Rare Chimera Kitten Found

Jakarta, CNN Indonesia –

A kitten is thought to be the result of a mixture or born of two DNA (chimera) in black-orange successfully saved Nashville Cat Rescue. The cat has the name Apricot.

Apricot was rescued after a family moved into a house and found kittens on the wall.

To be known, a chimera cat is a cat with cells that contain two types of DNA, which are caused by two embryos fused together.

Launch Daily PawsApricot’s unique appearance attracted fans from all over the country. The colors on the Apricot’s face appear perfectly halved, half black and half orange.

[Gambas:Twitter]

Nashville Cat Rescue volunteer Kayli Craig the cat spotted Apricot can also have eyes of two different colors, which is called heterochromia. But Apricot is too young to know if he will also have these special eyes.

“Her eyes won’t change to their adult color until she’s 7 weeks old,” says Craig.

IFL Science reported, Apricot was found with his brothers, named Olive and Pickle.

With a two-colored face split in the middle, it’s possible that Apricot could be a chimera, but it can’t be confirmed without DNA testing.

A chimera occurs when two embryos fuse together in the uterus, creating an animal that has two sets of DNA. Although rare, there have been confirmed cases among humans.

In 2009, an American singer discovered she was suffering from tetragametic chimerism after investigating a rare birthmark creeping up the center of her body.

Estimates vary, but most sources suggest there are only about 100 documented cases in humans.

Chimeras among cats are not particularly rare, according to University of California professor Leslie Lyon. According to Lyons, most male tortoiseshell cats are actually chimeras because their characteristic mottled coat may be the result of an extra X chromosome, making the animal XXY and not XY.

Female tortoise shells can wear a coat without an extra chromosome because they already have two X chromosomes.

(jps / mik)

[Gambas:Video CNN]

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