Woman Starts Fundraiser To Help Hermaphrodite Cat With One Testicle

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Woman Starts Fundraiser To Help Hermaphrodite Cat With One Testicle

Pets can add spectacular amounts of wonder and joy to our lives, but they can also be incredibly expensive. When a young woman named Ginevra Hess was contacted by an animal rescue organization to ask if she would foster a kitten found under a hedge, she agreed and named the little sprout Gary. However, as the animal’s medical needs were being taken care of, Ginevra discovered that her foster cat was actually a hermaphrodite, born with both sets of genitals including one testicle.

Gary was suffering from severe constipation, so Ginevra took him to the vet. X-rays of the little beastie’s lower quadrant revealed not only intestinal distress, but also a vagina. She renamed the critter Garie-Ann and took her home, only to discover that the cat’s medical odyssey did not end there.

Further examination revealed the cat was born with a vulva, a penis and one testicle, showing markers of both sexes. The scientific term for such a mutation is hermaphrodite, and they are exceptionally rare. She changed the animal’s name back to Gary and is looking to raise funds for their continued medical care.

“At the moment, we aren’t sure if he’s a hermaphrodite, or a pseudohermaphrodite – the difference being that a hermaphrodite has fully functioning sets of both male and female sex organs, while a pseudohermaphrodite has both sets, but only one is functioning. There don’t seem to be many stats out there, but I have been working in veterinary medicine since I was 16 and have never seen anything like it,” Ginevra said.

Read more at Yahoo News.