Couple paid £20,000 to clone the cat they had as newlyweds

Bryan and Ashley Bullerdick from decided to duplicate rescue cat Cinnabun when the feline was nearing its 19th birthday

A married couple spent nearly £20,000 to clone the pet cat they had since they were newlyweds.

Bryan and Ashley Bullerdick, from North Carolina, decided to duplicate rescue cat Cinnabun when the feline was nearing its 19th birthday, hoping it would meet its genetic twin.

It didn’t.

The pair said the staggering cost of duplicating their ‘special cat’ never even came into the equation.

Bryan, 43, who owns an aerospace division business, said: ‘We never really thought much about the cost.

‘This was a special cat from when we were newlyweds, our kids grew up with the cat, she was important.

‘She slept next to my wife’s head on the pillow every night. If we had a chance of getting another cat like that, we had to try.’

Spookily the new domestic long-haired, also named Cinnabun, sleeps in the same spot.

Bryan added: ‘It is a lot of money but I know people who spend that on vacations all the time. This is an animal that we hope will be with us for two decades.

‘Some people have sports cars, some people have houses – we are not out there cloning every single cat we have.

‘It was a decision that we could afford to make and we still donate money to cat rescue organisation, the Humane Society, every month.’

Full-time mum Ashley, 41, said: ‘We would definitely do it again.’

The couple first considered cloning after Bryan read an article about pop legend Barbra Streisand cloning her Maltipoo, Sammie.

Bryan said: ‘I didn’t know it was possible until I read the article.’

He shared the idea with Ashley who was at first unsure.

She said: ‘I was never against it but it was definitely something I had to think about.’

In August 2018 Bryan purchased a £1,200 DNA kit but it languished for months as they made up their minds.

‘We kept it for months in our freezer while we thought about it,’ Ashley said.

‘Then we just thought we had to do it. Cinnabun was so dear to us. She had unique markings that no other cat would have.

‘She clung to me, she slept with me at night, by my head on my pillow. She was right by my side throughout the day.’

She added: ‘I gave her the best life I could for almost 19 years and I knew that when she died, I would get her again in the clone.’

New Cinnabun was born on February 4 and after a few weeks with its surrogate mother, it was flown to Bryan and Ashley on April 3.

Ashley said: ‘It was a very special day of course. Cinnabun is grey in colour so I actually wore a grey top, I thought that would be sweet.

‘I was so excited to welcome her home. She was just two months old but she looked just like her.

‘Even though we got the original Cinnabun when she was nine months old, just seeing the two-month-old Cinnabun overwhelmed me with joy.

‘As far as looks go, they are spot on. Even their personalities are so similar. They are both feisty.’

To clone a animal, ViaGen Pets requires at least two skin samples to collect the DNA.

Most skin samples are taken from the belly or the inside of a pet’s leg.

These samples are then chilled with ice packs and sent to a laboratory where they are placed in an incubator and cells start to grow.

Within two to four weeks, there are millions of cells.

The cells are harvested and placed in vials which are frozen in liquid nitrogen tanks.

Melain Rodriguez, client service manager, said: ‘They can be maintained in this frozen state forever. We have cells from 17 years ago which are still stored.