Now, Allerca has announced that they are now taking orders for the cats. I'm not sure what the difference is between "taking deposits" and "taking orders," but they imply that there is a difference. Plus, they provided a picture:Cat allergies are caused by a potent protein secreted by the cat's skin and salivary glands. The allergen is so small it can remain airborne for months.
Using "gene silencing" technology, Allerca is able to suppress the production of the protein.
The first breed of hypoallergenic cats will be British Shorthairs, [link added] which are considered to be ideal pets with friendly, playful and affectionate personalities.
Allerca expects the first kittens to be born in early 2007 and is already accepting $250 deposits from interested customers.
Allerca president Simon Brodie told The Associated Press that he ultimately hopes to sell 200,000 of the cats annually at $3,500 each in the United States.
Brodie said the cats would be spayed and neutered to prevent breeding with naturally born animals.
Photo supplied by Allerca
Continue reading below the fold...
Megan Young, Allerca's CEO, said that the firm has simply "taken selective breeding to the next level."
Allerca officials are closely guarding their scientific data, and independent parties have yet to publicly verify the cats' hypoallergenic status.
Don't plan on starting your own colony: Allerca is going to spay/neuter all of the cats before they are sold.
As it happens, many people who think they are allergic to cats, actually are allergic to pollen and other material that cats being in with them from outdoors, or from somewhere in the basement. But for people who have true cat allergies, this could be helpful.
Update: The Washington Post is reporting that the cats will sell for $7,000 each. That's considerably higher than what National Geographic reports. It sounds as though the $3,500 figure is the estimated price for when they are shipping in volume, whereas the $7,000 price sounds like the initial price.
Comments
There was already a breed of no-allergy cats before this new mysteriously bred line. "Siberians" they call 'em. I know some folks who have some.
http://cat-breeds.cats-central.com/siberian-cat-breed-guide.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberian_cat
Posted by: ej | June 11, 2006 9:40 PM
ej -- Thanks for mentioning this. I suspect that part of what they are up to is marketing hype, not substance. But I would like to see whatever data they have.
Posted by: Joseph j7uy5
| June 11, 2006 10:13 PM
I'd heard about this program before, but I'd never seen a picture of the cats. I assumed they would be hairless (and ugly). Not only does it look cute and normal, it looks just like my cat.
Posted by: Karmen | June 12, 2006 11:06 AM
Poor cats, having to be shipped all the way from Europe to the US. :(
Posted by: kittycatintx | April 23, 2007 4:09 PM
This cat is very cute!
^^
Posted by: Lilie (: | May 20, 2007 3:05 PM
this is for you sleepi:-) I miss you
Posted by: Zafar Sobhan | May 23, 2007 10:33 AM
i really like the cat!!!
it"s so cute,
Posted by: halimaj saga | May 23, 2007 11:04 PM
This cat is very cute!
Posted by: nitin | June 28, 2007 12:53 AM
ilove the white kittens I buy one
Posted by: fasion | June 29, 2007 4:43 PM
oooooo! the kitten it is very small and ilove it very mush
Posted by: fasion | June 29, 2007 4:46 PM
ihave 8dogs and 9cats and ilove them very mush yhea I feel cool
Posted by: jack | June 29, 2007 4:50 PM
I have a white and small kitten
Posted by: micheal | July 1, 2007 11:22 AM
I have read a few articles about this company. I am getting the feeling that there is a lot of variability in what has been reported on price. They don't seem very honest and upfront on their company, how it works and what their plans are. My gut feeling tells me that they are just looking at making a lot of money on people who actually think that spending $5900.00 on a kitten that is suppose to be "hypoallergenic" is worth it. I am going to have to wait and see how this company and their ideas evolve. I know I certainly would not buy one of their kittens. Because I'm not foolish to believe the price can be justified when they are probably using the Siberian blood line somewhere in the breeding process.
Posted by: Candice A. Lapachinsky | July 4, 2007 2:42 PM
Can anyone perhaps identify the breed of cat shown in the picture in the article. My cat looks identically like that one, except for the eyes. My cat has green/grey eyes. I would appreciate it if someone can help?
Posted by: Sanri | July 18, 2007 7:21 AM
I do not agree with the fact they artificially breed these cats. i know these hypoallergic cats aren't as bad as the new darwf cats (which is cruel) but i think messing with cats genetic genes.
Posted by: Crystal | August 3, 2007 11:24 AM
i love cats........and the photo of that cat is just ....no words!!!
Posted by: kenza | August 10, 2007 10:37 AM
this cat is really really cute! looks alot like my cat!!!!!!!!
Posted by: natali | August 21, 2007 4:18 AM
Hey i want you to feel what a laser is like...
Posted by: Taylor | September 15, 2007 4:51 PM
I have a baby cat available. He is declawed in the front and neutered. He is an indoor pet only. He's very sweet. Prefer a home with no other pets except cats.
