BBC: US hypoallergenic cats go on sale

[Greeby]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5375900.stm

The world's first specially-bred hypoallergenic cats have gone on sale in the United States.

US biotech firm Allerca says it has managed to selectively breed them by reducing a certain type of protein that triggers allergic reactions.

The cats will not cause the red eyes, sneezing and even asthma that some cat allergy sufferers experience, except in the most acute cases.

Despite costing $3,950, there is already a waiting list to get one.

Allerca first started taking orders for genetically engineered hypoallergenic cats back in 2004.



Awww :loveya:

[C_U_L8R]

1. Bio-Kitties ???

unspeakable !!!!

[Deja Q]

3. No, not unspeakable...

they just meow a lot.

[C_U_L8R]

8. What's next?

Wartless toads :beer:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. No, not bio-engineered.

According to the article they are naturally bred from cats who don't carry the gene that causes allergies. No genetic engineering was involved -- they just had to find cats (one in 50,000) who didn't carry the allergy gene and mate them. That's probably why the kittens are so expensive.

[WindRavenX]

7. Basic science here

Find the rare trait, isolate it and clone the gene, and boom-- make more. Heck, I did this type of thing in Freshman year bio lab isolating antibiotic resistant E.coli :)

[Deja Q]

2. And, compassionate society we live in,

they've already been spayed or neutered. Mustn't let that patent run away with them! :rofl:

[filer]

5. They're also born without claws

and will sleep on the command "Down Kitty". The purrfect pet!

[ReverendDeuce]

6. I see no problem with this...

I know a few people who love cats but can't be around them. If this is true, then it's an option for those people.

I also don't have a problem with the glow-in-the-dark fish that came out a few years back.

[patricia92243]

9. Ohhhh - they are adorable. Great news for us allergy suffers!! n/t

[joanski0]

10. POSSIBLE BULLSHIT ALERT

This is from a Cat Fancy Magazine of September 2001. There is a picture and an article about the "Siberian" cat from Russia. And I have one. I don't know how it got up here in this little town in PA, but it is the exact replica of the white Siberian. I went on a Siberian cat website and found that the Siberian costs $800.

Anyway here is the excerpt: "Much to the surprise of many folks who have allergies, this close contact doesn't seem to provoke allergic reactions. In fact, the Siberian's rise in populatiry in the past five years or so stems largely from the belief that this breed causes fewer allergic reactions than other breeds. Many pet owners who couldn't own a cat before find that they can do well with a Siberian. However, Gray cautions that Siberians cause reactions in some people. 'You need to visit with someone who has kittens and spend time with the ones that are eligible to be bought,' she councils, since the allergic reaction may vary not only among different lines of cats, but also from cat to cat.

"The Siberian has a downy undercoat and a thick layer of guard hairs, which is what makes this breed so water-resistant. The coat requires less care than those of other longhaired breeds, such as the Persian, but it is not maintenance free." .....

This breed was recognized for show in 1990.

$3.950 my ASS!!!!

If anyone is really interested, you could type in the address bar something like siberiancat.com and see what you can fid out.