Let me quickly sum up Rumple's history. Rumple came to me with four siblings that were just coming off of bottle feeding and starting on soft food. While all four litter mates adjusted well, Rumple's back end started to swell. It swelled so badly that there was no genetalia visible - only a swollen butt hole. He went to visit three different vets and switched a number of foods before I realized that Rumple was allergic to grains. After weeks on a grain-free diet and some antibiotics, the swelling went down, but the genetals were still not quite right. One vet was sure Rumple was a girl, another insisted Rumple was a male. So I brought him (we have always referred to Rumple as a male) to my regular vet who gave me a cream to put on the poor kitty's bottom to reduce the last of the swelling. Once everything was close to normal "back there" I brought Rumple back in for a very thorough exam. The results? Rumple does not have a penis, no testicles could be found, but the external genetalia is not right for a female either. Without a penis, he must be a she then, right? So for a month and a half we tried to adjust to calling Rumple she and her and even bought the ID tag in purple (not quite pink, but not blue either). I scheduled a spay surgery for 2/6/13. When I dropped Rumple off we discussed how we still weren't 100% on gender, and that this could be an interesting procedure.
Snap back to today, when Rumple came home from "spay" surgery... and the file listed MALE on the gender! When they opened "her" up, there was no uterus, so they started looking for testicles. They only found one. So Rumple is officially listed as male, having been a cryptorchid (undecended testicle). That said, without a penis, and having been born with just one teste, I firmy believe that despite the joking comments made earlier in the cat's troubled history... Rumplestiltskin is most certainly what I would consider to be a genuine case of hermaphrodism. Leave it to me to bring home a hermaphrodite cat. I do love oddballs, but in all my years, I think this case trumps them all.
Welcome home Rumplestiltskin. I love you no matter what genetalia (or lack there-of) you were born with. And for the record, Rumple will continue to be referred to in the male persona. I am currently hoping to keep Rumple permanently, as we've had a long journey together, and quite honestly, my kids absolutely love him and would be crushed to see him go.
Snap back to today, when Rumple came home from "spay" surgery... and the file listed MALE on the gender! When they opened "her" up, there was no uterus, so they started looking for testicles. They only found one. So Rumple is officially listed as male, having been a cryptorchid (undecended testicle). That said, without a penis, and having been born with just one teste, I firmy believe that despite the joking comments made earlier in the cat's troubled history... Rumplestiltskin is most certainly what I would consider to be a genuine case of hermaphrodism. Leave it to me to bring home a hermaphrodite cat. I do love oddballs, but in all my years, I think this case trumps them all.
Welcome home Rumplestiltskin. I love you no matter what genetalia (or lack there-of) you were born with. And for the record, Rumple will continue to be referred to in the male persona. I am currently hoping to keep Rumple permanently, as we've had a long journey together, and quite honestly, my kids absolutely love him and would be crushed to see him go.