Allercats?

[RedHedd]

Biotech Cats Wouldn't Trigger Allergies

Updated 9:11 AM ET October 27, 2004

By PAUL ELIAS

(AP) - The biotechnology revolution is shaking up the pet world. First came a cloned cat. Then came the fish genetically engineered to glow. Now, a Los Angeles company is exploiting the latest in biotechnology to create cats genetically engineered to be nearly free from the allergy-causing proteins that plague millions of people.

Allerca Inc. president Simon Brodie said by 2007 the company will use RNA interference to "silence" a gene in cats that produces the irritant, which is excreted through saliva and the skin.

Scientists researching everything from cancer to crops are using RNA interference to silence genes to create drugs, gene-searching tools and even a new way of decaffeinating coffee.

Now Brodie hopes to bring that same promise to the cat world and eliminate the need for allergic cat lovers to receive symptom-reducing shots while encouraging others put off by the allergy to buy a pet for the first time.

The company is now accepting $350 deposits for the British Short Hair breed of cats it plans to charge $3,500 a piece for in the United States and $10,000 each in Japan. Brodie said he hoped to ultimately sell about 200,000 of the genetically engineered cats a year. The four-person company has yet to engineer any cats, which will be spayed and neutered to prevent breeding with naturally born felines.

Using the genetically engineered pet fish as a guide, Brodie said he doesn't expect to run up against federal regulators. Neither the Department of Agriculture nor the Food and Drug Administration stepped into regulate the Florida-bred GloFish _ a common zebra fish that has been implanted with a fluorescent sea anemone gene _ because it wasn't meant for human consumption.

Federal regulators with the two agencies couldn't be reached late Tuesday.

"Obviously, things can change," Brodie said. "But as long as people don't start eating cats and they don't enter the food chain, then we should be handled like the GloFish."

[catmandu]

They already have Cats,like The Devon Rex,and the Spynx,and American Curl,and I am not sure,that these scientists,should be tampering,with Cats!

[jazzzytina]

I agree. If you're allergic to cats, get an allergy shot. Take Allegra. There are too many strays and homeless cats to go out and pay $3500 for a genetically engineered cat.

All mine were strays/giveaways as I'm sure most people on PT's are. Tad, my husband, is allergic, but he just puts up with the sneezing, and the longer you live with a cat when you have an allergy, the more accustomed you become to it and the allergy kinda goes away, unless of course you break out into hives, in which case you don't need a cat. Just my humble opinion!

[kimlovescats]

[catlover4ever]

I saw that on the news last night as well. It made me mad at the thought of all the kittens and cats in the world that don't have a home, are left to fend for themselves or die because of people not caring....and now we are going to mess with the DNA of a cat just so someone will not have an allergy to them. I often wonder what the heck some people think.....

I would rather suffer 10 fold with my allergies (and yes I do have cat allergies) than pay $3500 just so I could have it a little easier....but that's my 2 cents.