UNIQUE CASE IN HDC: HERMAPHRODITE CAT LOVEY DISCOVERED DURING STERILIZATION

Special patient in our clinic: Lovey is a hermaphroditic cat

We recently had a very special patient in the clinic of the Hague Animal Center: Lovey. When this beautiful patchwork cat came to us, she was very scared and stressed. Something we often see in cats that have just been abandoned or found. Because of that stress, we could not immediately check her gender. Since Lovey is a lap cat (and they are almost always females), we assumed that “she” was a female.

As with all of our shelter animals, Lovey was scheduled for sterilization. During this operation, however, our veterinarian was surprised: instead of ovaries, she found testicles in the abdomen and a male genitalia hidden in what looked like a vulva. At the same time, a normally shaped uterus was also found to be present. Lovey turned out to be a hermaphrodite. This is a cat with both male and female sex organs.

This is incredibly rare and we don’t often come across it in the HDC. Fortunately, Lovey didn’t notice any of the fuss and recovered well from the surgery.

Being a hermaphrodite doesn’t make Lovey any less of a cat, just more special.

Lovey has now found a nice, new home. Are you curious to know how it goes? Then keep an eye on our website and socials for an update.

Curious about the available cats and available dogs? Then keep an eye on our website as well.