A Siamese cat was born with her sibling, or rather its remains, attached to her tail in a rare case in the capital Ankara. Vets say this is indeed the second case of its kind in the world after successfully removing the stillborn kitten from her tail.

The animal was diagnosed with teratoma, a rare type of germ cell tumor, when she was born some four months ago. The tumor contained immature tissue, including teeth, fur and a skeleton. After surgery and two months of recuperation, the cat is now fully recovered.

Emir Düzgören, one of the vets who operated on the cat, told Demirören News Agency (DHA) on Tuesday that the animal had a swelling on her tail when she was brought in by her owner. "In the X-ray, we discovered bone-like tissues inside the swelling and she was later diagnosed with teratoma. Medically speaking, it is a tumor, rather than a fully formed kitten. This is the only such case in Türkiye and we will publish an article on the case for medical journals," he said. He said that the surgery was successful and the cat they named "Tail" had no trace of the tumor now.

The cat’s owner Büşra Nur Yıldız said she was worried when she noticed her kitten's swollen tail. "Vets could not diagnose her at first and when she was two months old, I took her to another clinic. They decided on surgery but she was too young. They decided to wait for a while for her to grow up. The surgery was successful and she is doing well," she said.