A mother cat and her four young cats huddled together in fear inside a shed in Colorado, hoping that someone would come upon them and save them.

The tiny family was quickly discovered by a kind stranger who brought them to the Weld County Humane Society. From there, they were finally placed in the care of NoCo Kitties, which is an organization that provides foster homes for cats.

Alli Magish, a woman who provides foster care, was delighted to take in the wayward family. When she welcomed the cats into her house, she had no idea that she was about to be presented with the opportunity of a lifetime.

Magish examined the gender of the cats as she was filling out the necessary medical documentation for them. This was something that she had done several times in the past.

“I’ve fostered well over 500 cats [and] kittens, so I’m familiar with identifying the sex,” Magish told The Dodo. “I’ve also had a lot of experience with neutering and spaying.”

When she examined the gender of one of the calico kittens, she made an unexpected discovery: it looked that he was a boy. This came as a surprise. Vetstreet reports that there is just one male calico cat for every 3,000 females in the breed. Because the calico gene requires the presence of two X chromosomes in order to function properly, it is only found in female cats. Female cats are thus generally calico in appearance. Because they contain both an X and a Y chromosome, male cats almost never have the calico coat pattern. Nevertheless, it is possible for a male cat to be born with three sex chromosomes, two X and one Y. This occurs quite seldom. After this point, a male cat will only have calico markings.

“I examined it a second time. After that, I did a triple check,” Magish stated.

Magish texted Davida duPont, the creator of NoCo Kitties, and informed her of the news while she was still in shock. In an effort to get a definitive answer, Magish and duPont brought the calico cat to a nearby veterinarian. The doctor quickly confirmed what Magish and duPont had previously suspected: the calico kitten was in fact a male.

“That was quite an exciting experience!” Magish stated. “We were all a little bit giddy and laughing.”

Magish immediately started texting her close pals to share the exciting news with them. In the meanwhile, the kitten, who was subsequently given the name Charlie, was completely oblivious to the commotion since he was too busy taking advantage of all the pleasures of his new foster home, such as hopping on everyone’s lap, playing with people’s hair, and swiping at pieces of ribbon.

“He’s such a rambunctious little kitten!” Magish stated. “And he adores being smothered in affection.”

Adoption applications started pouring in as soon as word got out about the extraordinary kitten. Magish and duPont had a lot of work to do, but they were determined to find Charlie the position that was the best possible match for him. After going through a large number of applications, they were able to zero down on the right candidate. At long last, Charlie had a place to call his own forever.

“He’s heading home to his new house, which will be his lifelong home… and he is taking his closest pal Cooper with him,” Magish added. They have a close relationship, and the adoptive that he has chosen will take both of them in.

Despite the fact that Charlie’s chromosomes defy the odds, the fluffy calico is undoubtedly relieved to learn that his existence with his new family will, from this point on, be comfortable, predictable, and most importantly, full of love.