Posted by: jessica | September 20, 2007 4:57 AM
Could you please post a link on the study that shows that people who think they have an animal dander allergy are actually just allergic to the pollen on the animal's fur? Because frankly, I think that a lot of people are just allergic as hell to cats. Would that it were otherwise.
Posted by: drk | October 25, 2007 9:15 PM
I'm VERY allergic to most cats. But my wife loves them, so...
I was so allergic to the cat she had when we first met that all it had to do was nuzzle its nose on my bare arm and I would break out there in a few seconds. It was his saliva that did it. Long sleeves and making sure he didn't nuzzle my face were the order of the day.
I am not anywhere near as allergic to our current cat - other than washing my hands after petting him and changing my shirt before going to sleep to take care of his shed hair I haven't had to take any special precautions.
Posted by: Benjamin Franz | October 26, 2007 8:40 AM
I've become quite allergic to cats over the years. I have a theory that they can sense this and therefore love me. I love 'em too, though, which means that every time I encounter a cat I'm tearing out my contacts half an hour later.
Posted by: jeffk | October 26, 2007 10:08 AM
i like this cat very much... i like here color and i want that i have own pic this cats because i want to put in my whole....
Posted by: Jaquiline Rica Banac | November 10, 2007 3:06 AM
really cute cat...dont u think its kind of sick to genetically modify such a beautifull creature....in other words, leave the cats alone. If people really want cats but have alergies make them take allergie shots.
Posted by: zoe | November 25, 2007 4:15 PM
that cat looks like my cat angel
Posted by: stephanie mcneilly | January 30, 2008 1:26 PM
i like this pics.
Posted by: liz | February 28, 2008 10:38 PM
i love cat and dogs
Posted by: usama | April 27, 2008 5:36 AM
i luv cats i hav the same(4) cat at my hm
Posted by: arwaah | June 4, 2008 6:39 AM
i dont like cat couse they areb very disgusting
Posted by: Map | June 21, 2008 3:01 AM
i like cats because there not as much trouble as
dogs. i have two cats and there trouble but not as much as
dogs.cats there very cute at least this one and some
other ones to.
Posted by: meghan | August 19, 2008 3:44 PM
I have a Hypallergenic cat his name is casper he is 2 years old
Posted by: DJonan | September 10, 2008 8:05 PM
think this is just a scheme to get mucho bucks,I`ll just take my allergy pill, thank you
Posted by: carol cutrer | September 23, 2008 10:12 PM
kook at this
Posted by: miranda | October 12, 2008 1:17 PM
its very cute,,..
Posted by: rosani | January 2, 2009 6:35 AM
i love that caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat, anyone has a cat like this email me please ehabo.haddadin@yahoo.com
Posted by: ehab | January 5, 2009 5:25 AM
hello EHAD i am happy to your messge I CAN SE SENT ONE OF MY LOVELY CAT TO YOU IF YOU INTEREUS SE MY MORE THANTK YOUR EHAD
Posted by: michaeldoinla | February 17, 2009 11:51 PM
HELLO I HAVE A LOVELY CAT FOR SALE THANK
Posted by: michael | February 23, 2009 3:21 PM
hey peeps i have a site called www.clanoftheblackcat.webs.com and we need more members pleas go to the goin page
Posted by: kitty | March 5, 2009 7:26 PM
I had to get my beautiful cat MOG put to sleep two
months ago it broke my heart she was 16 i miss her so much
i feel so guilty she was my best mate!
Posted by: LIZ | March 22, 2009 6:12 PM
so adorable!
Posted by: lexi | April 10, 2009 3:32 PM
xyjxrkk
Posted by: ;lm | April 19, 2009 4:49 AM
You know this irritates me so much!! Just leave the cats be...if we humans have allergies to cats then just stay away from them or else take allergy pills..after all the person that suffers from allergy should be tempered with not the cats themselves!!..You see i have an "allergy" towards most humans...does that give me the right to temper with the genes of these humans im allergic to!!!!...JUST LET THE FELINE SPECIES BE AT THEIR NATURAL SELF WILL YOU!!!
Posted by: shirley (malta) | April 22, 2009 8:12 AM
i wanna know wat type of cat is this ?
Posted by: destanea' | May 17, 2009 12:32 PM
really cute cat.
Find all you need to know about cat food and breed information at http://www.catwebsite.org
Posted by: pisas | May 20, 2009 11:40 AM
I love the pic of this cat, I actually have one that looks exactly like it. I got mine at an animal shelter. Is this cat a pure bread? If any one know the breed of this cat can they please email me. Thanks.
Posted by: heather Kowalsky | June 7, 2009 2:58 PM
My cat looks just like the one in the pic except my cat has less black hair on the top of her head. She is very beautiful and has huge green eyes.
Posted by: Lucee Liu | June 23, 2009 9:05 AM