She Spent $25,000 to Clone Her Dead Cat. Now She Has a Warning for Other Pet Owners.
Pet cloning has a real price tag and real consequences — and one woman’s detailed, four-year account reveals just how wide the gap is between what people expect from the process and what they actually get.
Kelly Anderson, an Austin-based social media manager, lost her ragdoll cat Chai unexpectedly in 2017.
What followed was a decision that cost $25,000, took four years longer than she anticipated, and produced a cat that looks, acts, and bonds differently than her original pet.
Anderson has since become one of the most transparent voices on the subject, documenting everything on social media (@CloneKitty on Instagram) and her website (clonekitty.com).
Why She Decided Pet Cloning Was the Best Option
Anderson first met Chai in college, during a period when she was struggling with mental health and depression. The connection was immediate.
“She just immediately synced up with me and understood my emotions in ways that no other animal really ever had. And I’ve had animals my entire life,” Anderson said in a December interview with People.
“She was my soulmate pet,” Anderson added in an interview with National Geographic, published March 2. “I’ve never had an animal in my life, or even really a human either, that just innately understood me like she did. I just felt robbed of time with her.”
Chai died at age 5 while under the care of a pet sitter. She had ingested a piece of plastic from a food wrapper. The obstruction was discovered about a week later.
Chai underwent surgery to remove it, and while the surgery itself was successful, Chai had an adverse reaction to anesthesia. When Anderson went to the vet to pick her up, doctors found the cat was unresponsive.
Before Chai died, Anderson had already discussed cloning with a roommate. They had recently learned about ViaGen, a pet cloning company located nearby.
After Chai’s death, Anderson stayed up all night researching and decided she wanted to preserve Chai’s legacy through the process. She contacted ViaGen shortly after and took out a loan to cover the $25,000 cost.
“I was like, you know what? That’s basically like buying a car,” she told National Geographic.
The Four-Year Wait She Didn’t Expect
Anderson initially thought the process would take a few months. It took four years. A degraded tissue sample was among the reasons for the delay.
She finally received her new cat, Belle, in October 2021.
“It was a really hard four years, but I think I was in a much better place to receive my new cat, Belle,” Anderson told National Geographic. “I had time to fully grieve Chai and I could better appreciate Belle for being her own cat—not just a copy of my original cat.”
That distinction — Belle as her own cat, not a duplicate — runs through everything Anderson has shared about this experience.
On her website, Anderson says the temperaments of both cats are “the exact same.” But while they “share some similar traits,” Belle is “very much her own cat.”
The physical differences are noticeable: Belle has “far less color on her face and coat than Chai.” They have different meows. Anderson describes having a “different bond” with Belle compared to what she had with Chai.
Some traits did carry over. Both cats share a sassy, bold personality. Both show affection, love dogs, are fascinated by water, dislike other cats, and take a long time warming up to people.
The differences are just as real. Belle is more outgoing and adventurous. Chai was more clingy. Belle doesn’t like to be touched as much, is heavier than Chai, is more open to learning tricks, and is more food motivated.
Anderson told People pet cloning was “one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” but she also wants to warn others that they won’t be getting an exact clone.
Her Two Recommendations for Anyone Considering
Anderson has distilled her experience into two direct pieces of advice.
First: don’t expect to get the same pet back. The company warned her upfront that she wouldn’t be getting an exact copy of Chai.
“This is not resurrection, this is not reincarnation. You’re not going to get your pet back from the dead,” she told People. “If you’re doing this because you miss your pet, then think about the intent and the reason behind that before you decide to clone.”
“For me, this was never about bringing my cat back from the grave. It was just about carrying on a piece of her,” she added.
Second, and this one is logistical: preserve DNA while your pet is still alive.
Anderson says the best way to prepare for cloning is to collect a tissue sample before a pet dies, which can be done during a routine veterinary procedure such as a dental cleaning. Preserving tissue improves cloning success rates.
“I think part of the reason it took four years for me was that they had frozen Chai’s remains overnight, and that started to damage her cell quality,” she told People.
If you’re even slightly curious about cloning as a future option, that second piece of advice requires action now, not later.
What to Expect From Pet Cloning Today
The price has changed since Anderson’s experience.
Per ViaGen, cloning now costs around $50,000 for dogs and cats. Horses run $85,000. Anderson paid $25,000 and took out a loan to do it. At current prices, the financial commitment has doubled.
With that said, pet cloning has become more common in recent years. Notable people who have cloned pets include Paris Hilton, Barbra Streisand and Tom Brady.
The pet cloning process involves several steps.
Scientists extract viable eggs from the fallopian tubes of female animals. The egg is then modified to include DNA from the pet being cloned. A surrogate animal is injected with hormones, and the embryo is implanted in the surrogate to carry to term.
As Anderson’s experience illustrates, timelines can stretch well beyond initial expectations, particularly if the tissue sample has been compromised.
Production of this article included the use of AI. It was reviewed and edited by a team of content specialists.
