Kris Stewart of Kelowna, British Columbia, was so distraught over the loss of her 5-year-old Ragdoll cat, Bear, in a 2022 traffic accident that she had the beloved feline cloned. However, she quickly learned the process was not easy — or cheap.
The process of cloning an animal involves putting its DNA into an embryo, which is later transferred to a surrogate uterus — in this case, another cat — who carries and births the babies, Kerry Bowman, a bioethicist who works at the University of Toronto, tells CBC.
“I just felt like there was more living that needed to be done by Bear,” Stewart tells the outlet, so she sent Bear’s DNA to ViaGen, a Texas-based pet cloning company.
“Bear was the smartest animal I think I’ve ever had, and I’ve had animals since I was two years old,” she adds.
Unfortunately, fewer than 5% of cloned animals survive birth, according to Bowman. In Stewart’s case, four failed attempts and $50,000 later, Bear Bear and Honey Bear were born. Stewart tells CBC she’s thrilled and that the kittens are showing some similarities to Bear.
However, Bowman warns that although they share DNA, clones will not be exactly the same as the original animal. He notes that in some cases people have found their cloned pets do not have a similar disposition to the original.