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News: First Cloned Cat Made
First cloned cat-to-order cost $50,000
Woman wanted `identical' pet Sale of `Little Nicky' stirs ethics debate PAUL ELIAS ASSOCIATED PRESS SAN FRANCISCO-The first cloned-to-order pet sold in the United States is named Little Nicky, an eight-week-old kitten delivered to a Texas woman saddened by the loss of a cat she had owned for 17 years. The kitten cost its owner $50,000 (U.S.) and was cloned from a beloved cat, named Nicky, that died last year. Nicky's owner banked the cat's DNA, which was used to create the clone. "He is identical. His personality is the same," the woman said in a telephone interview. The company, Sausalito-based Genetic Savings and Clone, made her available to speak to reporters only on condition the woman's name and hometown not be used. The woman said she fears being the target of groups opposed to cloning. "Nicky loved water, which is an unusual characteristic of cats. Little Nicky jumped into my bath," said the woman, who said she is in her early 40s and employed in the airline industry. The company delivered Little Nicky two weeks ago and was expected to publicly announce the news today. While Little Nicky frolics in his new home, the kitten's creation and sale has reignited fierce ethical and scientific debate over cloning technology, which is rapidly advancing. By May, the company said it hopes to have produced the world's first cloned dog - a much more lucrative market than cats. Commercial interests already are cloning prized cattle for about $20,000 each, and scientists have cloned mice, rabbits, goats, pigs, horses - and even the endangered banteng, a wild bull that is found mostly in Indonesia. Several research teams around the world, meanwhile, are racing to create the first cloned monkey. "It's morally problematic and a little reprehensible," said David Magnus, co-director of the Center for Biomedical Ethics at Stanford University. "For $50,000, she could have provided homes for a lot of strays.'' Animals' rights activists complain that new feline production systems aren't needed because thousands of stray cats are euthanized each year for want of homes. Lou Hawthorne, Genetic Savings and Clone's chief executive, said his company purchases thousands of ovaries from spay clinics across the country. It extracts the eggs, which are combined with the genetic material from the animals to be cloned. Critics also complain the technology is available only to the wealthy, that using it to create house pets is frivolous and that customers grieving over lost pets have unrealistic expectations of what they're buying. In fact, the first cat cloned in 2001 had a different coat from its genetic donor, underscoring that environment and other biological variables make it impossible to exactly duplicate animals. "The thing that many people do not realize is that the cloned cat is not the same as the original," said Bonnie Beaver, an animal behaviourist who heads the American Veterinary Medical Association. "It has a different personality. It has different life experiences. They want Fluffy, but it's not Fluffy.'' The company says it carefully counsels its customers about what they'll receive, but insists myriad personality and physical traits will be passed from genetic donor to cloned offspring. Little Nicky's owner said the company "underpromised and overdelivered" her cat, which is of the Maine coon variety. A native New England breed, the Maine coon gets its name from the resemblance of a tabby Maine coon's tail to that of a raccoon. Still other scientists warn cloned animals suffer from more health problems than their traditionally bred peers and that cloning is still a very inexact science. It takes many gruesome failures to produce just a single clone. |
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Personally, I wouldn't clone a pet of mine or anyone I knew. If they
died, then, as much as I would miss them, I honestly don't want an identicle wandering around. I dunno if I would like myself cloned, either, but I haven't thought about that one too much. As they said in the article, a person who buys a clone of their deceased animal will spend a *lot* of cash on an animal that isn't what they lost. Every being is different because of it's experiences and whatnot. Instead of wanting her cat that died back, she should have let him and and provided housing/charity for other cats. ....A very controversial topic, kindof annoying how controversial it is, actually. |
#3
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"raenee" wrote in message oups.com... [...] Instead of wanting her cat that died back, she should have let him and and provided housing/charity for other cats. Agreed. - RT |
#4
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It is such a sad thing she did. She has a cat cloned when so many cats at
the shelters are wanting a good and loving home. That lady should be ashamed of herself. -- Cat Galaxy: All Cats! All The Time! www.catgalaxymedia.com Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of Your Computer Needs! www.panthertekit.com "Ruby Tuesday" wrote in message ... First cloned cat-to-order cost $50,000 Woman wanted `identical' pet Sale of `Little Nicky' stirs ethics debate PAUL ELIAS ASSOCIATED PRESS SAN FRANCISCO-The first cloned-to-order pet sold in the United States is named Little Nicky, an eight-week-old kitten delivered to a Texas woman saddened by the loss of a cat she had owned for 17 years. The kitten cost its owner $50,000 (U.S.) and was cloned from a beloved cat, named Nicky, that died last year. Nicky's owner banked the cat's DNA, which was used to create the clone. "He is identical. His personality is the same," the woman said in a telephone interview. The company, Sausalito-based Genetic Savings and Clone, made her available to speak to reporters only on condition the woman's name and hometown not be used. The woman said she fears being the target of groups opposed to cloning. "Nicky loved water, which is an unusual characteristic of cats. Little Nicky jumped into my bath," said the woman, who said she is in her early 40s and employed in the airline industry. The company delivered Little Nicky two weeks ago and was expected to publicly announce the news today. While Little Nicky frolics in his new home, the kitten's creation and sale has reignited fierce ethical and scientific debate over cloning technology, which is rapidly advancing. By May, the company said it hopes to have produced the world's first cloned dog - a much more lucrative market than cats. Commercial interests already are cloning prized cattle for about $20,000 each, and scientists have cloned mice, rabbits, goats, pigs, horses - and even the endangered banteng, a wild bull that is found mostly in Indonesia. Several research teams around the world, meanwhile, are racing to create the first cloned monkey. "It's morally problematic and a little reprehensible," said David Magnus, co-director of the Center for Biomedical