Woman Dishes Out $50K for 'Cloned Copies' of Her Late Cat

Kris Stewart of Vancouver loved her Ragdoll cat Bear so much that she decided to clone him, and now has two identical cats to her beloved fur baby that died five years ago in a traffic accident.

The cost of doing this came at a pretty penny though, and Stewart says she paid $50,000 to have it done.

I have a cat. Well, I have a few cats. I adore them all. But our eldest cat holds a special place in our hearts, and at age 11 he's no longer a kitten. He's moving a bit slower and not as playful as his younger house-mates, and as much as the idea of him crossing the rainbow bridge breaks our hearts, I can't fathom spending that much money on cloning him, even if I did have that much money laying around. Like a lot of people, I'm probably doing the math and thinking "50K could adopt me like 1000 cats!"

Related: Mom Shares Surprising Differences Between Her Cloned Cat and Original Cat

According to CBC.CA, Stewart said she sent Bear's DNA to ViaGen, a Texas-based pet cloning company. Kris Stewart received not one but two kittens cloned using DNA from her beloved cat Bear.

Stewart named the kittens Bear Bear and Honey Bear and said, "They both seem like Bear," she said. "These guys are bold and sassy."

How You Can Clone Your Own Cat

The ViaGen website explains that ViaGen Pets will use your cat’s frozen cells in the cloning process. We will begin by taking one of the cells and replacing the nucleus of a female cat’s egg. After treatment by our patented process, the egg and cell will join together and the embryo will start to grow. Soon the embryo will be transferred to a surrogate mother. After a normal gestation period, your cat’s genetic twin will be born.

Cat cloning costs are $50,000.00, paid in two equal installments.

People magazine reported on a prior interview another couple who cloned their cat, North Carolina couple Bryan and Ashley Bullerdick , who paid $25,000 to clone their cat Cinnabun gave, where Bryan said, "We never really thought much about the cost," he added. "It is a lot of money, but I know people who spend that on vacations all the time. This is an animal that we hope will be with us for two decades."

The same article also states that Stewart told CTV that cost wasn't a worry when it came to her pets.

"So I just think an animal that smart that gave me so much joy should be replicated. And that's what cloning is," she said. "Call me a poor money manager, but when it comes to the care and well-being of my pets, I just don't even put dollar signs in front of it."

I think a lot of us can relate to that , because we all love our pets! I'm just not sure I'd spend that much to clone mine. No shade to those that do or have, I just have too many other bills to pay.

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