Meet SAFE Avon Valley’s newest family member.
Although he currently doesn’t have a name he is due to be the most sought after kitten SAFE has ever had.
This little guy is as rare as they get.
Tortoiseshell cats are generally always female. It’s a part of their DNA.
Tortoiseshell cats need two X chromosomes to get that fur pattern but they also needs a Y chromosome to be a male.
Therefore this little guy has a genetic makeup of XXY.
Because of the mix up in sex chromosomes male tortoiseshell cats are sterile.
SAFE Avon Valley volunteer Freedom Bradbury said during her 10 years working in cat refuges and seeing more than 40,000 cats this is the first male tortoiseshell she has ever seen.
“I’ve read the stats and some people say it’s a 1 in 3,000 chance,” she said.
“But surely that can’t be true.
“One of my best friends in Perth has worked at the Cat Haven for 22 years and has only ever seen three.”
News of a male tortoiseshell cat in America created waves after the rare find.
Six week old Burrito received hundreds of enquires about adoption when he was found in New Jersey last year.
Ms Bradbury hopes the un-named little boy can gain the same attention and find his forever home.
SAFE Avon Valley were given the little ‘tortie’ male and his grey and white sister over the weekend and are looking to adopt them out in four weeks when they are more tame.
The pair were picked up from a property off Mitchell Avenue in Northam.
“He’s pretty feisty,” Ms Bradbury said.
“He’s the runt of the little but eats the most food.
“He has to fight his sister for it most of the time.”
Still without names, SAFE plan to host a competition to get the public involved in naming the rare little boy and his sister.
SAFE Avon Valley rescue primarily mother cats and their kittens.
Their passion is to see all cats sterilised as a way of stopping the rising numbers of cats in rural areas.
SAFE take in cats from all over the Wheatbelt in an effort to save them from euthanasia.
