I am going to argue that a male calico cat may be worth upwards of £2000 (or US$2000). I will explain why I have come to this conclusion but at the same time please read Sarah Hartwell’s comment. She has a different opinion and I respect her opinion.
UPDATE: this is an important update which completely transforms my view on the matter. It pretty much wipes out what I’ve written beyond this point. Having done some research on male calico cats I have discovered that they often suffer from a rare genetic, inherited condition, called Klinefelter’s Syndrome because of the presence of XXY chromosomes. This makes the value of a male calico cat almost zero. You can read about the condition by clicking on this link. It’s a serious condition which shortens the lifespan.
Firstly, it needs to be mentioned that calico cats can be either purebred or random bred cats and the word “calico” refers to the cat’s coat which is tortoiseshell-and-white. The word “calico” is an American term.
Most of us know that male calico cats are rare. It is said that about one in every 3000 calico cats are male. It is considered by many that the reason why nearly all male calico cats are infertile is because they have XXY chromosomes (but see below). It is said also that they are not particularly desirable in purebred breeding programs.
On the basis that the male calico cat is rare but infertile then the value of this cat will be solely on his rarity. If a person likes a rare cat they may pay handsomely for that cat and it depends on whether the cat is random or purebred.
The position is made more confusing by the fact that modern science has come to the conclusion that the most common cause of male tortoiseshell cats and calico cats has been found to be chimerism. Sarah Hartwell, a well-known expert on cats and cat genetics says that when chimerism is the cause the result is fertile males.
I will quote Sarah Hartwell if I may and provide a link to her page on the subject.
“A chimera is the result of two fertilized eggs fusing to become a single kitten. If the two fertilized eggs are both XY, this gives an XY/XY male chimera…. an XY/XY chimera would be fully fertile.”
Therefore, it seems to me, that the percentage of fertile male calico cats may be higher than we believe. If we are to value a fertile, male, purebred calico cat of handsome disposition and appearance then I would have thought that he could be worth up to $2000 or more to the right person
Updating note: Please see Sarah Hartwell’s comment. Click on this link to read it. It debunks to a certain extent my arguments! I don’t mind that although it is a little disappointing. Sarah is a renown expert on cat genetics and highly reliable.
It depends of course on whether the buyer has the money and particularly likes calico cats and in addition particularly likes rarity. If the cat is a purebred that too would enhance his value.
So under the right circumstances a male calico cat who is fertile could be worth up to $2000 or £2000. Under different circumstances the value of a male calico cat would depend on whether he is random bred or purebred in my opinion. The coat type would not have an influence in this instance.
Random bred cats are almost valueless relatively speaking while purebred cats can be purchased for around $500-$1500 depending upon the cat’s quality.
I would be happy for people to comment on this assessment. I have deliberately tried to state a price. This is unusual and perhaps foolish 😉 .
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This is my male Calico. How much would he be worth
Hi, I have a male Calico kitten
I love my lil dilute calico male. I’d never sell him. Hes my lil buddy!! Just wanted to share a pic of him.
Would this kitten be considered a Calico? or just a 3 color Tabby?
I have a male calico purebred Norwegian forest cat. Worth anything?
Super cat and a rare cat. He is probably worth the same as most purebred cats ($500-$1000 about) plus a bit extra to take into account those people who are interested in owning a rare cat. So maybe he is worth around $1,500 but that is speculating. He worth is what the market dictates ultimately. You’ll have to prove pedigree with genuine documentation if you sell on the basis that he is purebred.
We have a 6 week male calico we would like to sell we wouldn’t charge a of we just want a good home
I am sure that you will find a person to take care of him. Calico is a popular coat type and males are very rare.
I have twin male calicos just born.
Wow! Can you upload a photo? Thanks for visiting and sharing.
Another photo of Zig.
Yes, in my opinion he is a calico cat. But modern advancements on calico and tortie cats tell us that male calicos are not as rare as we first thought! Sorry.
That is fine by me. He’s a cool little kitten either way. Thank you.
