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Hypoallergenic Cats
Lambticc writes "The BBC is running an article about how a US firm has successfully bred cats to reduce the production of the protein which causes an allergic reaction. Since the result was achieved through selective breeding, there should not be any complaints from the anti-GM lobby." From the article: "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 (£2,104), there is already a waiting list to get one. Allerca first started taking orders for genetically engineered hypoallergenic cats back in 2004."
You already reported it in 2004.
But when will they finally breed the North American House Hippo!? Huh? That's what I want to know.
I hope they annoyingly patented what they did (though I don't get how to you specifically patent selective breeding), or the first two owners of frisky felines will put them out of business.
Maybe they'll sell one gender of cat?
The Right Reverend K. Reid Wightman,
Get yours now from petsovernight.com.
Hrm...selective breading of cats...wonder how that works. Extra crispy or regular? Corn flake or bread crumb or batter? How do they keep the cats from eating it?
("The BBC is running an article about how a US firm has successfully bred cats to reduce the production of the protein which causes an allergic reaction. Since the result was achieved through selective breading, there should not be any complaints from the anti-GM lobby." if they fix this one)
I know every time I've got some pussy, I've had terrible rashes and itchiness, although I've never had to pay as much as $4,000 dollars for them.
You might want to wait for the second model year. There's still some question about whether they're just selling cat oil or not.
KFG
As noted in a prior comment to Slashdot, I proposed this idea to Usenet in 1992 (link to Google archive of my original article included in my prior comment.) Of course, I'm tooting my horn, but Allerca actually did it. Good luck to Allerca.
The real question is, though, will they taste as good?
Good BYEEEEE karma
Life is rarely fair. Cherish the moments when there is a right answer.
ACK! phftt!
If you could reason with religious people, there would be no religious people
"selective breading"?
Maybe it has something to do with catbread?
(more, originals)
I had but a simple dream, to destroy all humans.
No one "owns" a cat. What they really need to say is that there are 38 million households where the cat(s) tolerate the presence of humans. In most cases, the cats will have trained their humans to fulfill their every whim.
"To those who are overly cautious, everything is impossible. "
Why pay that much for a cat when theres plenty of dogs out there that are already hypoallergenic.
Take the Basenji for example. It's hypoallergenic, doesn't bark, grooms itself like a cat, and dislikes water like most cats.
And while they don't bark, they do make a yodeling type of noise.
And, you can usually get one for quite a lot less than $4000.
As Norm MacDonald once said:
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
I know a guy who is allergic to cats, so they got a couple of sphynx cats. Hairless, so no dander problems. Look a bit like Yoda. In fact, kind of repulsive. And I'm a cat lover.
http://www.rootstrikers.org/
No amount of natural cross-breeding will result in tomatoe vines with glow-in-the-dark fish genes.
The anti-GM activity is due to the proliferation of new protiens in existing foods that will trigger new alergies/diseases. Also with plants once they start releasing pollen you cant control it.
Interestingly, it's a marketting term - it has no legal meaning per the FDA, which is why cosmetic companies feel free to use it; they are not saying you won't be allergic to this or that any FDA approved testing has been done. Yet people think it means something so they buy hypoallergenic products.
As one marketeer put it during a presentation - "My job is great - I sell a product that is 90% air and people pay a premium for it!!"
I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
Sure, that's just good business sense for them - but it also helps reduce the number of strays on the streets, and gets people used to sterilizing their pets.
A torrent of anecdotal evidence claims that this breed, a more normal looking one, doesn't make allergic people wheeze and break out. On the other hand neither my allergist nor our late cat's vet has seen anything to confirm that in the professional literature.
They're also very expensive.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberian_(cat)
Surplus cats were sent to universities worldwide for helping out with the quantum computing effort. They go through a lot of cats that way...
Mmmm. Sweet and Sour Cat; General Meow's Chicken; Cat with Broccoli; can you send over some fried rice too? The last night programming crew is hungry.
Well, this is obviously good news anyway for people who don't want a Siberian.
1. Have you seen a Siberian? The Siberian isn't just another body shape or fur pattern, it's something as big as your arm. It's a _huge_ cat. It's bigger than some dog breeds. (And legends have it that some are also actually able to function as a dog, because at that size it feels a lot less threatened by someone human sized. So it _can_ defend its territory from a human, if needed. I wouldn't know if it's myth or not, though.)
Now I'm all for large cats myself, but I can also see why someone would want a standard 5 pound lap cat instead.
2. The Siberian isn't anywhere near allergen-free. In fact, no natural cat breed is, from moggie to lions and tigers. The Siberian does produce a lot less allergen, but for some people it's still too much. So producing cats with even less, would still be welcome news for a lot of people.
3. The Siberian only has less of the cat-speciffic protein. I.e., it won't help anyone whose allergy is to something else. E.g., someone with a generic allergy to fur, will still be just as allergic to the Siberian as to any other cat breed. Basically, if holding a rabbit or petting a dog also gives you an allergy, getting a Siberian won't help at all.
I don't know if this new breed addresses this third point, but it IS one area where improvement is possible.
A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
I'm sure these are copy-protected cats. I can't wait until someone pirates one! Cheap hypoallergenic cats with eye patches for everyone!
Small cats belong in North Africa, maybe China, and areas generally around there. They do not belong in the New World or on any island.
Yeah, there are other predators. Owls are dying because cats eat all the easy prey!
Humans cause mass extinction, sure... by supporting cats. This is especially bad near beaches, because that is where people like to live. Rare beach mice are going extinct. Without them, the beach grass dies and then the beach erodes.
And "Sesame Kitten."
We have been "genetically modifying" animals through selective breeding for millenia.
It is not neccessary to introduce bits of cells (the narrow understanding of "GM") from other things to modify genes.
If agriculture was invented today, it would've been banned...
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
she's only 8 pounds, not huge. her parents were a bit bigger, though.
i have some pretty sensitive (not severe, just very easily activated) cat allergies, but I haven't have any symptoms with our cat. before we got her, as a test, we went to the breeder's house and i stayed in the 'cat room', with five aduts and ten kittens, for an hour - just to make sure i was symptom-free. no problem at all.
i'm also taking Zyrtek, but that's not supposed to be all that great against pet allergies.
I have discovered a truly remarkable proof which this margin is too small to contain.