Don't Be a Copycat: Use the Adoption Option Local Feline Rescue Organization Responds to News from Cloning Group

Just 18 years ago, the idea of mixing science fiction with feline fact probably meant you'd just read Robert Heinlein's then-new novel The Cat Who Walks Through Walls. These days, cloning -- once a staple of science fiction -- seems to be in the news every day. "And believe it or not," said Susan Kilgore of Feral Friends, a Metroplex-based feline rescue organization, "the effects are felt throughout the world of animal rescue." In December of 2001, researchers at Texas A&M University, funded by a group called (no kidding) "Genetic Savings & Clone," produced a genetic copy of a calico cat named Rainbow and named her Cc -- short for "carbon copy." Recent followup reports from Texas A&M indicate that Cc, while healthy and happy, is no duplicate of Rainbow -- the two have different markings, a different build and very different personalities. What does this have to do with animal rescue? As Wayne Pacelle, senior vice president of the Humane Society of the United States, told the media recently, "There are millions of cats in shelters and with rescue groups that need homes ... the last thing we need is a new production strategy for cats." "It's true," said Kilgore. "There are more than 350,000 feral cats in the Dallas/Fort Worth area alone. We're doing what we can to help ensure that number doesn't grow by seeing that cats out there are spayed and neutered, and when possible, adopted." According to SpayUSA.org, in just five years a single unspayed female cat, her mate and their offspring can produce more than 2,100 kittens. "That means that the nearly 4,000 cats we rescued from our founding in 1998 through the end of last year could have produced as many as four million kittens," said Kilgore. "We see the news from College Station as an opportunity," she added, "not to comment on cloning itself but to remind people looking for an animal companion that one -- or more! -- is already out there for you, at one of the many shelters in the area." Feral Friends, in association with PETsMART, offers adoptable cats and kittens seven days a week at the PETsMART located at the northwest corner of Coit and Campbell in North Dallas. Trained adoption counselors are on hand every Saturday from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and every Sunday from 12:00 noon until 4:00 p.m. "Of course, we'd love to see a crowd of people at our adoption center," said Kilgore. "But if not ours, then contact one of our fellow animal rescue groups here in the Metroplex. Just like cats -- cloned or otherwise -- we're each a little different. But we share the same purpose. We're all out for the best interests of the animals." Feral Friends is a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization staffed and managed primarily by volunteers. Feral Friends maintains a network of feral caregivers throughout Dallas/Fort Worth which offers support and donates supplies to its members who in turn offer support and assistance to feral cats that rely on humans for their survival. ### More information about Feral Friends is available at http://www.feralfriends.org/ © 2003, Michael E. Doherty, Jr. for Feral Friends