I first wrote about this story and company two years ago. The plan was to develope cats that don't set people's allergies off. There's an update today in the New Scientist:
A California company has turned to conventional breeding to deliver the non-allergenic kittens it promised two years ago. But allergists warn the new cats may still be something to sneeze at.In 2004, Allerca, then based in Los Angeles, announced plans to genetically engineer cats so they would not produce the most common cat allergen, a protein called FEL D1 (See Doubts over plan for allergen-free cats). Now based in San Diego, Allerca has abandoned genetic engineering to focus on selectively breeding cats that lack the version of the FEL D1 protein that triggers allergic reactions.
A spokeswoman says the company will deliver the first 400 to 500 "GD" (for genetically divergent) kittens in 2007.
Allergists consider the approach scientifically plausible. "It's been known for a long time that some cats are very low allergen producers", producing just one-thousandth the FEL D1 of a normal cat, says Robert Wood, director of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, US.
wow.
This may explain why I was able to keep my cat for 25 years with very little allergic reaction. at worst I got a little itchy eye once in a while, and that only if she slept on my head overnight and was there when I woke up. Yes, she was an odd cat.
But if I spend more tha a few hours in a house with cats I need to get out and use my inhaler. Dogs are worse, an hour at most and I need to leave, more and I may need medical attention. (yes, I keep an inhaler in the truck to clear my breathing).
I miss that cat and if I could I would get another one in an instant.
I wonder if there is an available test to see if a cat is producing the allergen? That may be a viable alternative to a special breed. A $4-5000 breed at that.