A bereaved cat owner has paid a Californian biotechnology company the handsome sum of 50,000 US$ for the genetic clone of her dead moggie, Nicky. The buyer in question, a woman from Texas who is identified only as Julie, is delighted with the purchase of the kitten, Little Nicky, who was born in October 2004: “I see absolutely no differences” she said. “Little Nicky loves water, like Nicky did, and he's already jumped into the bathtub like Nicky used to do” (The Times, UK, 24 December 2004).

But scientists, ethics experts and animal rights groups are less than enthusiastic about the world's first commercial pet clone, which was produced by using a variation of the nuclear transfer technique (ABC News Online, 24 December 2004). Little Nicky was created by the whimsically named Genetic Savings & Clone Inc., which has been behind the creation of 5 cats since 2001, and hopes to deliver 50 more by the end of 2005 (Intl Herald Tribune, 24 December 2004).

This sale is “morally problematic and a little reprehensible” said the Stanford ethicist David Magnus. “For 50,000 US$ she could have provided homes for a lot of strays” (San Francisco Chronicle, 22 December 2004). But the company dismisses accusations of animal cruelty for a frivolous end. “We're not curing cancer, but we believe we are adding to the sum of joy in the world” (Concord Monitor, 23 December 2004).

Despite careful counselling by the company, some buyers are bound to be disappointed. As the US animal behaviourist Bonnie Beaver put it: “It may look exactly like Fluffy...but it's not Fluffy” (The Mirror, 24 December 2004).

The company hopes to produce a cloned-to-order dog by May 2005 (New Scientist, 23 December 2004), thereby tapping into a far more lucrative market.