Woman Took Out $25k Loan to Clone Her Dead Cat. Here’s Her Advice for Other Pet Owners
She took out a loan to clone her beloved cat after it died — now she’s sharing what people should know
If you have ever looked into the eyes of a pet and felt truly, deeply understood—the kind of bond that goes beyond words—then you already know why Kelly Anderson did what she did.
And if you have ever lost that animal, or lie awake some nights dreading the day you will, her story may speak directly to your heart.
Anderson, an Austin-based social media manager, spent $25,000 to clone her cat. But she wants you to hear the full truth before you consider doing the same.
The ‘soulmate’ companion who changed everything
Anderson first met her ragdoll cat named Chai when she was in college.
It was a time when she was struggling with mental health and depression—a period when the companionship of an animal can feel less like a luxury and more like a lifeline.
Chai became that lifeline.
“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.
For anyone who has experienced that kind of singular connection with a pet—the one who seems to read your mood before you fully understand it yourself—Anderson’s description will feel familiar.
“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.”
A loss no one could have predicted
Chai died unexpectedly at age 5 in 2017, and the circumstances were as random as they were heartbreaking.
While under the care of a pet sitter, Chai ingested a piece of plastic from a food wrapper.
The obstruction was discovered about a week later. Chai underwent surgery to remove the plastic, and the surgery itself was successful. But Chai had an adverse reaction to anesthesia.
Anderson went to the vet to pick up Chai. When doctors went to grab the cat, she was unresponsive.
Just like that—not to old age, not to a long illness, but to a freak accident at just 5 years old—the cat Anderson considered her soulmate was gone.
For pet owners who have experienced a sudden loss, that particular kind of grief carries its own sharp edges. There is no time to prepare. No gradual goodbye. No final days spent savoring what you have.
Anderson felt robbed. That feeling set her on a path few pet owners have taken, but one that a growing number are now considering.
Why she chose pet cloning—and what it really cost
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 cloning. She decided she wanted to preserve Chai’s legacy through cloning and contacted ViaGen shortly after the cat’s death.
The price tag: $25,000. She took out a loan to cover it.
“I was like, you know what? That’s basically like buying a car,” she told National Geographic.
That cost deserves a pause. For many grieving pet owners, the emotional pull to do “anything” to hold onto a piece of their animal can be overwhelming. Anderson made a significant financial commitment, funded by a loan.
And today, the price has climbed even higher. Per ViaGen, cloning costs around $50,000 for dogs and cats and $85,000 for horses.
The company warned her she wouldn’t be getting an exact copy of Chai. She was fine with that.
“For me, this was never about bringing my cat back from the grave. It was just about carrying on a piece of her,” she told People.
That distinction—carrying on a piece, not bringing back the whole—is perhaps the most important emotional framework for anyone considering this path.
Four long years of waiting
Anderson initially thought the process would take a few months. Instead, it took four years. Reasons for the delay included a degraded tissue sample.
She finally received Belle in October 2021—four years after Chai’s death.
But Anderson has come to see that painful wait differently now.
“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 reflection carries a quiet message for anyone wrestling with grief over a pet: the grieving matters.
Fully processing the loss of one animal may be essential to building a healthy, open-hearted relationship with another—whether that animal is a clone, an adopted pet, or any new companion.
Same DNA, two completely different cats
This is where Anderson’s honesty becomes truly valuable for anyone wondering what a cloned pet looks and acts like compared to the original.
Anderson has been open about her journey on social media (@CloneKitty on Instagram) and her website (https://clonekitty.com/).
On her website, she says the temperaments of both cats are “the exact same” and while they “share some similar traits,” Belle is “very much her own cat.”
Belle has “far less color on her face and coat than Chai,” they have different meows, and Anderson has a “different bond” with Belle compared to what she had with Chai.
Similarities between Chai and Belle include their sassy, bold personality, the affection they show, their love for dogs, fascination with water, how much they dislike other cats, and how long it takes them to warm up to people.
The differences are real, too. Belle is more outgoing and adventurous. Chai was more clingy. Belle doesn’t like to be touched as much, she’s heavier, and she’s more open to tricks and more food motivated.
This side-by-side comparison matters for anyone romanticizing the idea of getting their pet “back.” The genetic blueprint may be identical, but the living, breathing animal that results is shaped by far more than DNA alone.
Belle looks different. She sounds different. She bonds differently. And yet, echoes of Chai are there—in the sassiness, in the love of dogs, in the wariness around strangers.
Anderson told People pet cloning was “one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”
Still, she wants to warn others that they won’t be getting an exact clone. They will be different cats.
Two pieces of advice that every pet owner should hear
The first is about expectations. Anderson stresses that cloning is not resurrection.
“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.”
Her second piece of advice is practical, and it could make the biggest difference for pet owners reading this while their beloved animals are still with them.
Anderson says the best way to prepare for cloning is to collect a tissue sample before a pet dies. This 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.
For anyone who even suspects they might one day want to explore cloning, this timeline matters.
Collecting a tissue sample while your pet is alive and healthy is a vastly different proposition than trying to preserve viable cells after death—a reality Anderson learned through years of delay and difficulty.
How pet cloning actually works
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.
Pet cloning has become more common in recent years. Although expensive, some owners pursue it. Notable people who have cloned pets include Paris Hilton, Barbra Streisand and Tom Brady.
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