When a homeless kitten was taken in by a cat charity in the UK, they were shocked to learn that it was neither male nor female.
When Hope, the tabby and white kitten, first arrived at the Cats Protection rescue facility in Warrington, England, veterinarians initially believed the animal to be a female, according to a blog post from the organization.
Veterinarians discovered the cat had neither internal nor external sex organs after an examination.
Photo via ABP Live
According to the blog post by senior field veterinary officer Fiona Brockbank of Cats Protection, this unusual condition is probably an instance of agenesis, the absence or failure of organ development.
According to Brockbank, no cat has ever been born without sexual organs, and neither she nor her colleagues have ever observed one. Due to this, veterinary professionals believe Hope might be the first documented case of a gender-neutral cat.
According to Brockbank's blog, "there's an outside possibility of some ectopic ovarian tissue hiding away internally, but we think this is extremely unlikely."
She added that there isn't really a term that is commonly used for this condition because it is so uncommon, but it is essentially sexual organ agenesis.
Huh, this is so interesting!
By: Aishah Akashah Ahadiat
