Nicole Rienzie was traveling with her mother some years ago when a black cat rushed in front of her automobile. She slammed on the brakes, exited the vehicle, and pursued him down. She hadn’t hit him, but she noticed he was in horrible shape when she discovered the cat.

Rienzie tells The Dodo, “He was extremely, very weak, starved, covered in bugs, and his eyes were so diseased he couldn’t even see out of them.” “We snatched him up and brought him home, cleaned him up, fed him, and that was pretty much the start of it.”

Rienzie named the kitten Sergio, but his wild personality (and proclivity to swing on things) led her to rename him Monkey. Monkey was then shortened to Monk. “He really just goes by Monk,” Rienzie says. “It’s evolved.”

But Monk was no ordinary rescue. When he lost his kitten teeth and started growing in his adult teeth, Rienzie noticed something unusual about his top canines – they were long. Like really long.

Monk’s upper canines are around three-quarters of an inch long. This is significantly more than the usual cat. According to Dr. Ladan Mohammad-Zadeh, a critical care expert at DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital, most cats’ canines measure approximately one centimeter if they don’t have any gum recession.

Rienzie initially worried that something was wrong with Monk. Would he be able to eat with these fangs? Was he in pain? Was there something wrong with him?

Monk was absolutely healthy, according to the veterinarian.

“It’s unusual,” Rienzie explains, “but [the vet] said some cats simply grow incredibly enormous fangs like that.” “His are larger than other cats with long fangs, but [the vet] stated it happens from time to time and there’s nothing wrong with it.”

This does not deter people from looking and gawking at Monk.

“People stop and want to take photographs, but they don’t say much because they’re so taken aback by his teeth,” Rienzie adds. “It’s amusing when they’re silent.”

Monk may receive all the limelight, but he has a sibling named Bean, who was rescued a year after Monk by Rienzie. When Rienzie offered to foster Bean, he was living beneath the patio of a former employee. But when Bean and Monk clicked, she knew she’d be staying.

“They hit it off right away,” Rienzie adds. “Monkey was desperate for a companion, and as soon as I placed Bean on the floor, he began licking and cleaning him. He instantaneously fell in love with him.”

Monk and Bean love tearing around her house and “trashing the place,” according to Rienzie. “They do a lot of playing, and they’re very, very active,” she said. “I clean up their toys and put them in their toy basket every night, and every morning when I get up, they’ve taken some out that they want to play with.”

Monk may resemble a vampire, but Rienzie claims he isn’t frightening. “He’s a little feisty and has a bit of an attitude, but he’s quite lovely. He enjoys licking a lot.”

While they’re playing, Monk periodically nips Rienzie, but Rienzie assures him that his fangs don’t hurt… and that she hasn’t changed into a vampire yet. With a grin, she replies, “You don’t even feel them.”