The cat with the 'puppies'

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A Brazilian woman claims that her cat has given birth to three puppies after mating with the dog next door.

The Daily Mail reported that Cassia Aparecida de Souza, an 18-year-old student, said that her cat Mimi had given birth to a litter of six.

Three looked like kittens but they all died, leaving three which resembled dogs, she told the Mail.

Scientists had taken blood samples to determine to see if the remaining trio really were half cat and half dog.

However, experts told the Mail that they were very sceptical.

"You could never say never in science, but it seems very implausible to me," Professor Robin Dundar, an expert in evolution from Liverpool University said.

He believed there were two potential explanations: Mimi had suckled the pups after she had lost her own litter and the pups had been orphaned or the offspring were mutant cats that just resembled dogs.