CC (cat) facts for kids
CC the first cloned cat, age 2, with her owner, Shirley Kraemer, in College Station, Texas
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| Breed | Domestic shorthair |
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| Born | December 22, 2001 College Station, Texas |
| Died | March 3, 2020 (aged 18) College Station, Texas |
| Known for | First cloned pet |
CC, which stood for "CopyCat" or "Carbon Copy," was a special brown tabby and white cat. She was born on December 22, 2001, and became famous as the very first cloned pet. She lived a long life, passing away on March 3, 2020.
CC was created by scientists at Texas A&M University in partnership with a company called Genetic Savings & Clone Inc. Her birth was a big step in science, showing that it was possible to clone a pet animal.
Even though CC was a clone, she looked a bit different from her genetic donor, a calico cat named Rainbow. This difference in fur color happened because of natural processes that affect how genes show up as an animal develops.
How CC Was Cloned
Cloning means making an exact genetic copy of an organism. For CC, scientists took a cell from Rainbow, the original cat. They used this cell to create a new embryo that had the same genetic information as Rainbow. This embryo was then placed into a surrogate mother cat, who carried and gave birth to CC.
CC's Kittens
In September 2006, CC made history again when she gave birth to four kittens. This was a big deal because it was the first time a cloned pet had its own babies. The kittens were fathered naturally by another lab cat named Smokey.
Her litter included two male kittens, named Tim and Zip, and one female kitten, named Tess. Sadly, another female kitten was stillborn. CC's owner, Shirley Kraemer, shared that CC was a perfectly normal cat, and her kittens were just as healthy.
A Healthy Clone
Scientists watched CC very closely throughout her life. They wanted to see if being a clone would cause any health problems. Luckily, CC seemed to be very healthy and did not have the health issues that some other cloned animals have experienced. She lived for over 18 years, which is a good age for a cat.
Other Cloned Pets
After CC, the first commercially cloned pet was also a cat. In 2004, Genetic Savings and Clone created a Maine Coon cat named "Little Nicky." This cat was cloned from a 17-year-old pet cat that had passed away. This showed that people could pay to have their beloved pets cloned.
CC passed away peacefully at the age of 18 in College Station, Texas, where she had lived her whole life.
See also
- Little Nicky (cat)
- Pet cloning
- List of individual cats
