50 Of The Rarest Genetic Mutations Ever Spotted In Pets (New Pics)

Science fiction has done a great job at making the concept of genetic mutation so frightening that even thinking of it happening in real life following a nuclear disaster might send chills down one’s spine.Well, genetic mutations do happen in real life without it being an apocalypticFalloutscenario. The results might vary, but it can just be an aesthetic change making you look unique and cool.Animals are no different in that regard. Folks all over the internet are sharing the one-of-a-kind genetic mutations their pets were born with, andBored Pandahas gathered them all into this neat little list, so enjoy!This post may includeaffiliate links.

Well, genetic mutations do happen in real life without it being an apocalypticFalloutscenario. The results might vary, but it can just be an aesthetic change making you look unique and cool.

Animals are no different in that regard. Folks all over the internet are sharing the one-of-a-kind genetic mutations their pets were born with, andBored Pandahas gathered them all into this neat little list, so enjoy!

This post may includeaffiliate links.

Injury At Birth Left Rae With Only The Right Ear. As She Grew, It Migrated To The Top Of Her Head, Making Her A Unicorn

Meet Cinnamon. She Was Born With Ears That Look Like Cinnamon Rolls

This Is Heidi. She Has Vitiligo

So, agenetic mutationis when DNA—that thing that determines who we are as organisms and how we go about being organisms—is replicated and something wrong happens. An error.In simple terms, DNA is made up of parts that, when put together, determine one thing or another about our bodies. However, sometimes, the parts can get mixed up, additional parts might be added, or subtracted, this leading to mutations.

So, agenetic mutationis when DNA—that thing that determines who we are as organisms and how we go about being organisms—is replicated and something wrong happens. An error.

In simple terms, DNA is made up of parts that, when put together, determine one thing or another about our bodies. However, sometimes, the parts can get mixed up, additional parts might be added, or subtracted, this leading to mutations.

Frankenkitten The Four-Eared, One-Eyed Cat From Victoria, Australia

He is a Suffolk Chocolate cat and has a very unique personality to match his rare brown coat. He is my best friend.

My Rare Brown Cat Here. Here’s Bodhi For Your Viewing Pleasure

This Is Mr. Poppins. He Has No Teeth

There are a handful of types of genetic mutations in animals. Without getting super nerdy, the DNA code (or parts thereof) can get mixed up inmultiple ways: it can get deleted or inserted, duplicated, inverted, frame-shifted, among other ways. These can affect individual cells or entire chromosomes depending on the circumstances, thus leading to varying degrees of mutation.

A Black Vitiligo Kitty

My Dalmatian Is The Size Of A Corgi. He’s The Only One From His Litter To Have Chondrodysplasia (Canine Dwarfism)

I Met A 14-Year-Old Dog With Vitiligo This Morning

So, how do animals get their mutations in the first place?

He’s two months old and he’s barely the size of one of her pet rats. He is so small but so mighty. His name is Roger, and he’s a cutie.

One Of My Bestie’s Kittens Has Dwarfism

This Is Mitch. He Has An Extra Vertebrae, So His Tail Is Extra Long. He Carries It On His Back Like A Squirrel

If You Never Saw One, Here Is An Albino Raccoon

Mutations are spontaneous. They happen during the process of replicating DNA. And since the body goes through quite a bit of these throughout the day, errors are bound to happen.Now, the body does have mechanisms to deal with these errors. The biological mechanism that creates DNA also checks it for errors and if something is wrong, it attempts to fix it. I sayattemptsbecause it’s not always successful.

Mutations are spontaneous. They happen during the process of replicating DNA. And since the body goes through quite a bit of these throughout the day, errors are bound to happen.

Now, the body does have mechanisms to deal with these errors. The biological mechanism that creates DNA also checks it for errors and if something is wrong, it attempts to fix it. I sayattemptsbecause it’s not always successful.

My Beautiful Albino Ragdoll

Maximus Has Some Crazy Whiskers

Jinx Has Unusually Large Eyes And Feet - He Was Once The Mayor Of Hell, Michigan

First Time In My Life I Saw A Horse With A Mustache

My All-Black Cat Had Five All-White Kittens

My Friend’s Cat Has A Comically Long Tail

The effects ofgerm line mutations, for instance, can vary from neutral to detrimental to beneficial.

Meet Mochi, Our Adorable Rescue Kitty With Three Legs, No Ears, And No Tail

My Cat Olaf Has Heterochromia (One Green Eye, One Blue Eye) And When Photographed With A Flash On He Only Gets Red Eye In His Blue Eye

This Is Beaux Tox. He Was Born With A Facial Deformity

If the effect is neutral, this means that the mutation affected the DNA that has no function or the part that doesn’t affect amino acid sequences.In serious cases, mutations can limit or completely destroy an animal’s ability to survive or reproduce. Marfan syndrome, for example, can affect cattle, specifically their heart and blood vessels, the skeleton and muscle tissue, and even cause ocular diseases.

If the effect is neutral, this means that the mutation affected the DNA that has no function or the part that doesn’t affect amino acid sequences.

