Cloned cat in heat seeks mate

The cat was born on Dec 24 through a process of somatic (non-reproductive) cell nuclear transfer, in which an embryo is created from a body cell and an egg cell. A British Longhair, she has grown into an active adolescent in the past months. She was deemed ready to mate when one of the researchers discovered she was in heat, which they said was normal for cats 6 months to a year old.

Zhao Minghui, an associate professor at the university's College of Life Science who led the research team, said it hopes to find a tomcat of the same breed and free of genetic disease to mate with their clone.