This Adorable Cat Has Four Ears, a Curled Tail and an Underbite. He’s Looking for a Home
For anyone in the cat rescue world, Dobby’s story follows a familiar arc.
A social media post spotted at the right moment, a foster parent ready to step in, a community rallying around veterinary costs, and adoption interest so overwhelming the shelter had to ask people to stop applying.
What sets this case apart, beyond the obvious charm of a four-eared cat, is how cleanly it illustrates the fostering pipeline at its best.
Dobby is a four-eared cat from Alabama in the care of Stephanie Brown, his foster mom and a board member of Kitty Kat Haven & Rescue in Hoover.
He’s named after the house elf from the Harry Potter books, inspired by his prominent ears.
His previous owner was having a hard time getting Dobby to adjust to a senior cat living in the home, so they gave him up for adoption.
From a Facebook Post to a Foster Placement
The pipeline began, as so many do, with social media. Brown came across Dobby in a Facebook post by his previous owner — an increasingly common way animals in need are surfaced to rescue networks.
“Of course, I jumped at the opportunity to foster him,” she said in an interview with People, published Feb. 24. Brown started caring for Dobby on Feb. 8.
The speed of that transition speaks to the kind of readiness that experienced fosters maintain. Brown has been fostering cats with her husband since 2020, per CBC Radio. She describes it as “difficult,” but “immensely rewarding.”
When a cat like Dobby surfaces — one with a rare genetic mutation and medical needs — having a seasoned foster parent who can assess the situation and commit quickly is the difference between a smooth rescue and an animal falling through the cracks.
Dobby’s Extra Ears and What They Mean Medically
Dobby’s four ears are part of a rare genetic mutation, but Brown has been clear that the extra ears themselves aren’t a medical concern.
“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,” 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.
According to CBC Radio, the shelter has rescued more than 6,800 cats and kittens since 2017. Dobby is the first of his kind.
Beyond the extra ears, Dobby also has a short, curled tail and an underbite. The underbite demanded more immediate attention — and a financial plan.
The $3,000 Surgery and a Community Ready to Help
Anyone in rescue knows that medical bills are often the most daunting part of the equation. For Dobby, the underbite required intervention beyond routine care, necessitating a consultation with a dental specialist.
“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,” a GoFundMe description read. “Once this procedure is complete, no additional complications from his overbite and narrow lower jaw are anticipated.”
Canine shortening to prevent ongoing palate damage from a narrow lower jaw is a specialized procedure. Brown set up the GoFundMe to help cover it. The $3,000 goal was met in two weeks. The surgery is scheduled for April 20.
Crowdfunding has become an essential financial tool for shelters and foster parents managing cases that require specialized veterinary intervention — cases where costs can easily exceed what an organization’s standard budget can absorb.
That two-week fundraising window shows how quickly a mobilized community can close the gap.
Adoption Interest So High the Shelter Hit Pause
Dobby’s story has attracted significant public attention, and with it, an overwhelming volume of adoption applications. According to Brown, the shelter has already received a ton — so many that the organization had to step in.
“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.
For rescue organizations, this kind of surge is both welcome and logistically difficult. Managing high volumes of applications takes staff and volunteer time, and processing them before an animal is even medically cleared can strain already-stretched resources.
Kitty Kat Haven & Rescue’s decision to pause reflects a practical approach: ensure the animal is healthy and ready before opening the floodgates.
Dobby will be available for adoption after his dental surgery. As for what Brown hopes his forever home looks like:
“He just loves children,” she told People. “I just really hope he does get a family with kids.”
A Foster Parent’s Philosophy on Difference
Brown’s approach to fostering extends beyond Dobby. She adopted her cat Phoebe from the same shelter. Phoebe 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.
That perspective — one that centers the individuality of each animal and rejects the idea that medical conditions or physical differences diminish an animal’s value — directly informs the quality of foster care an animal receives and the kind of forever home they’re matched with.
You can follow the adventures of Phoebe (and Dobby, until he’s adopted) on Brown’s Instagram account.
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 10:53 AM.
