uh ... wrote on Aug 8, 2007 9:29 PM:oooh....rare cat! wish I knew what it looked like (hint hint nudge nudge wink wink). Get cracking here

To Uh..... wrote on Aug 8, 2007 10:39 PM:I was thinking that too, but its basically a male Calico cat. The only thing rare about it is that it is a Male, most always Calico Cats are female.

Rare? wrote on Aug 8, 2007 11:41 PM:Didn't know a male tortoiseshell was 'rare' - we had one about 14 years ago - he lived to a grand age of 20 years. Very independent cat, but oh such beautiful coloring and eyes. If we had known he was 'rare' it would have made no difference to us. Have many awesome photos of our pet that we called Pansy' for the amazing colors! Hope this humane society rarity finds a loving home - a humble one too.

Jack wrote on Aug 9, 2007 1:46 AM:What a bunch of morons they have working there! They are short of money and they neuter a cat that they could have sold on e-Bay or some other auction to a breeder or other wealthy collector. By the way, the article undervalued this animal on the open market. I believe they could have received over $10,000 for it. Neutered, it is just another cat. Let's hope these geniuses never find Bigfoot!

John wrote on Aug 9, 2007 7:04 AM:I thought it was the male CALICO'S that were the rare ones?? What about them?

John wrote on Aug 9, 2007 7:10 AM:I thought it was the male CALICO'S that were the rare ones?? What about them? And if it's so RARE, WHY WAS IT NEUTERED??? Don't rare types of cats have reproductive RIGHTS??? I hope the vet. that neutralized this "rare-gendered" cat was satisfied in keeping it's species "rare"!

Steve wrote on Aug 9, 2007 8:07 AM:It's too bad that they decided to neuter the cat. Too bad they didn't have the foresight to bred the cat responsibly so he wouldn't be so rare. Not every animal has to be fixed. I would love to have a cat like him. He's really beautiful.

I think..... wrote on Aug 9, 2007 8:35 AM:they should always do the new two rules...for every animal. Although Phinny is special. He is among other special animals as well, they are looking for "forever homes". They should all be treated the same.

SD wrote on Aug 9, 2007 10:25 AM:So you take something thats rare and spay it. Wow! Unbelievable! I couldn't agree more with Jack.

reader wrote on Aug 9, 2007 10:40 AM:Hey, Jack. You might want to check out the link below They you will learn that male tortoiseshells are almost invariably sterile. (One in 10,000 aren't.) So neutering this cat was not an issue. [Web site]

NC wrote on Aug 9, 2007 10:43 AM:The point is that one life isn't more valuable than another, rare breed/color or not. And how good is it for the cat to be adopted and then re-sold? Kudos to them for doing the right thing.

Abigail wrote on Aug 9, 2007 11:05 AM:I found this on the website ... discussing Torties. This is an excerpt from an article which was posted in 2006 by Sarah Heartwell. "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!" I have a good friend who is a veternarian who said the same thing a couple of years ago when we were talking about Tortie genetics. So if you want a male Tortie do it for the right reasons and enjoy his companionship.

reader wrote on Aug 9, 2007 11:32 AM:That web site would be the U-T's. You will also find out that the very few male tortoiseshells that aren't sterile cannot produce any more male tortoiseshells. Again, neutering not an issue.

Jack wrote on Aug 9, 2007 1:53 PM:Thanks readers, I'll buy that sterile thing. So now the question is are they going to adopted it out for the standard price ($50 or whatever) or show a little financial responsibility and auction it to a responsible collector? If I'm not mistaken the Human Society (and other similar organizations) are always short of cash and use private, corpoarte and some govt funds to stay afloat not to mention utilizing volunteers. Can't we ask them to use some common sense this one time and get a fair market price for this animal? It'd go a long way to feeding and caring for the others plus I'm sure it would be just as happy living with someone wealthy as in an average home. I know I would be! I still stand by my Bigfoot remark though.

