Copy Cat, the world's first cloned cat had three kittens (pictured) in September -- and she even did it the natural way. Copy Cat was cloned by Texas A&M University researchers in 2001. Mother and kittens are doing well, said Duane Kraemer, an A&M veterinary medicine professor who helped clone her and has been taking care of her since.
"They're cute and we thought people ought to know about the birth," Kraemer said. "But we're hoping it doesn't cause the same frenzy CC did."
Cited story and photo source.
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Awwww. I do love puddy tats.
so when can we clone a cat which is not an invasive, exotic, native bird stalking pain in the ass species? can we genetically-engineer one of those? or maybe create some hawks with a penchant for eating the poop-on-your-basil-and-porch-furniture feral felines?
Even in the small rural village I live in we have a problem with "dumpster cats" and racoons. Moth balls work well on the groundhogs that amble around between nesting burrows along the creek. Our village is semi-surrounded by it. I spread them along property boundrys.Replacing after several rains.I don't have a problem with the feral cats becuz I also have a dog - who chases squirrels who live in an old rotting alder next door and eat from a hugh oak tree in my back yard. Moth balls don't phase those lil'critters. I'm not sure how I feel about "cloning". I'm impressed by the wonders of it though...:o)
It's a good thing we're cloning cats and then failing to fix them so they reproduce. There certainly is a massive shortage of cats in shelters nationwide. Gahhhh! I guess it's kind of cool that we can clone stuff now, but we should do it responsibly.
Jamie & Diane: try chili peppers or chili oil to "mark your territory" against cats. Capescin spray (modern "Mace") might also work, as it's basically an extract of hot peppers. (I don't know if they keep enough of the pepper's own smell for cats to recognize, but you can try.)
Jamie: from the Yahoo story: "CC is not the first cloned cat to give birth, Kraemer said. In New Orleans, two cloned wild African cats successfully mated to produce kittens."
Kate: this wasn't carelessness, normal fertility is part of the test for a successful clone, and they brought the tom in for the occasion.
Janie, Diane & Kate: you sound as if you think these things are somehow connected. I have a friend who breeds, and she's crazy about the idea of cloning - to make superior speciamens available for wider breeding - and she wouldn't be caught dead with a shelter mongrel. Anybody who is willing to spend this kind of money to clone is either a breed purist (or snob) or attempting to reproduce one particular cat - they won't be connected to feral cats in any way, shape, or form, except perhaps to despise them as much as you do.
Janie, Diane & Kate: you sound as if you think these things are somehow connected. I have a friend who breeds, and she's crazy about the idea of cloning - to make superior speciamens available for wider breeding - and she wouldn't be caught dead with a shelter mongrel. Anybody who is willing to spend this kind of money to clone is either a breed purist (or snob) or attempting to reproduce one particular cat - they won't be connected to feral cats in any way, shape, or form, except perhaps to despise them as much as you do. It's like complaining that an athlete makes millions of dollars when teachers are underpaid: true, but irrelevant.
I know these things are not connected, and I don't despise cats. But I did sit down in a pile of feral cat poop, on my porch furniture, recently. I just think we should clone cooler animals. Lemmy Kilmeister, for instance. Or Richard Dawkins. Or maybe splice those two. That would be hella cool.