with a group of friends when we noticed a small cage sitting on the bar and people passing around a kitten. He had been part of a large litter and the owners were looking to find a home for him. Ted and I had just lost a cat that was our pet for over 20 years, and we were sure we were done with cats."—Valerie Rock, Yoda's owner2
"When he was passed around he reached for Ted, crawled up into the crook of his neck and fell asleep - Ted was a goner. It was a done deal when the kitten made himself at home on Ted's shoulder. We decided to name him Yoda. I understand the Star Wars character was based on George Lucas' cat."—Valerie Rock2
"The vet had never seen anything like it before. He immediately went to the Internet and found the four-eared cat in Germany. We have spoken with other vets in our acquaintance, and they likewise had never encountered anything like this. We began to realize that we had something very special. As a result, he has been an indoor cat and has a chip installed in case he gets lost. Yoda is so different that we were concerned that he might be catnapped."—Valerie Rock2