Moose wrote on Aug 9, 2007 5:03 PM:Hey Jack and others who are not aware - Humane Societies and similar organizations are not in the habit of "selling" animals to "collectors" in some kind of money making opportunity. Offsetting the huge overpopulation problem (with spay / neuter) and improving the human-animal bonds have always been and should always be their main focus. Stop forcing capitalistic greed on living creatures.

JS wrote on Aug 10, 2007 12:44 AM:Moose: I hardly think that common business sense is "capitalist greed". I agree with Jack. For a change they have something other than the average mutt. In most cases people are doing them a favor paying fifty bucks for a cat. You can get one for free from almost anywhere. Now they have the oppurtunity to kill two birds with one stone (no pun). The cat can find a good home AND they can help support their own philanthropy. Win-win. To miss this opportunity is just plain irresponsible. Charities are so used to getting free money and labor they forget what responsibility really is.. As for the term "collector" who do you think adopts specific breeds? While you and I might go looking for an animal's personality someone else wants a particular size, breed color etc. It doesn't mean they're going to abuse it. The Humane Society presumably screens their applicants.

William wrote on Sep 6, 2007 8:52 AM:I don't know the value of a tri-colored male cat or what it's chromosomal makeup would have to be.(I.E. Kleinfelter's Syndrome) I do know that our Calico cat just gave birth to to four offspring and one of them is definatley tri-colored and definately male.

jenn wrote on Mar 10, 2008 8:22 PM: I have a male tortie point kitten out of my litter.. it took sending bout 40 pics to C.F.A. to get him colored. he will b reg. as toriie (male) .. I did put him in the paper for sell w/rest of litter for "highest offer and BEST HOME" some people will pay more to have something no one else has ... but I feel getting the better home is what I'm looking for. all kittens I sell go w/health cift. and a contract " the same contract I use for adopting/forsting home for pets... I have a small rescue goats, horses, cats and LARGE dogs, all monies I get from my one litter of kitts a yr, goes into the up keep of my rescue aminals ... so if I can get a few $$ more for him and A GREAT HOME it might help pay for the roof repair of the barn etc... HE WILL NOT B ANY GOOD FOR BREEDING, NOR SHOW, JUST AN ODDITIY, BUT AS LONG AS HE GETS GOOD HOME AND LOTS OF LOVE THATS WHAT MATTERS... JENN
'SOME OTHER PLACE" unwanted pet rescue

Jodie wrote on May 5, 2008 3:52 PM:Five years ago my mum and I were asked to take in a stray kitten by our neighbour. Apparenty the male tortie had been owned by drug dealers but had abandoned him and no one else wanted him. My mum took him in but he (Tinker we called him) was very ill and could only eat fish and special catmilk due to his intolerence to dairy. Tinker was a absolutely stunning cat, he had these big ears and tiger like black markings along his back. At the time we already had 2 older cats and as all our attention went on Tinker the other 2 were missing out. I didnt want to give him up, but my mum simply couldnt afford to feed him on his special diet of fresh fish everyday while the other cats ate bog standard whiskas and were unintentionally neglected. Therefore she gave him away to be rehomed by the Cats Protection League. We knew how rare he was but beacause he were rare he came with a lot of health problems e.g the special diet. I suppose the irony is the smack heads that had him at the time didnt know how valuable he was. Tinker was quickly rehomed to a nice old lady could afford his treatment and fish diet.

Science wrote on Aug 3, 2008 7:32 PM:It doesn't matter if they've neutered him. The abnormality is caused by a mutation in the chromosomes (Namely the number of sex chromosomes (3 instead of 2)).
The mutation is called xxy trisomy where the male cat has received an extra X chromosome which allows him to express the tortoise shell phenotype.

citiZEN wrote on Aug 13, 2008 5:37 PM:Why was Phinny neutered?? He is already STERILE!!!

BTW, calico/tortie is a coat coloring, not a breed.

He needs a good home, not the highest bidder.