Mt. Juliet shelter welcomes 4-eared feline amid busy kitten season

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A Mt. Juliet shelter is now the temporary home of a four-eared kitten, whose presence at the facility is shedding a light on a growing need for support.

True Rescue in Mt. Juliet said it’s the largest communal cat recue in the South.

The shelter recently welcomed a new litter found abandoned in a box, including a four-eared feline that staff members have named “Audio.”

Kristin Condite, the director of operations for True Rescue, told News 2 that employees first noticed the extra pair of ears during an exam: “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, 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, but this past Sunday, a week from Sunday and Monday, back-to-back evenings we had water in the building. Sunday night, it was four inches from the rear wall to the front doors,” said Condite.

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 will not remove his extra ears unless they start to harm him.

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If you want to adopt Audio, you’ll have to wait a few more weeks as he continues to be monitored by doctors. In the meantime, the four-eared feline is bringing extra joy to True Rescue.

“A really frustrating week. There have been a lot of setbacks since the flooding that have been going on in our world, and for Audio to come at this time…it really does feel like a good luck charm,” Condite said.

To check out all of the adoptable animals at True Rescue, click here .

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