Reprinted from the Texas
A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences website
by Keith Randall
CC, the world’s first cloned cat, lives with Duane Kraemer and his wife,
Shirley.
The kittens are the first in Texas to be born from a cloned cat.
(College Station)—CC, the world’s first cloned cat, may not have nine lives, but she has produced three kittens whose lives already are unique.
CC, short for Copy Cat, was born Dec. 22, 2001, and became the first-ever cloned cat—a feat accomplished by a team of Texas A&M University researchers in the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. She has since lived with Duane Kraemer, a veterinary medicine professor who helped clone her, and his wife, Shirley, in nearby Bryan.
The couple, cat fanciers all of their lives, successfully mated CC with Smokey, like CC a tabby but with different markings. The three kittens are now being displayed following health tests and routine vaccinations.
Although not the first cloned cat to have a litter of kittens, CC is believed to be the first in Texas to give birth. Of her three kittens, two bear a very similar resemblance to her while the third is identical to the gray color of Smokey, the dad.
“CC has always been a perfectly normal cat and her kittens are just that way, too,” Duane Kraemer said.
“We purchased Smokey for the specific purpose of mating him with CC. We’ve been monitoring their health and all of them are fine, just like CC has been for the past five years.”
“CC was always a very playful kitten and her babies have a similar type of personality,” Shirley Kraemer said.
“They are as cute as kittens can be, just healthy and normal cats. We’ll never part with them. They will always remain with us or other family members.”
Texas A&M has cloned more species than any institution in the world.
Since 1999 researchers have cloned cattle, swine, goats, horses, a deer
and a cat. 