The story of Josie, a rare calico cat, has gone viral after user @xxycalico shared a video montage of the cat on TikTok. While Josie’s adoption story is a heartwarming one, unexpectedly, the cat turns out to be biologically male with XXY chromosomes.
Calico cats usually have a beautiful and unique tri-color pattern. Calico cats usually have two X chromosomes, so with some exceptions due to rare genetic conditions, they are almost always female. This is what makes Josie’s story so fascinating.
A woman adopts a rare male calico cat after finding it on Craigslist
An incredible story about a unique male calico cat is gaining a lot of attention on TikTok. In a video shared by @xxycalico, a woman reveals that she ended up adopting the adorable calico after first discovering the kitten on Craigslist.
The TikTok video begins with “How I accidentally got a rare cat.” The owner reveals that she “found this kitten on Craigslist,” and the video shows short footage of the cat walking, playing with toys, and moving around the house. The video describes Josie’s behavior as “easily cheeky and aggressive.”
The woman who quickly adopted Josie said, “This is [Josie] The owner confessed that “Josie was a female cat.” When they took the cat to the vet, they were told that this was highly unlikely since “calico cats have two X chromosomes.” However, it was soon discovered that Josie was a biological male cat with XXY chromosomes. The vet even suggested changing the cat’s name to Joey, but for the owner, “the name Josie already stuck.” They also told us that the cat was “a little bit crazy” but was growing up healthy. The owner concluded that “he’s the nicest boy around.”
It’s reported that biologically it’s rare for male calico cats to have two chromosomes, with only one in 3,000 having the XXY chromosomes, so Josie is a very special cat.
