• Lycaon
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    2016 days ago

    They’re gorgeous!! I’m curious, what do you mean by hermaphrodite?

    • codOP
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      3716 days ago

      Both parts. Islay has both testicles and a uterus. We call her a she (since our other cat is a boy so it’s just easier if one is he and one is she), but technically she’s a they. Unfortunately it’ll be very expensive to get her fixed because of it.

      • @[email protected]
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        1816 days ago

        I always assumed that sort of situation would render them sterile. It probably varies but the more you know!

        Well, I suppose fixing has hormonal consequences too and not just reproductive, now that I think about it.

        • codOP
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          1616 days ago

          More often than not, cats with both parts tend to develop cancer as a result of it, apparently. That’s according to the vet anyway. But yeah I think they tend to be sterile in most cases.

          • @[email protected]
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            916 days ago

            Having another whole system to develop something cancerous probably doesn’t help, but that’s interesting. I’m guessing it could cause unusual stresses on the body throughout aging too. I hope fixing/spaying mitigates the risk! Such a pretty one, and extra enigmatic.

      • Nougat
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        3316 days ago

        Spend the money unless you want to be responsible for Cat Jesus.

      • Match!!
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        715 days ago

        technically she’s a they

        if you asked her pronouns she’d probably say “meow”

      • Lycaon
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        716 days ago

        Ohh interesting! So would her chromosomes be XXY?

        • codOP
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          616 days ago

          I’m not too sure! That’s a good question though. I’m curious now, I’ll have to ask the vet the next time I see her.

      • @[email protected]
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        516 days ago

        Hey, by the way “hermaphrodite” is considered a slur, as it has a long history of being associated with horrific abuse of people with genitalia that isn’t considered ‘normal’. So in the future, I’d recommend using the term intersex.

        • @[email protected]
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          1216 days ago

          This is an odd one, cause it’s also medical I think? Or just scientific like hermaphroditic plants. For sure a person-slur though. Like a person may be hermaphroditic, but at the very least it’s a faux pas to call them a hermaphrodite, if not derogatory outright.

          • @[email protected]
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            416 days ago

            It is used in a medical/scientific context, but most intersex people consider it bad, as it only used to refer to people until fairly recently (19th century I think?). When talking about species that can reproduce by themselves (like slugs or some plants), I’ve heard the word cosexual is preferred.

        • codOP
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          916 days ago

          Good to know, thanks. That’s just what the vet called her, I wasn’t aware there were bad connotations with the term.

    • @[email protected]
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      716 days ago

      what do you mean by hermaphrodite?

      Isn’t that what Viktor Krum said when he was trying to pronounce Hermione?