[mkl]

Maybe get a new cat and donate $60k to an animal shelter?

I guess the fact of such services existing and competing drives forward and funds genetics research, so from that point of view I'm glad they exist, but it seems like a strange way to spend so much money.

[dsr_]

If anyone in the Boston area is interested in adopting a cat, I can heartily recommend:

https://www.straypetsinneed.org/

and

https://guardianangelscatrescue.org/

from which we recently adopted Grace Hopper and Enrico Fermi, now beloved family members.

[arthurcolle]

Thank you for the links, I appreciate this. :)

[TheChaplain]

It is not strange if you ever had a pet that meant a lot to you.

I know people who have grieved for months after losing their cat and their dog. Their connection was much more than "just a pet", it became family and as important as a child, sibling or parent.

Cloning is of course not guarantee the pet will be exactly as the original, but if there's a chance it will have similar personality I can very much understand the willingness to pay for it.

[mkl]

I get missing a pet dearly. I don't get how the clone fixes anything. Replacing them with a clone that has no memories seems like declaring the memories and history mean nothing, and that to me is a strange betrayal of the lost relationship.

Grief is hard, but going back is impossible.

[stanski]

Grieving for a pet is totally a thing. Comparing its importance to that of a child might be taking it a little far. Nothing would compare to losing a child.