An animal rescue group said one of its volunteers is currently caring for a male calico kitten, a feline so rare they are often called ‘unicorn’ kittens.

The kitten and his siblings were born in a Weld County shed and were turned over to the Weld County Humane Society before coming to NoCo Kitties.

Volunteer Alli Magish, who is fostering the three kittens and their mother, Amber, told that only one in 3,000 calico kittens are born male. Calicos typically end up with the coloration due to getting different colour genes from the X chromosomes they receive from their parents.

The colouring can also result from random mutations of skin cells, but that is the rarest cause of calico colour in males, experts said.

The rescue group said the kitten, dubbed Charlie the Unicorn, will eventually be made available for adoption.

Published in Dawn, Young World, May 13th, 2023