A brother and sister in Iizuka found out they are the owners of an incredibly rare pet: a male calico cat. Because of their genetic makeup, calico cats are almost always female, so the chance of a male calico even being born is one in 30,000. Mikelo, a white and brown cat with black stripes, was born last May. His mother died soon after, so the cat’s owners, a junior high school girl named Yuki and her younger brother Ryoma, raised the kitten by feeding it milk.
Photo for image only. Source.
When they took the cat to the vet this January, they found out it was a male. According to Hiroaki Yamane, a cat researcher and curator of the Kitakyushu Museum of Natural History & Human History, male calico cats are the result of a genetic disorder called Klinefelter syndrome. He expressed his surprise by saying, “In my research, I’ve seen about 1,000 cats, but I’ve never seen a male calico. This is truly amazing”. Due to their rarity, male calico cats are considered lucky cats, and Japanese sailors used to take them on voyages as charms for protection. Ryoma said he was flabbergasted to find out Mikelo was such as rare cat and promised to raise him with care. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, Feb. 6
