A vet trip for a stray kitten rescued from under a grill turned into a heartwarming surprise: the tiny cat also belongs to a particularly uncommon group — an orange female.
What happened?
TikTok user Grace Kellyann (@gracekellyann) shared the latest chapter in the kitten's story in a video showing the scrappy young cat heading to the vet after being found under a grill.
At the time of the TikTok video, the kitten was still being called "Tommy" as a temporary name, and Kelly Ann said she had not yet found out whether the cat was male or female.
@gracekellyann Update on our furry friend that showed up under our grill 🐈🥰 #foundcat #vlog #vet #animalrescue ♬ Sakura-lined street - KCNX
One of the first details from the appointment was the kitten's size: Kellyann guessed 1.2 pounds, then learned the actual weight was 1.3 pounds. She also estimated the cat was about 6 weeks old before the vet visit brought an even bigger surprise.
"Oh, it's a girl. I was wrong," she said. "Girls are very rare. Apparently, orange girls are very rare. So we got a rare girl."
Why does it matter?
The appointment did more than answer questions about the kitten's sex: it also got her immediate treatment. Kellyann said, "We got her flea medicine and eye ointment, so she's good to go."
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The kitten also turned out to be an orange female. Orange cats are more often male because the gene responsible for orange coloring is sex-linked, making female orange cats less common.
Early veterinary care can make a major difference, especially for very young kittens, and even more so for those separated from their mother.
What are people saying?
Many commenters urged Kellyann to keep the kitten.
One commenter wrote, "You gotta keep her!" Another added, "You should so keep her so cute."
After Kellyann mentioned, "my allergies are going crazy," other viewers shared suggestions for handling pet allergies.
One person suggested, "also suggest using Allerpet on her once she's old enough—it's completely safe for animals & it really helps with allergies!" Another reassured her: "I'm allergic too and I take Zyrtec daily and I have a pet kitty!"
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