Ahh I see how I missed it now, I was reading about their "Ashera" not the "Allerca".
They won a "best inventions" from Time in 2006 this is the quote from the artical:
MEDICINE INVENTIONS
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Meow, no achoo
Love cats but your nose doesn't? A San Diego company is breeding felines that are naturally hypoallergenic
. Most cats produce a protein in their saliva that can trigger an allergic reaction in humans; some breeds, like the Siamese, produce less of it than others. But in Allerca's mixed-breed (not genetically engineered) cats, the protein is virtually undetectable. Allerca tests each cat and offers a one-year money-back guarantee. Demand is high: there's already a 15-month wait for the sniffle-proof kitties.
Inventor: Allerca
Availability: 2007; $3,950
To learn more visit allerca.com
http://www.time.com/time/2006/techguide/bestinventions/inventions/medicine3.htmlPrices have went up about 2 grand in 2 years WOW
I think this is their original website for just the Allerca cat MEDICINE INVENTIONS
E-MAIL
Meow, no achoo
Love cats but your nose doesn't? A San Diego company is breeding felines that are naturally hypoallergenic
. Most cats produce a protein in their saliva that can trigger an allergic reaction in humans; some breeds, like the Siamese, produce less of it than others. But in Allerca's mixed-breed (not genetically engineered) cats, the protein is virtually undetectable. Allerca tests each cat and offers a one-year money-back guarantee. Demand is high: there's already a 15-month wait for the sniffle-proof kitties.
Inventor: Allerca
Availability: 2007; $3,950
http://www.allerca.com/ .
I found what Wiki had to (I know not a very reliable source, but interesting none the less)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AllercaI find this quote by the "creator" pretty disturbing:
"
Brodie counters that Allerca is revolutionizin
g the "cottage industry" of cat breeding. "We provide the customer with much higher level of service, and we have the resources to ensure that any animal that we produce is consistent. That's the big difference."
http://newsday.typepad.com/news_local_flaim/2006/11/allercas_kitty_.htmlAfter reading a few of the different write ups, from both angles I am not sure if they are doing genetic altering, only because the Siberian Cat is supposed to be much the same thing, but the things the brodie guy says makes me believe that they do an awful lot of culling, IMO. The part where he says they can genetically control the markings and size is very questionable. I dont know how much of what they say is true, personally I dont think they have put as much science into their cats or their dogs, I think they are breeding mutts to sell at super high prices to suckers.