If my cat gave birth to a male Calico kitten, could it be worth money?

Question

I never said that I would sell it. I only wanted to know if they were considered monetarily valuable. I also said "If" my cat gave birth to one. I don't even have a Male Calico kitten.

Answer 1

Hi there...although male calicos are rare as they are sterile they have no financial value rather only scientific and sentimental values

Please see this website to learn more as to why: http://messybeast.com/mosaicism.htm

Here's the info from this section of the web article:

TORTOISESHELL AND CALICO TOMCATS

Every so often I am asked if a tortoiseshell or calico tomcat is valuable. You will find advertisements on the web, or in newspapers, placed by people hoping to sell a tortoiseshell tomcat for a large sum of money. One website even said that if you found a tortoiseshell tomcat, you could sell it for a fortune and retire!

Despite their rarity, tortoiseshell tomcats are not valuable in the financial sense. They have scientific value. Those that are fertile cannot pass on the tortoiseshell colour - you cannot breed more tortoiseshell males from them. As pets they are just like any other cat. As pedigree cats, there may be no colour class for them to enter so however fine they look, so they may be unable to win prizes (some breeds/shows have an "Any Other Colour" class). The abnormalities which have created a tortoiseshell male may also make him more susceptible to auto-immune disease or testicular tumours.

In short, if you have a tortoiseshell male cat, he is not going to make you rich! Even the minority of fertile tortie tomcats are not valuable in money terms because they don't breed true. So next time you see someone advertising a "rare tortie male" on Ebay, usenet or a bulletin board, you can wonder who is more gullible - the person expecting to make a fortune or the person who pays over-the-odds because they think the cat is going to make them a fortune!

Another myth about tortoiseshell male cats is that if an owner takes a tortie or calico cat to be spayed (quite reasonably believing it to be female) and it turns out to be a male which the vet then castrates, the owner is entitled to get the money back from the vet for unnecessarily neutering a cat which is already sterile. Even though a male calico is likely to be sterile, he probably still has the male hormones which make him spray. Many owners of tortoiseshell males like to mate the cat once to see if he is fertile. With so many unwanted kittens in the world, please don't do this unless you are involved in a genuine research programme.

To understand what creates tortoiseshell and calico males, we first have to look at the genes for red and for tortoiseshell. The white areas of calico cats are caused by different genes and will be ignored. The tabby pattern is also caused by other gene. In this article, "ginger" also includes "ginger-and-white" (red bicolour) and "red tabby" (with or without white). "Tortoiseshell" also includes "tortoiseshell-and-white" (calico) and "tortoiseshell tabby" (torbie) (with or without white). Cream is a dilute version of red. Blue (grey) is a dilute version of black.

Answer 2

The short answer is no. I have a male Calico and I wondered the same thing. So I researched it. To my disappointment, a male Calico is not, although they are rare, especially valuable. Most male Calicos are sterile, therefore unable to be used for stud. The value also depends upon his markings. There are very specific standards governing what they should be like,in shape,balance and intensity of color. Sorry to burst your bubble the way mine was!

Answer 3

Male calicos don't survive more than a few hours past birth, if that. They are missing crucial genes they need but don't have from a defective X chromosome. The reason female calicos (and tortoiseshells) exist is because they have a second X chromosome that can make up for the defective one.

Answer 4

Yes, male calicos are extremely rare. Also, the majority of them are born sterile. This is because a male tricolor is the result of a genetic defect. They have an extra X chromosome. Whether they're worth anything, I have no idea.

And NO, a male calico is NOT a tabby. Anyone who's seen a tabby and a calico would know that.

And who in the hell gave the FELINE TRAINER with PROOF a thumbs down?! Some of you people are WEIRD!

Answer 5

I'd hope you won't breed your cat just to get a male Calico. All animals need love not $$$$ signs. think of all the unwanted animals out there. The odds of having a male Calli are very rare.

Answer 6

actually it is rare, not impossible. i have a three week calico and it's a female. but the vet actually said when my daughter mentioned she wanted a male cat, "well most calicos are female." he didnt say "never is a calico male". and i had a child hood friend with a male calico. it was predominatly black though, but it had the orange and white spots all over. i just love calicos! ours is called twitches, in honor halloween. besides ALL cats are worth money, but is the calico worth YOUR attention. probably not if all you're thinking of is making money with this creature.

Answer 7

From what I have seen and heard it is a very rare event to have a male calico while females are very normal.

Answer 8

male calicos cats are rare
so yes it could depends all on who wants it though
i have a grl calico cat she is going to have kittens pretty soon
i hope one is a male calico but yeah its very rare!

ignore stupid people if you want to sell a cat sell it ,its not wrong

Answer 9

your selling your cat?!? A hole. dont sell a life! it could go in the wrong hands. people buy cats and dogs for the fur! they skin them alive only because if the kill it with a knife then it will ruin the fur! give it to the animal shelter! how would you feel if your mom gave you to a stranger just for green paper???

Answer 10

yes a male calico is worth money. reason being calico is primarily a female trait, and only 1 in approximately 1500 are male.