CALIFORNIA – An adopter went home with the happiest of feline phenomena just the other day.
Staff at the County Animal Services shelter in Carlsbad was literally shocked when a 3-year-old stray male “tortie” cat showed up.
Torties are mixed-breed cats, the offspring of a tabby cat and a cat with a tortoise-shell-like pattern, or a tortie. What really makes it truly interesting, though, is that the tortie pattern is sex-linked and nearly all tortie cats are born female, according to Dawn Danielson who is the County Animal Services director.
Kim Tardy, who is an animal attendant at the shelter, couldn’t believe it either.
“I’ve been in the field for 10 years and I have never seen a male tortie,” Tardy stated. “I have a co-worker that’s only seen one in 15 years in the field.”
According to the County News Center, published reports claim that only 1 out of every 10,000 cats are male torties. The rarity of the breed-gender combination is aided by the fact that most male torbies are born sterile.
Although this true diamond in the fluff has found a new home, you may stumble upon another friendly feline during a visit to any three of the county’s shelters.
As part of a new 90-day pilot project, all three county shelters will now be open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Sundays, excluding holidays, in addition to its usual Tuesday through Saturday schedule.
If you would like more information about County Animal Services, visit its website.
