Allergy-Free Cats: Fact or Fiction?

April 14, 2008— -- Would you pay $35,000 for a cat?

Some people do -- specifically, those with money to burn, a fervent love of cats and a bad case of allergies.

A company called Allerca said two years ago it had developed the world's first hypoallergenic cat. For many cat lovers, businessmen and breeders, this had been a quest of holy-grail proportions.

A joyous media frenzy ensued, but debate remains as to whether the felines are for real.

After Allerca's announcement, eager-but-allergic cat lovers sent in their deposits. The cats' initial price tag was about $4,000. Since then, it has been bumped up to almost $6,000, with a Siamese variation going for $10,900 and an exotic "wild cat" version that costs $35,000.

Despite the cost, cat lovers rejoiced. "I was quite excited at the possibility of a breakthrough in [cat allergy] research, and the promise it holds for children who have been unable to have or hold a cat," Oregon cat breeder Tom Lundberg wrote in an e-mail, although he noted that he has since developed concerns about the project.

Some were never optimistic.

"There's no such thing as a hypoallergenic cat," said Dr. David Avner, an emergency room doctor at Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree, Colo., and president of Felix Pets, a rival company of Allerca's. "I've been in the field long enough."

Avner has studied the key feline protein that triggers the allergic reaction and concluded the only way to eliminate it was to "turn off" the gene by genetically modifying the cats. He has yet to produce a hypoallergenic cat.

Avner said a businessman named Simon Brodie approached him years ago with a proposal to start an allergen-free pet business with Avner's research. After about a year, he said that Brodie "cut and run" with Avner's information to start Allerca.

Brodie disagrees with that account, saying that he attempted to leave Avner on good terms, offering him "three percent of his new company." A court case ensued, which ended in a settlement in which Brodie agreed to delay Allerca's marketing ventures until after May 2006; both parties remain at odds.