Truth about Buster leaves SPCA team gobsmacked

Buster the very rare tortoiseshell cat. Photo / Supplied

Auckland SPCA staff were about to spay a beautiful tortoiseshell cat when they discovered that "she" was actually a very rare "he" - a male tortoiseshell cat.

When the tabby-tortie and white cat, named Buster, was brought to the SPCA from another shelter that had too many cats, it caught everyone by surprise.

"We didn't realise what we had here until we were sorting his paperwork out," said the Auckland SPCA's hospital manager, Sarah Fuller.

"[A male tortoiseshell] is so unique, we didn't even check to see if he was a girl. [We] just assumed, because of its type and colouring, it was female."

The large majority of tortoiseshell cats are female because the unusual colouring requires the recessive trait from two X-chromosomes.

Males traditionally have only one X-chromosome. About one in every 3000 male cats is born with two-X chromosomes.

"The SPCA staff say they can only recall one other in and that was a young kitten last year who had four colours instead of three, so he was also very unique," Ms Fuller said.

"With male tortoiseshells, It's like they exist, but no one has ever seen one, an urban legend almost.

"We count ourselves lucky to be among the limited few that have actually seen one. He is really a very unique cat, I'm sure we will never see one like him again."

The good news is that Buster is now ready for adoption and the SPCA expects him to be snatched up because he is so special. Not only that, but he is very affectionate.

"He's a purr-box," Ms Fuller said. "Even though he's rare enough to be king of cats, he's very sweet and affectionate. He doesn't know how special he is."

People wishing to adopt Buster should contact the SPCA on (09) 256-7300.