In serious cases, mutations can limit or completely destroy an animal’s ability to survive or reproduce. Marfan syndrome, for example, can affect cattle, specifically their heart and blood vessels, the skeleton and muscle tissue, and even cause ocular diseases.

This Beautiful Dachshund With Vitiligo

This Is My Handsome, Cross-Eyed Cat, Gus

The Absolute Ears On This Bunny

Other genetically-caused illnesses in animals include epilepsy, polydactyly (extra fingers or toes), cancer, congenital heart anomalies, eosinophilic skin disease, polycystic kidney disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, progressive retinal atrophy, vitiligo, among others.

Chocolate Brown Tuxedo Kitten

Meet Quasimodo, The Dog With The Short Spine. Even If You’re Different You Can Still Enjoy Life

Scrappy, A Cat With Vitiligo

But there are also mutations that benefit the body. Insects can develop an immunity to pesticides that cover certain crops. Not really good for humans, but, hey, the animal found a way to survive, so it benefits it.Another example isnylon-eating bacteria. Now, it might not necessarily benefit the bacteria itself, but it does solve the problem of degrading nylon-based waste.

Another example isnylon-eating bacteria. Now, it might not necessarily benefit the bacteria itself, but it does solve the problem of degrading nylon-based waste.

A Highlander Came In Today. 24 Toes In Total

A Permanently Startled Rescue Cat Shocks Social Media With His Sweet, Expressive Face

Blaze, The Vitiligo Labrador

If you’ve enjoyed this listicle of cute, inspiring and interesting genetic animal mutations,there’s more where that came from on Bored Panda.But if you can’t be bothered with that, why not leave a comment and upvote before you go on your next online adventure?

If you’ve enjoyed this listicle of cute, inspiring and interesting genetic animal mutations,there’s more where that came from on Bored Panda.

But if you can’t be bothered with that, why not leave a comment and upvote before you go on your next online adventure?

My Friend’s Cat Bianca Has Thumbs

Duo Is A Special Kitten With Two Faces On One Head. Duo Has A Condition Commonly Known As “Janus”, Also Known As Craniofacial Duplication

My Friend Ran Into This Cat Today. Never Seen This Combination Before

Meet Ivy, The Pitbull With Short Spine Syndrome. She Is A 3-Year-Old Queen Now

It’s A Very Weird Webbing In My Cat’s Eye (The Vet Has Checked It, Nothing Harmful)

This is Wilbur. He’s my soulmate! He is albino and the black crust is due to an autoimmune disease. He’s very happy and healthy.

Full-Time Cat. Part-Time Gargoyle

Lynx-Siamese, for anyone wondering.

This Is Our Polydactyl Boy, Jax! He’s Odd

Here’s A Pic Of My Chonky Rottweiler, Kaiser. He Was Born With Gigantism So He Was Absurdly Large As A Puppy And Is Still Large

Met This Unique Gentleman At A Petting Zoo This Weekend

Our New Highlander Kitten… Polydactyl On All Four Paws And Curled Ears. We Love Our Unique Little Kitty

My Cat’s Fangs Are So Long His Mouth Doesn’t Close All The Way

I Met A Dog With 2 Noses At Work

Gioia And Her Beautiful Wavy Fur (Cornish Rex Cat)

This is where it all began, well one of his new beginnings anyway. As a tiny kitten (prior to this pic) someone witnessed someone else throwing something into a lake in a plastic bag and heard meowing. The person saved Roo and brought him to animal control where Florida Humane Society took him to treat him and find him a home.Apparently, someone didn’t think he deserved to live because he was different. He doesn’t use his right front leg to put weight on so he is more or less a tripod cat when he walks and he stands in the position you see here. We think there is less bone in that right leg than the left leg since it never touches the ground. He was otherwise healthy and required no special treatment as cats born with this adapt very well to getting around having known life no other way. He was adopted out not long after this photo was taken.

Roo Was Born With A Condition Called Radial Hypoplasia Which Means That His Front Forelegs Are Abnormally Short And Twisted

Unique Looking Akita

My Tiny Little Potato, Whose Ears Never Seemed To Grow

This Kitten From Sonoma Was Born With 24 Toes

My Dog Buster Has The Skin Condition Vitiligo. It Causes Depigmentation Of The Skin (And Fur). It’s Been 9 Months Between These Pictures

My Cat Has Wide-Spaced Eyes

My name is Polly. I talk with my people, like cuddles, and I nibble on noses, ears, and hair because some monster left me in a dumpster before I was properly weaned. I have a good life and a good sister-friend Crackers now though.

Polly - Polydactyl, Checking In! 8 + 7 = My Two Front Feet

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Cute Little Boy Looking For Attention (Persian With Hypertrichosis)

My Polka-Dotted Lizard, Metric. Born Footless

When I adopted her I thought her eyes would be green and blue and as she grew the blue revealed a hazel corner that makes her unique. I love her so much, she’s 4 now and my very best friend.

She’s So Unique With Her 3-Colored Eyes