I missed this in August, but picked up on the Drudge Report today. You can apparently have your cat cloned, if you’ve got an extra $20,000 to spend. Check out this release from PRweb:
ForeverPet, a division of Geneticas Life Sciences, today announced the launch of the ForeverPet cat cloning service for cat owners. Priced at $19,950 this new cloning service is the most economically priced of all cat cloning services currently on the market, and adds cat cloning to ForeverPet’s other services, including DNA cell banking and horse cloning. ForeverPet, under the slogan “For More Than A Lifetime”, allows pet owners to cryopreserve a tiny biopsy that safely preserves their pet’s DNA for future use in the production of an identical clone.
Simon Brodie, CEO of Geneticas Life Sciences stated, “As a company that provides commercial cell banking, we constantly receive calls from distressed pet owners whose animals are terminal or that just passed…. After a careful analysis, ForeverPet has started to offer cat cloning at a price that while still very high, will invariably allow us to develop new techniques and processes that aim to reduce the price to $2,000 per clone.”
States Brodie: “The response from pet owners has been amazing. Of course, we make it clear that affordable pet cloning is down the line. But many are simply comforted knowing that for those that can afford the cost, producing a clone of their cat is now a reality.”
Cloning a pet cat starts by taking some cells of the cat, a simple process performed by a ForeverPet approved veterinarian. The veterinarian takes a tiny skin sample from the animal, often with just local anesthesia, and sends it to our labs for use as the base of producing a clone, The estimated time from delivery of the cells to delivery of a clone is 6-9 months, depending on the company’s waiting list.
FOREVERPET Launches Lowest Priced Cat Cloning for Pet Owners
A few notes:
First off, is bargain-hunting really going to be that much of a consideration in the replication of a life form? This could get into Island of Dr. Moreau territory really soon.
Second, is this for real? Is cat cloning really so common that people are now shopping around for the best price, or did I just sleep through some advance in genetics.
Do cloned cats have to re-learn to use the litter box?
Is this ethical? This sort of “reversing death” thing invariably brings tragedy in novels and movies, so I guess we should think twice about it.
Anyway, if you have $20K burning a hole in your pocket and your cat is looking sickly, check out ForeverPet, if you dare.