Meet Unicorn, the extremely rare male calico kitten who landed at a Loveland rescue

[douglas9]

After five years of taking in cats and kittens from across Colorado and surrounding states, a Loveland rescue has officially found its first unicorn.

An extremely rare male calico kitten born in a Weld County shed earlier this year was later turned over to the Weld County Humane Society and, ultimately, transferred into the care of NoCo Kitties, a foster-focused rescue based in Loveland, according to founder Davida Dupont.

The kitten's foster mom, NoCo Kitties volunteer Alli Magish, took in the little calico cat, his mom, Amber, and his four siblings, including his two calico sisters. Magish said she suspected he was a boy shortly after getting the litter but wanted to be sure — males make up just one of every 3,000 calico births, according to the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine.

Two veterinarians later confirmed the kitten's gender. It was the first male calico the veterinarians, Dupont or Magish had ever seen, Dupont and Magish said.

"We just thought how incredibly unusual and what fun it is," Dupont said, adding that due to their rarity, male calicos are often called "unicorn cats."


https://www.coloradoan.com/story/life/2023/04/21/rare-male-calico-kitten-born-in-colorado-cat-rescue-names-him-unicorn/70131661007/

[Maraya1969]

1. I hate these sites that I have never been too that make it impossible to see because you "have not

signed up"

I could hardly see anything

[ShazzieB]

3. I know, right?

I refuse to sign up for random sites, even if they're free. I don't need the extra email clutter, especially from the ones who sell their mailing lists to spammers.

I had an especially bad experience last year, getting suddenly bombarded with random spam. I am SURE it came from signing up for something, because there was so much of it all at once, like somebody had flipped a switch. And it was really obnoxious, like multiple ads for the exact same things coming from different email addresses. Took a long time to get that spigot turned off!

Since then, I have been EXTREMELY cautious about sign up screens. When I see something that says "sign up," I see one of these: 🛑!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

4. I had no trouble with that link.

And that's not a site I'm signed up to.

[Jilly_in_VA]

2. Most male calicos are sterile

and Unicorn is being neutered before he can be adopted, so we'll never know about him.

[StarryNite]

5. He's adorable!

A little puff ball!

[niyad]

6. What a little cutie.

[Trueblue1968]

7. he is gorgeous !!!

[BumRushDaShow]

8. Here's one of the pics of him

He is a beaut!

[calimary]

10. Adorable! Have he and his siblings found homes by now?

He is Just. Too. Cute.!!!

[BumRushDaShow]

12. I bet they may have

A bunch of frolicky puffballs!

[Warpy]

9. I had a female calico with much the same pattern

His people are going to have to get him neutered, Kleinfelter's kitties have a higher rate of testicular cancer. They're going to need to watch his weight because insulin resistance can be a problem for them. Also, he's unlikely to be the brightest bulb in the marquee, although he will do just fine as a strictly indoor feline overlord.

All my calicos and torties have been wild women. I wonder if that's true for the rare calico tomcats, also. He does have the look of a true housewrecker.

[calimary]

11. All our cats are indoor-only.

We’ve seen coyotes in the neighborhood. That’s reason enough for me!

[Warpy]

13. I'll see your coyotes

and raise you mountain lions and raptors. It was one of the latter, up a tree and licking its beak, that caused me to keep my city kitty indoors. She wasn't thrilled about that, but it beat seeing her become bird food.

[calimary]

14. Yep. Sometimes they've just gotta be indoor cats.