Rare hermaphrodite stray kitten finds loving home

A rare stray kitten who was found to have both male and female reproductive organs has found a loving new home.

Seven-month old Jamie was brought to Blue Cross from fellow animal charity PDSA, along with his brother Curtis. 

But when ginger moggy Jamie underwent a routine neutering operation, our vets discovered the kitten had female as well as male genitalia – making for a series of much more complicated procedures. Hermaphrodite cats are very rare, and the team at our Burford rehoming centre had never seen a case like this before.

Lydia Sawyer, Animal Welfare Supervisor at Blue Cross Burford in Oxfordshire, said: “No one at the centre has ever seen a case like this. We thought Jamie was a boy and it was only when he went to an external vet for routine neutering that they discovered he is a hermaphrodite.”

Jamie was castrated, and need needed further investigatory surgery to make sure he was sterile and to check there were no complications.

Blue Cross Veterinary Surgeon Seb Prior explained: “Hermaphrodite kittens like Jamie are rare but they're not unheard of. We certainly see all kinds of cases working at an animal charity!

“The amount of development of the male and female parts varies and the genitalia that develop are affected by several things so every kitten with this condition is a little different. 

“It can result from abnormal chromosomes, hormone production or problems that occur during the kitten’s development before birth. In some kittens it can cause recurrent infections and difficulties with the neutering operation but we're really pleased that Jamie has done so well and is settling into his new home.”

The sweet kitten is now fit and well and has gone off to live with his brother at their new home.