Imagine being out in public and unexpectedly hearing a cat’s meow. And how chilling it would be if you were in a place that a kitten didn’t belong.

You would probably have to wait to hear the noise again. You would assume your ears had mislead you and wonder how a cat could have made it’s way to this unlikely place. But then the noise does come again. A kitten’s cry is too heartbreaking to ignore! So you decide you have to go and investigate.

Well this exact situation happened to one woman who happened upon a kitten crying for help from a dumpster.

And not just any kitten, but a newborn – and he was in bad shape.

She could hardly believe her eyes and wasted no time rescuing the tiny thing on her own. She fished him out of the dumpster and brought him to safety.

The meowing feline as no bigger than the palm of her hand and his eyes were not even open yet. He must have been about a week old and was clearly in need of some help.

He was in rough condition and had clearly been separated from his family.

But luckily for this little guy, fate had brought him someone who had some experience and was familiar with how to care for a newborn kitten. What are the odds of that?!

The kindhearted woman gave him a quick assessment and could tell he had a broken leg, and paw that had been infected with gangrene. She brought him to a vet for support and professional help.

It was hard to tell because of his condition, but the woman was quite sure she had found a little calico.

After days of bottle feeding, medication, and some tender loving care, the tiny kitten started to regain his strength.

His broken leg was on the road to recovery, but the gangrene had set in and it was too late to shake it. So the poor little guy had to have the paw amputated to prevent it from spreading.

The vet confirmed the stray was, in fact, a calico just as his rescuer had guessed. And male calico cats are very rare! They’re a sought after breed and have beautiful orange and black patterning all over their mostly white fur.

So he’s a genetic anomaly!

A calico’s colored patches are like a visual code, as part of the cat’s DNA, but only expressed in the X chromosome. Who would have thought a cat’s fur could be so specifically determined by their DNA?

So for female cats with two X chromosomes, it’s common for those genes and different colors to be expressed in their fur coats.

Dr. Kathryn Primm, a veterinarian in Tennessee who specializes in small animals, weighed in on why male calicos are so rare.

“A male cat, who has only one X chromosome, the two colors are not able to express in this way. In fact, in order for a male cat to even carry and express both of these colors, he must have a genetic rarity known as Klinefelter syndrome. Klinefelter males have an extra X chromosome, so their genetic map is XXY. Because of the presence of the two X chromosomes, Klinefelter males can appear calico.”

It seems our adorable little Martyr is a special cat for many reasons!

He was adopted by the woman who came to his rescue that day in the dumpster. She was used to fostering kittens but had such a strong bond with Martyr that she couldn’t give him up.

Now he’s living with a loving family and living his best cat life. Watch the video below for more on his amazing story.

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Source: Did You Know Animals?, iHeartCats, The Spruce Pets