First of all, I've just been reading about the development of plants that are essentially the mutants of the species- like these cats- yet are prized by humans for this mutancy. It's very interesting.
Second, this is awesome. It doesn't bother me, because cats have been bred for specific traits for years. This is only a particularly useful trait.
Thirdly, the developer of this cat is going to be a very, very, very rich person.
Posted by theCrowsWife (Member # 8302) on :
quote:"This is a natural gene divergence within the cat DNA - one out of 50,000 cats will have this natural divergence," he said.
Hmm. I sure hope they tested enough cats to get a decent starting population (and where did they get all these cats and what did they do with the thousands they couldn't use?). Otherwise inbreeding could lead to numerous health problems. Especially since there's such a huge demand. I wonder if they will only sell the kittens spayed/neutered to prevent competition? Otherwise I could see someone buying a male and female and starting their own business.
--Mel
Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
Yeah, because what this world needs is more mutant cats...
I'm sorry, but even if I wasn't allergic to cats I can't bring myself to pay $4K for *any* pet, especially one as useless and unentertaining as a cat. I'd pay $4K for a dog if he comes trained to fetch me a beer on demand.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
That is not what I expected them to look like physically. The idea of a hypoallergenic cat is good, though I'd like to know what is different, about it's hair, saliva, or whatever.
I have some rough feelings on cat breeding in general, with the number of strays every year. I do like the purebreds, though I have never had one. In showing 4-H cats most people believed my cat was a purebred and thus thought it was unfair i was allowed to show and win (we won grand champion 2 out of 5 times, and reserve grand twice also). When someone did come in with a purebred cat who was not recieving the obsessive care mine was getting (though she was still healthy and well groomed) she got second in the class to mine. Everyone who sees pictures of my cat (I don't have any online right now, I'll try to get one tonight) is fully convinced he's a purebred because he meets all of the body type requirements of an old type siamese (he doesn't have a wedgie head) and is blue point. This kitten was born at the side of the road in Morgan County IN to a tabby mamma. Most of the new purebreds coming out, new strains have had similar starts. Ragdolls were bred to be like a found cat that flopped, one of the rex types was found in a barn, almost all examples of "male calicos" were barn cats, of course they can't become a breed because they are sterile.
Posted by Libbie (Member # 9529) on :
You could just get a Sphinx. They're hairless, but it's much easier to keep control of their dander that way. Just wipe 'em down with a warm, wet towel a couple of times a day.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
And they're just over a thousand.
Posted by Stan the man (Member # 6249) on :
I'm in agreement with Nighthawk on this one. Especially with what this weekend entailed. My friend has 3 cats. Sheesh, my allegies had a field day. I couldn't use enough Visine.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
I know alot of allergic people who love animals, and wish they could just turn off their allergies.
Though if you think about it, it might be more useful if they simply bred humans until they bred allergies out of the gene pool Posted by Sharpie (Member # 482) on :
People might complain about the culling process, though...
Posted by Samarkand (Member # 8379) on :
It's a protein in the saliva. I'm pretty sure they just tested for those without the allergen and then cloned. Posted by theCrowsWife (Member # 8302) on :
Er, tested for those without the allergen and then bred, no cloning involved.
--Mel
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
Yeah, they've only cloned a few cats so far, not a whole breed that's now available for purchase.
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
I heard all about this in the movie Cats & Dogs (one of Sasha's favorites).
Of course in the movie, Tinkles the Evil Cat seeks to reverse polarity on this, and create a situation where everyone is allergic to Dogs. In such a situation, with out man's protectors, the Cats would soon rule the world.
But that's not important now. I am sure Tinkles has nothing to do with this.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Actually, Siberian cats are pretty close to hypoallergenic already.
If I had 4 grand to spend, I would sure think about it.
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