Male tortoiseshell cats are popularly known as the most beautiful cats in spite of their breeds or ages. With their remarkable uniqueness and color, male tortoiseshell cats are often hunted and bought at incredibly high prices from many countries throughout the world. Like calico cats, their unique color pattern is one of the greatest trading worth for these breeds of cats, but a shortage of the male cats boosts their worth in the highest rates from approximately $1000 to $2000 for one male tortoiseshell at average. So, in this article, we’ll help you understand how much a male tortoiseshell cat is worth currently.
A preview of the male tortoiseshell cats
Tortoiseshell refers to an American terminology that describes the cat fur with specific colors. The Tortoiseshell cats were initially discovered in Egypt, and they have immigrated to Asia and Europe continents. They are considered as a security for pharaohs and saints in these two regions. Some people believe that these cats give them luck and also help them prevent a lot of dangers since Tortoiseshell cats are rare and have unique color patterns.
Some Tortoiseshell cats have blue, red, orange, black, or brown colors while others have a combination of three colors. Tortoiseshell cats can be random breed or pure breed cats just like any other plain cat. At times you will discover that some tortoiseshell cats have a maximum of six colors in their coat, but if you see only three different colors, you should know he is a tortoiseshell cat or not.
Nowadays, people acquire Tortoiseshell cats for exhibition only since they have narrow their budgets down for any luxurious expenses due to the recession. Moreover, most of them prefer buying the male breed more than the female Tortoiseshell cats.
The lifespan of a male tortoiseshell cat
No available statistics are showing how long the male tortoiseshell cat can survive. Nevertheless, their lifespan tends to be less than fifteen years, which is the average lifespan of a female Tortoiseshell cat. The main reason behind this is because naturally, male cats have XY chromosomes. Therefore, by incorporating an additional X chromosome, the cats are subject to Klinefelter’s Syndrome, a health condition that affects the health of the cat making it vulnerable to other health problems such as:
- Increased body fat which can cause diabetes, and heart disease among other conditions
- Resistance to insulin, hence diabetes
- Decrease in bone mineral content, leading to bone fracture risks
Thus, that means that you shouldn’t expect your cat to live for many years due to this common condition.
Why the male tortoiseshell cats are rare
Since a male tortoiseshell cat is born among 3000 female Tortoiseshell cats, the ratio of a male tortoiseshell cat is equivalent to 0.0003 percent. Each tortoiseshell cat is born with a maximum of three chromosomes that determine the color of its fur. Two of them are X chromosomes from its mother and one Y from its father.
Tortoiseshell cats are usually born by design with a mixture of Y and X chromosomes from their parents despite the breeds, and this occurrence may take place in any case. Most tortoiseshell cats grow up with three colors or even more and without any synthetic process become unique, natural and exceptional as well. In case of incomplete divisions, or inadequately separated chromosomes incorporating the third color will then connect to another pair which may be a pair of a male cat, and the pair can also join another chromosome.
The other fact about these cats is that out of approximately 10,000 male cats, you will perhaps get one fertile cat while the rest will be sterile. Due to this, if you are looking for a male tortoiseshell for reproduction purposes, then they might not be the best type for you. Again, most of the tortoiseshell cats have the Klinefelter’s symptom, and the condition makes them sterile and sick most of the time.
How much is a male tortoiseshell cat worth?
Knowing the precise cost of a male tortoiseshell cat is a challenging task since most vendors will always hike the prices for this cat owning to its uniqueness and being a rare breed. However, by asking other owners of the Tortoiseshell cat, you can get an average price in your region. The average cost of this cat may be higher than you expect.
A good looking tortoiseshell cat is worth approximately $1000 to a maximum of $2000. This price can sometimes be lower or higher depending on where you buy them. The price of this cat also depends on the type of breed. If the tortoiseshell cat is purebred, then the price will be high. More specifically, if a male tortoiseshell is fertile, it can be worth even $2000 although it is rare to get.
In a nutshell, the real value of a male tortoiseshell cat will to a higher degree depend on whether he is purebred or random bred. The colors of the fur do not influence the value of a male Tortoiseshell even if he has six or five different colors. Moreover, if a male tortoiseshell cat comes from Savannah or Russia, the price will be higher.
Final Verdict
Tortoiseshell cats are popularly known for their beauty. They have unique color patterns and beautiful fur which they retain regardless of their breed, sex, and age. The only challenge comes in getting this cat and more particularly the male species because they are rare, the reason why they are the world’s most hunted breeds.
Generally, male tortoiseshell cats are worth a lot of money. However, as earlier mentioned, the price is subject to whether it’s a random breed or pure breed. If you want a pure breed, then you will pay handsomely for it since they are rare to find. I hope you now have a rough idea of the price of a male tortoiseshell cat.
It’s worth noting that even though these cats have a short lifespan, you can still enjoy the companionship of this cat when you provide it with good nutrition, better shelter, and proper health care. So, as you make plans to acquire one of these rare cats, remember to seek advice from an experienced vet so that you can know how to take care of it to get good value for your investment.
I have a tortious Shell Kitten that was dumped in my backyard 5 days ago. Wondering how much she would cost if I were to buy her.
I have a male cat with stripes on his paws but all his fur is blurred together and grey, black, white and orange and a white sunburst patter on his face with orange on his ears and back paw. I know surely he must be rare. I just dunno what type of fur he has it’s so strange and looks nothing like any breed I’ve ever seen and I’m an animal lover
I’m curious if the kittens I have are true tortoise shell kittens. They are like nothing I’ve ever seen with stripe down the nose triangle over it’s eye strange patterns like that on each . They aren’t soft and intelligent. I have 4 females. I saw the male that impregnated my cat he looked just like the kittens. Thank you for your time .