Who Was the First Cloned Cat? All About CC! (With Footage)

I’ve but to have the chance to satisfy a cloned cat in particular person. I’ve heard of the phenomenon many occasions over time, however I’ve by no means personally thought-about having any of my cats cloned. Nonetheless, I’ve all the time puzzled who the primary cloned cat was, how lengthy they lived, and what their high quality of life was like. In the event you’re interested in the identical factor, you’ve come to the best place!

Meet CC — The First Cloned Cat!

The primary cloned cat was named CC, brief for “Carbon Copy.” The cloning passed off at Texas A&M College, the place researchers took a number of ovary cells from a cat named Rainbow whereas she was being spayed after which implanted the nuclei from the cells into an egg. This resulted within the start of CC, the cloned cat, on December 22, 2001!

Though the cloned cat gave the impression to be wholesome, the scientists who created CC did get a giant shock: She didn’t look something like Rainbow, the cat that she was a clone of. Rainbow was a calico cat that had gray and orange markings, however CC didn’t have any orange markings. Scientists didn’t anticipate this to happen however ultimately decided that the nuclei that they used didn’t embody the gene chargeable for creating the orange markings.

What Ever Occurred to CC, the Cloned Cat?

CC the cat lived a protracted and completely happy life along with her adopted dad and mom, Duane and Shirley Kraemer. She even gave start to 4 kittens, three of which survived. This implies she was not solely the primary cloned cat in existence, however she was additionally the primary cloned cat to ever give start. CC lived along with her offspring in a specifically designed shed within the yard of Duane and Shirley’s house. She ended up residing to a ripe previous age of 18 years and was wholesome till she was recognized with kidney failure. Sadly, she handed away from the situation on March 3, 2020.

Cat Cloning Is Turning into Mainstream

I used to be conscious that cat cloning has been going down for a few years, however I didn’t understand simply how mainstream it appears to have turn out to be. There are lots of firms on the market, like Gemini Genetics, that promise to clone your cat and create a brand new life with 99.9% genetic similarity, an nearly equivalent look, and the identical normal lifespan and reproductivity talents.

Evidently all you must do is present the corporate with a tissue pattern of the one you love cat, and they’ll ultimately ship you a cloned cat. Cloning isn’t low cost, although. It usually prices hundreds of {dollars}, so the thought of cloning a cat is probably going out of attain for many individuals. That stated, a girl named Kelly in the USA cloned her cat not too way back, as did a person named Heung in China.

Controversies Surrounding Cat Cloning

In fact, there are a number of controversies surrounding the thought of cloning a cat or any home animal in any respect, for that matter. Ethics are behind a lot of the issues. For example, many really feel that cloning a cat not directly harms the stray and deserted cats that exist already and are in want.

It’s additionally thought by some those who cloned cats will not be as wholesome or as lengthy lived as the unique cats from which they had been cloned. However there is no such thing as a proof to date that signifies that cloned cats have any well being issues that the unique cats wouldn’t have had. That stated, if cloning turns into mainstream within the meals trade, it may trigger extra ache and struggling than is critical as a result of there might be many extra animals born and raised in horrible situations simply to be killed for meals.

Closing Ideas

Whereas the thought of cloning cats is intriguing, it appears that there’s nonetheless quite a lot of analysis that must be performed earlier than making the method of cloning a pet broadly obtainable to the common particular person. Nonetheless, the one strategy to know the way cloning would possibly have an effect on an animal or an trade in the long run is to create extra cloned animals and see what occurs.

Featured Picture Credit score: Anne Richard, Shutterstock

Concerning the writer

Cat mother to Ivy – a feisty little rescue kitten that’s her one and solely baby. For now! All through her life, she has been launched to the particular love that may be discovered within the bond with a cat. Having owned a number of felines, she is greater than sure that their love is unmatched, unconditional and in contrast to some other. With a ardour to coach the general public about every thing, there may be to find out about felines, their habits, and their distinctive personalities, Crystal is devoted to creating positive that each one cats and their house owners know the significance of acutely aware residing – and loving!