Zine, the first ever cloned cat

The story begins with a handsome white cat named Zine. His family was devastated to learn that Zine was diagnosed with an incurable fibrosarcoma (a cancerous mass arising from bone).

He was given only 6 months to live but miraculously survived for 18 months.

Zine’s health deteriorated in the final weeks of his life and he passed peacefully at the age of 13. Prior to his passing, his dad had thoroughly investigated the possibility of cloning their beloved Zine.

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On the day of Zine’s passing, his dad had his vet send off the necessary cell samples to genetically preserve Zine’s DNA and so the process began. Several months later, two beautiful healthy cloned kittens were born.

They were named Zine Jr. and Zinou (Zine Jr. has two spots on his head and Zinou has one spot).

Their dad says “Zine Jr. and Zinou behave very similarly to Zine who was the ruler of their house, and the kittens are working their way into that role.

Much like Zine, the kittens are very interested in sneaking out and exploring the backyard.

I’ve started introducing a few of Zine’s favorite foods to see if the kittens like them as well. So far, they love them all just as Zine did.”

“As the kittens grow, I imagine some differences may emerge. Right now, I’ve focused on looking for similarities.”

In case you’re curious, the family also adopted the surrogate mom, and the kittens also have 3 other rescue cats who live with them in the home.