A British Columbia woman has welcomed two cloned kittens after a costly and emotionally driven effort to replicate her late ragdoll cat, Bear, who died tragically at just five years old.
Kris Stewart, a Vancouver-area resident, turned to cloning after Bear was killed in a traffic accident in early 2022. After two failed attempts and $50,000 in expenses, she now has two genetically identical kittens—Bear Bear and Honey Bear—created from Bear’s preserved DNA.
The Cloning Process
Stewart worked with ViaGen Pets, a Texas-based biotechnology company specializing in pet cloning. The process involves extracting DNA from the original animal, implanting an embryo into a surrogate cat, and allowing it to carry the cloned fetus to term.
“Cat cloning does not alter the genetic makeup,” ViaGen states on its website. “A cloned cat will share key traits like appearance, intelligence, and temperament.”
Despite the scientific precision, success isn’t guaranteed. Stewart underwent four embryo transfers before two kittens were successfully born.
“Cloning cats takes time,” Stewart told CTV News in 2023. “It’s not uncommon to need multiple attempts. Cats are harder to clone than dogs or horses—I just had to be patient.”
A Growing Trend in Pet Cloning
ViaGen has cloned pets for more than 1,000 clients worldwide, including a North Carolina couple who paid $25,000 in 2019 to clone their cat, Cinnabun. Some pet owners, like Stewart, were inspired by celebrities such as Barbra Streisand, who famously cloned her late dog, Samantha.
For Stewart, the steep cost was secondary to the emotional value.
“Bear was the smartest animal I’ve ever had,” she told CBC. “I felt there was more living that needed to be done by him.”
The new kittens already exhibit familiar behaviors. “They both seem like Bear—bold and sassy,” she said.
Beyond Pets: Cloning Endangered Species
Cloning isn’t limited to domestic animals. In 2021, ViaGen helped clone a black-footed ferret, marking the first successful cloning of an endangered U.S. species.
For pet owners, ViaGen offers genetic preservation starting at $1,000, with full cloning services costing tens of thousands.
As Stewart put it: “When it comes to the care and well-being of my pets, I don’t even put dollar signs in front of it.”
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