Little Nicky (born October 17, 2004) is the first commercially-produced cat clone. He was produced from the DNA of a 17-year-old Maine Coon cat named Nicky who died in 2003. Little Nicky's owner, a north Texas woman named Julie (her last name was not released) who paid $50,000 to have Nicky cloned, claimed that Little Nicky's behavior is similar to that of her late cat Nicky, including an unusual liking for water, though hydrophilic behavior is common for this breed.

The cloning operation was performed by the California-based company Genetic Savings & Clone, which later closed in 2006.

The Humane Society of the United States and other animal welfare groups denounced the cloning, saying that the $50,000 could have been better used to save some of the millions of animals euthanized each year.

The cat showed no negative side effects from the cloning and is alive and healthy.

See also

• Pet cloning
• CopyCat - the first cloned pet
• The 6th Day - a movie in which a company sells cloned pets

External links

• BBC News article
• California company clones a woman's cat for $50,000