A Rare Double-Eared Cat Named Dobby Is About to Be Everyone’s Favorite Rescue
.jpg "Dobby the Cat is a four-eared cat who will be up for adoption soon.")
A cat with four ears, a curled tail, and an underbite at a Hoover, Alabama, rescue has gone viral, maxed out his GoFundMe in two weeks, and already has more adoption applicants than the shelter can handle — before he’s even available.
His name is Dobby and his four ears are capturing hearts online.
The extra ears are the result of a rare genetic mutation. He has two additional earflaps positioned just in front of his regular ears, smaller and oriented in the opposite direction.
Kitty Kat Haven & Rescue has taken in more than 6,800 cats and kittens since 2017, according to CBC Radio. Dobby is the first four-eared cat the shelter has ever encountered.
“He has two extra earflaps that are just in front of his regular ears and they are smaller, and it’s almost like they’re backwards,” Stephanie Brown said in an interview with As It Happens, released Feb. 25.
“They don’t cause any problems or discomfort. It doesn’t affect his hearing. They’re just additional skin flaps,” she added.
Brown is Dobby’s foster mom and a board member of the Hoover-based rescue. She found him through a Facebook post from his previous owner, who was struggling to get Dobby to adjust to a senior cat already in the home.
“Of course, I jumped at the opportunity to foster him,” she said in an interview with People, published Feb. 24. She started caring for Dobby on Feb. 8.
His name comes from the house elf in the Harry Potter books, a nod to those prominent ears.
His Underbite Requires Medical Intervention
Dobby’s quirks don’t stop at his ears. He also has a short, curled tail and an underbite that requires medical attention.
Brown set up a GoFundMe to cover the cost of dental surgery. The $3,000 goal was met in two weeks.
“We met with a dental specialist last week, who determined that Dobby needs his lower canines shortened so that they don’t protrude into his upper palate,” the GoFundMe description read. “Once this procedure is complete, no additional complications from his overbite and narrow lower jaw are anticipated.”
The surgery is scheduled for April 20. After that, Dobby will officially become available for adoption.
While the rescue hasn’t opened formal adoptions yet, the demand has already outpaced their process.
“We’ve had to kind of pump the brakes on asking people to apply for him,” Brown told CBC Radio.
“He’s not quite adoptable yet. He’s going to need a dental surgery coming up in April and then after that, we’ll open up for adoptions and I don’t expect we’ll have any trouble there,” she added.
With that said, Brown has a specific hope for where Dobby ends up.
“He just loves children,” she told People. “I just really hope he does get a family with kids.”
The Foster Mom Behind the Viral Story
Brown and her husband have been fostering cats since 2020, per CBC Radio. She describes the work as “difficult” but “immensely rewarding.”
Her own cat, Phoebe, came from the same shelter and lives with cerebellar hypoplasia, also known as “Wobbly Cat Syndrome.”
“I think it’s a matter of embracing all of those differences and understanding, just like people, every creature, every animal, is going to have their own unique personality, presentation, conditions, appearance, everything like that,” she told People.
You can follow Phoebe and Dobby on Brown’s Instagram account.
BOTTOM LINE: Dobby’s surgery is April 20, and the adoption process opens after recovery — the family that takes him home hasn’t been chosen yet, so the next few weeks are the ones to watch.
Production of this article included the use of AI. It was reviewed and edited by a team of content specialists.
This story was originally published March 5, 2026 at 10:54 AM.
