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The World’s first hypoallergenic cats have gone on sale in the US, pleasing animal lovers who are prone to the sniffles.
American biotech firm Allerca says there is already a waiting list despite an asking price of more than $2,000.
It tested huge numbers of cats trying to find the tiny fraction that do not carry the glycoprotein Fel d1 – contained in an animal’s saliva, fur and skin – which often prompts an allergic reaction in humans.
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The sort-of-funny part about this is they supposedly started the project off as a genetic engineering thing, but in their testing sample cats they found cats that are naturally lacking the gene expression for allergens…. bottom line, they wound up just breeding these cats together and selling them (no genetic engineering!)
I also read that the gene for ‘non-allergenic’ is dominant, and could spread easily in the cat-world, so, if they sell you a cat, its neutered.
I really wish that I could afford one of these cats. According to Allerca’s website, they cost $6000 + shipping for someone who lives in Canada. I have a partner who is allergic to all pets so this is the only way I could probably get a pet. Unless I hit the lottery, I can’t see justifying a purchase this big even though I know I’d love one of these kittens.
It would be nice if they would just come up with a simple test for the zillions of cats in the animal shelters, and identify them so they………………………..I’m sorry, theres no money in it, my liberal animal loving gene just kicked in. I’ll have to watch that.
Just for clarity – selective breeding IS genetic engineering. It works great in creating all types of nasty viruses (like bird flu) etc.
How soon until someone finds more hypoallergenic cats and begins the competition?
Here’s to all the animal lovers who love them so much that they claim them as property. Animal rights my ass.
6. Huh? I adopt animals, they chose to stay. Go fuck yourself.
#6
Most dog and cat owners treat their animals with respect, so I don’t understand why you’re upset. Perhaps we shouldn’t? How about we treat them as a source of protein?
6. Just to clarify my statement, I really am not a liberal, but I admit to being a pushover for those weaker than myself, people like you, not so much.
touchy, touchy. Don’t mind me, I’m just feeling snarky tonight.
There’s a good friend of mine at work who’s a member of the local spay and neuter cult who apparently believes the only right that these cute and cuddly animals shouldn’t have is reproductive rights. Boy, do we have some heated debates about that issue… heated for her as I couldn’t really care less other than I know it gets on her nerves.
#8
Actually, if you decide it’s ok to eat one type of animal for food, then you really have no moral grounds to object to people eating the meat of another type just because you find them to be cute and friendly.
Of course, I say this without any knowledge of your actual dietary habits or if you even eat animal meat.
I see, responsible people who spay and neuter their pets are now “cultists”. Whatever.
#10
Not all dog owners neuter their dogs (and cats). Neutering is in most cases not necessary. I had two male dogs around when I grew up, and neither of them were neutered.
Our current dog is not neutered either. The veterinarian told us all kinds of horror stories in an attempt to get us to neuter our dog. Among the things was that he would run away, mark his territory inside the house, be aggressive etc. All kind of BS. I gave the veterinarian a NO… no more discussion. Our dog is now three years old, and all the BS from the vet was just that… BS. He has a perfect temper and walks around freely in and around our house.
#11 – We all have opinions. My opinion on eating cats and dogs is that it’s not necessary unless there’s a famine.
I have a pet Gerbil named Biscuit. He had a brother named Mushroom but I accidentally stepped on him in the garden. They were in the garden because I let them run free on nice days. They come when I call but are hard to catch because they don’t want to go back inside. One day I called Mushroom (Here Mushrooooom…) and Mushroom ran from under the day lillies over to me. I bent down to pick him up but he playfully ran away again. I took a step forward to get closer and called again. I waited for him to run out of the same place and called again and again, but he didn’t come. l looked down and there was a tail sticking out from under my shoe. Mushroom was very quick and must have circled back for fun. I’m 220 lbs.
I still take Biscuit out for the ocassional stroll, but I shuffle my feet now. Gerbils are non allergenic in case anyone is interested.
#12 Actually, I’ve come to believe that people who spay and neuter their animals do it just as much to produce a more placid pet as they do to keep them from reproducing. Humans are so selfish and let’s face it – nature is such a pain in the ass.
Mike, your ignorance on this subject astounds. Being a pet lover and a former firefighter who worked and trained rescue dogs, its hard to convey the intelligence of these animals. My dog would pull you out of the rubble, instead of lifting a leg on you like he should. Once you do understand and earn the trust of these animals, there is no better friend in the world.
Yay, you used to be a firefighter, but how does the intelligence of dogs to be trained to perform tasks relate at all to any of this? Nevermind, I don’t particularly care.
18. Its just about respect.
Mike – you a PETA asshole?
I have been breeding natural hypo-allergenic Siberian cats since 1994. Most of the people that get these cats have never been able to own a cat. Many of these people have owned other breeds of cats and were unable to live with them. We don’t gaurantee that people do not have any allergies and normally have people come and visit a Siberian to test their allergies. In my personal expereince a mass majority of people that test their allergies and own them have been very successful!! Siberian cats are a registered breed from Russia and were brought into the United States in 1990. Pets range in cost from $650-850 with retired breeded spayed or nuetered for much less.