Ethics at Stanford University. "For $50,000, she could have provided homes for a lot of strays.'' Animals' rights activists complain that new feline production systems aren't needed because thousands of stray cats are euthanized each year for want of homes. Lou Hawthorne, Genetic Savings and Clone's chief executive, said his company purchases thousands of ovaries from spay clinics across the country. It extracts the eggs, which are combined with the genetic material from the animals to be cloned. Critics also complain the technology is available only to the wealthy, that using it to create house pets is frivolous and that customers grieving over lost pets have unrealistic expectations of what they're buying. In fact, the first cat cloned in 2001 had a different coat from its genetic donor, underscoring that environment and other biological variables make it impossible to exactly duplicate animals. "The thing that many people do not realize is that the cloned cat is not the same as the original," said Bonnie Beaver, an animal behaviourist who heads the American Veterinary Medical Association. "It has a different personality. It has different life experiences. They want Fluffy, but it's not Fluffy.'' The company says it carefully counsels its customers about what they'll receive, but insists myriad personality and physical traits will be passed from genetic donor to cloned offspring. Little Nicky's owner said the company "underpromised and overdelivered" her cat, which is of the Maine coon variety. A native New England breed, the Maine coon gets its name from the resemblance of a tabby Maine coon's tail to that of a raccoon. Still other scientists warn cloned animals suffer from more health problems than their traditionally bred peers and that cloning is still a very inexact science. It takes many gruesome failures to produce just a single clone. |
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I wouldn't want a clone either. I think each of my cats is unique enough and
there can only be one like them. If mine died I'd be saddened but I'd also eventually want to get another cat. Adopting one that needs a good and loving is also the best way to honor the memory of the cat that has passed on. Anyone willing to spend $50,000 for a cloned cat has obviously no heart when so many in the shelters need good and loving homes. -- Cat Galaxy: All Cats! All The Time! www.catgalaxymedia.com Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of Your Computer Needs! www.panthertekit.com "raenee" wrote in message oups.com... Personally, I wouldn't clone a pet of mine or anyone I knew. If they died, then, as much as I would miss them, I honestly don't want an identicle wandering around. I dunno if I would like myself cloned, either, but I haven't thought about that one too much. As they said in the article, a person who buys a clone of their deceased animal will spend a *lot* of cash on an animal that isn't what they lost. Every being is different because of it's experiences and whatnot. Instead of wanting her cat that died back, she should have let him and and provided housing/charity for other cats. ...A very controversial topic, kindof annoying how controversial it is, actually. |
#6
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I got my cat Tiger when she was 1 1/2 years old. When I heard about the
cloned cats, I briefly thought that if I had $50,000 to throw away I'd clone Tiger (who is still alive!) just so I could see what she looked like as a kitten. It wasn't a serious thought. But I wish I had known Tiger as a kitten. The woman claims that the cloned kitten is just like her original, but the poor baby is only 7 weeks old! In a year or two, I wonder if she'll be saying the same thing. -- Liz |
#7
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"raenee" wrote:
...As they said in the article, a person who buys a clone of their deceased animal will spend a *lot* of cash on an animal that isn't what they lost. Every being is different because of it's experiences and whatnot. Instead of wanting her cat that died back, she should have let him and and provided housing/charity for other cats. I think those are very interesting/illuminating opinions you have there. What it will all come to, I guess only time will tell. |
#8
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"Elizabeth Blake" wrote in message ink.net... I got my cat Tiger when she was 1 1/2 years old. When I heard about the cloned cats, I briefly thought that if I had $50,000 to throw away I'd clone Tiger (who is still alive!) just so I could see what she looked like as a kitten. It wasn't a serious thought. But I wish I had known Tiger as a kitten. The woman claims that the cloned kitten is just like her original, but the poor baby is only 7 weeks old! In a year or two, I wonder if she'll be saying the same thing. -- Liz Almost certainly not! This kitten won't have any littermates or a mom to learn from and therefore will be a very different animal. It would almost serve her right if the cat turned out to be a biter. W |
#9
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gOn Thu, 23 Dec 2004 11:54:04 -0500, Ruby Tuesday wrote:
SAN FRANCISCO-The first cloned-to-order pet sold in the United States is named Little Nicky, an eight-week-old kitten delivered to a Texas woman saddened by the loss of a cat she had owned for 17 years. I saw the pic of Little Nicky. Cute little bug that one, but there's a funny thing about clones - you won't clone the memories. Yeah, Nicky likes water and all, but Nicky also doesn't remember "mom". Nicky probably only knows that this is "mom" from experience. Tbat said, I gotta agree with Cat Protector. Why the hell would you spend $50k on a copy, when you can get a cat from the shelter?! Might as well buy yourself a brand new mercedes benz for the cat. -- Dennis Carr - KE6ISF | I may be out of my mind, http://www.dennis.furtopia.org | But I have more fun that way. ------------------------------------+------------------------------- Wanna email me? Send it to ke6isf instead of bogus-user. |
#10
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Well, I do understand it. If I could have an exact replica of my Sapphire
I'd do it in a heartbeat if she ever died. But I know that a lot of what Sapphire is all about is the experiences she had before I found her and no cat of mine will ever have such experiences. (She was declawed and then became a stray for 3 weeks before she was even a year old.) Up until recently she made a big deal out of making "little homes" for herself during certain times of day. Under the covers, in a kitchen shelf, etc.. Now she's 14 years old and has mostly come away from all that but still she is not just her genetics but her whole life experiences, same as us. A precious cat of ours dies, our hearts break into little tiny pieces, and then it's time to make a home for another deserving cat. -- Barb Of course I don't look busy, I did it right the first time. |
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