This is my boy Zig. Would his markings be considered as calico? These photos do not do his coat (pinkish/orange patches against grey/black patches on white) justice, but it’s the best I could do, as he’s a kitten & never sits still.
Oh it worked!
That’s him sleeping just now. Kinda looks like one of those images of Jesus on a piece of toast.
His name is Baby Cheeses… It’s a spoof on a Sofia Vergara line from Modern Family.
I would but my pics are not low enough quality to meet the upload requirement.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.
This is what I can upload.
If it works… My male Calico kitten, Baby Cheeses
Me and My male calico, Oscar Kat
Super. A rare boy.
My husband, Bobby, brought me and my red headed pit bull, Ginger Snapps (2.5 yrs) a male calico kitten (approx 4 mnths) from his Aunt and Uncle on Oct 10th. His Aunt’s cat had a litter of four. One solid black male, a solid gray female and 2 male calicos. How rare can they really be if she had 2 in her first litter? Now I do keep a close eye on my Oscar Kat.I know a lot of people would think he’s worth a lot of money and would not think twice to snatch him up. Just as I keep a close eye on my dog because saddly there are people who would want to breed her to make money off her pups or try to fight her. Many people want a rare animal cat or dog and dogs such as pit bulls as a status symbol and many times those pets are neglected. they are more than pets to me but are more like my children.
I tell you what would be rare and I’d love to have is a six toed male calico with one green eye and one blue eye. I’d definitely adopt that kitty and add him to our happy little family.
Thanks for sharing and nice to know that you have two male calicos.
Super rare. Unique I’d say 😉
I have a boy baby calico kitten for sell
Hi.
I’m wondering if anyone purchased your calico male. I inadvertantly adopted a very young Calico female who turned out to be pregnant with four kitties born September 9, 2017 right before Irma hit. One of them is a beautiful calico with a very large crucifix design on it’s back in brown and white.
When one idiot neighbor discovered this, he told two friends and they told two friends… I live in a neighborhood full of lowlifes and crackheads who have now taken to casing my house apparently under the belief there is someone nearby with an open offer of 4k$ for a calico male. I’m sure some lowlife is going to try and steal this cat if there are really people buying Calico males for this kind of money. I guess what I want to know is if these kind of offers are real. If what is stated above is true about the odds of them being chimera, I would have to concur, with my guy(Baby Cheeses) as he looks pretty symmetrical right down his spine.
Any info would be helpful. Thanks.
Adam, thanks for commenting. Can you upload a photo?
I would but my pics are not low enough quality to meet the upload requirement.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.
I often get asked this and I see hopeful seller listings on Craigslist (& similar) trying to get high prices for such cats and I have to disappoint them. Once these cats might be valuable for researching the genetic conditions that caused them. Nowadays all that is needed are tissue samples from the different coloured areas and possibly a blood sample.
Male calicos/torties are actually not worth any more than a bicolour cat of the same variety. Several have been rehomed by various cat shelters for the normal rehoming fee. They are also neutered the same as any other cat.
In pedigree cats there is no show class for tortoiseshell/tortie-and-white male and they have to be shown as Any Other Colour or Variety. If fertile they breed for either the red-based colour or for the black-based colour, but not for both so their value as studs is the same as for a normal stud of that breed. If not used as studs, they are neutered.
Sorry Michael, with the advancement of science, tortie & calico toms aren’t valuable and are turning out to be more common than previously believed.
Many thanks for your comment. I need to thank you even though it is a very late thank you. I thought that you’d comment on this 😉
Male calico cats are rare, 1/3000 calicos are male. The price of a calico male all differs on whether someone is willing to pay that. The on going debate on the price is a matter of opinion. However, i believe a calico male cat is worth 2k or more. Sometimes less.
This just came up with an old thread elsewhere with someone wanting to know how much a male calico would be worth for breeding. Which would be about zero unless they were fertile and had papers but you would likely not be able to reproduce more male calicos.
I suppose someone would pay money for a beautiful cat but I’d worry they were only interested in having a novelty.