Their family tree reaches all the way back to the disco-era Pet Rock. Take a few Beanie Babies, throw in a Chia Pet, add the Internet and what you get is the world’s next must-have toy pet — the Webkinz.

Webkinz pets look like so many stuffed animals that have come and gone through the toy chests of America. They’re cute, fuzzy and loveable. The Webkinz pets, however, do something no stuffed animal has done before — they live and sort of die in an online, virtual world.

The stuffed Webkinz animals each come with a secret code that gives their owners access to the online Webkinz world. Once the animal is officially adopted online, they must be fed, loved and played with.

All new pet owners are given the basics — food, money and a home for their adopted animal. Spend a few minutes in the colorful Webkinz world and it becomes obvious that the adopted pet will need more food than is initially provided. Not a problem. Webkinz provides a virtual store where you can buy food, toys, furniture, appliances and even clothes to keep your pet happy.

The Webkinz world is an explosion of kid-friendly games and activities. There are seemingly endless ways to spend time with Webkinz. There are arcade games, educational games, stores, jobs, even a garden — all designed to give pet owners more virtual money. After all, it takes money to keep any pet alive, even a virtual one.

Although they are obviously marketed toward children, the pets have developed a loyal adult following.

“They have become a big deal,” said Erin Myers, owner of downtown Natchez boutique Sun, Moon & Stars. “We have people on waiting lists to get these things. We even get some adults buying them for themselves.”

One of those adults is 54-year-old Agnes Holloway. Holloway said she first got into Webkinz pets when a friend started playing with them at her house.

“Mary Frances (Sessions) — my substitute granddaughter — kept raving about them, so I decided to look into it,” she said. “I started out just wanting to understand what Mary Frances was doing, but I got addicted. The rest is history.”

Holloway jokingly refers to the 8-year-old daughter of Tim and Donna Sessions as the “instigator” of her Webkinz addiction.

Holloway said she plays with her virtual cat, Tux, almost every day.

“You have to take care of it daily, or I think they will die,” she said.

Holloway’s instigator has 15 Webkinz pets and manages to keep all of them happy and well.

“It’s really hard to take care of all of them,” Sessions said. “I get 30 minutes a day to play with them online.”

Sessions said she has yet to let one of her pets die, but has friends that have.

“If you don’t feed them, they die,” she said. “You can always go back and adopt them again though.”

It’s no surprise that Sessions hasn’t waved a final farewell to any of her adopted animals. The devoted pet owner would almost certainly qualify as a professional Webkinz user. She happily rattles off features of the virtual world that are not obvious to the casual Webkinz owner. Sessions has even earned enough money in the Webkinz world that she was rewarded with actual, not virtual, gifts.

“It really teaches the kids responsibility,” Holloway said. “They learn how to care for an animal. It also helps them learn about money.”

As the two talk and laugh about their virtual pets, it becomes less and less obvious that Holloway is the elder by ??? years. She seems to enjoy playing with Tux as much as any child ever could.

“Everybody laughs when I tell people about this,” Holloway said. “My husband thinks I’m crazy.”

Crazy or not, Holloway said she has no plans of letting her Webkinz pet die any time soon.

“I guess I will keep doing this,” she said. “But this whole craze may blow over at any time.”

Only time will tell if the Webkinz pet frenzy will survive or go the route of those once-loved fad toys of the past. If Holloway and Sessions are any indication, Webkinz may be here to stay.