Copy cat: Scientists in China claim they successfully cloned a kitten
- 5 years ago
China's first cloned cat Garlic was transported by plane to be united with his owner in eastern China's Wenzhou on September 20.
The video shows the cat's owner Huang Yu playing with his two-month-old cloned kitten with the surrogate cat mother in the room.
A still picture shows the cloned kitten and the original cat, a British shorthair, side by side. In another clip, captured in January, the original cat laid in a bed and Huang Yu tenderly touches him on his nose.
According to local reports, Garlic was cloned by a Chinese firm named Sinogene Biotechnology Company. He was born on July 21 by a surrogate mother.
The owner Huang Yu thought his previous cat was special and could not be replaced. So he spent more than £28,000 (250,000Yuan) on getting him cloned.
A vice manager at Sinogene said: "It is difficult to collect the ovum as cats only ovulate during mating.
"The personality of the cat was decided by its genes and also affected by the environment, but the similarity can certainly be at least 80 per cent."
Sinogene has cloned more than 40 pet dogs since 2017, according to agency reports.
The video shows the cat's owner Huang Yu playing with his two-month-old cloned kitten with the surrogate cat mother in the room.
A still picture shows the cloned kitten and the original cat, a British shorthair, side by side. In another clip, captured in January, the original cat laid in a bed and Huang Yu tenderly touches him on his nose.
According to local reports, Garlic was cloned by a Chinese firm named Sinogene Biotechnology Company. He was born on July 21 by a surrogate mother.
The owner Huang Yu thought his previous cat was special and could not be replaced. So he spent more than £28,000 (250,000Yuan) on getting him cloned.
A vice manager at Sinogene said: "It is difficult to collect the ovum as cats only ovulate during mating.
"The personality of the cat was decided by its genes and also affected by the environment, but the similarity can certainly be at least 80 per cent."
Sinogene has cloned more than 40 pet dogs since 2017, according to agency reports.