Saturday September 19, 2009, 12:22 pm
After one year, Live Oak woman loses hope of getting promised hypoallergenic cat
By Cathy Kelly
Posted: 09/17/2009 01:30:14 AM PDT

SANTA CRUZ-The joyous anticipation of getting a hypoallergenic kitten has turned to despair for a Live Oak woman, as a year has passed since she paid more than $5,000 to buy one of the uncommon cats and she has yet to receive one.

Linda Selby, 36, has loved and owned cats since she was a child, she said, but developed allergies as an adult and could no longer own one.

In August of last year, she did some research after hearing about an Ojai woman who purchased a hypoallergenic cat, and she wired money for a kitten to Allerca Lifestyle Pets. The company made a splash in 2006 when it announced it had discovered a way to detect and selectively breed cats that do not contain a protein that is a common allergen for humans, a discovery Time magazine named one of the best inventions of the year.

Company founder Simon Brodie estimated Selby would have a kitten in 12 months, and though that deadline is not long gone, Selby said she has been promised too many delivery dates and is concerned after finding recent complaints about the company, and about Brodie's former business dealings, online.

Then she was unable to get any response from the firm for two months. An e-mail finally came Wednesday, though, with a promised October delivery. But Selby, who works as a tutor, is not biting.

"I don't believe it," she said. "I don't want to get my hopes up. I love cats, so it was very exciting and then very heartbreaking. Last year it seemed legit and it's
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not like I wired money to Nigeria or something."

Brodie said the cat production business is fraught with inherent delays and uncertainties.

"When a client calls, one of the first things we do is make them understand there is a waiting period," he said. "It's not like we are manufacturing flat-screen TVs."

The company was based in San Diego, then Delaware and now is in Las Vegas. They are in the process of being sold, Brodie said, declining to name the buyers or to say whether he was staying on.

Brodie described a tiny, innovative company under attack from animal rights activists, larger corporations and a skeptical scientific community.

The cats are a result of selective breeding, he said, after the company came across a naturally occurring genetic mutation in cats that didn't contain the common protein responsible for allergic reactions, which is usually found in feline skin and saliva. They developed a technology to check for that mutation, he added.

"We've done documented studies, but we tend to keep things close to our chest," he said. "But the proof is in the pudding; we've been delivering kittens for three years and we have hundreds of clients. But like any company, some of our clients are more demanding than others."

Brodie said they have a 95 percent success rate with their kitties.

Leslie Lyons, a UC Davis professor who specializes in research on domestic cat genetics, said she has heard of the company but has not studied their cats.

But breeding hypoallergenic cats is possible, she said.

"I don't know how you would truly test it," Lyons said. "But from our own research, I think it's going to be feasible and there is a great desire to have that type of pet."

She warned that some people are allergic to additional things about cats aside from the protein.

Judy Smith is a happy customer who lives comfortably with one of the company's cats, despite severe allergies.

The Massachusetts woman got an Allerca cat in 2007, she said, calling "Kiki" a hypoallergenic, fluffy ball of fun. She has hosted other hopeful cat owners since being quoted in a Boston Globe story, she said, speaking to them on the phone and allowing one couple to come play with Kiki to see if they were allergic to him.

"It took a while, but he's great," she said. "I've ordered another one."

But the Boston Globe story, of July 31, 2007, also talks of doubting scientists, federal tax problems and a false accounting conviction for Brodie in England stemming from his involvement with a hot air balloon company.

Brodie called the accusations false, and said a competitor has been trying to blacken his reputation.

"Like any company, we have our ups and downs," he said. "But we went out there six years ago against all odds and we have many happy clients. We sometimes fail, but we've been up against things other companies would not be."

Selby said she has filed complaints with the FBI and the Delaware Department of Justice, as the company was incorporated in that state until recently.

A Delaware Department of Justice spokesman said he cannot comment on whether any company is under investigation.

Meanwhile, the Allerca Lifestyle Pets Web site shows a recent expansion of a second, exotic-looking feline and a new puppy. The newer cat, "Ashera GD," is priced at $16,000. The "Jabari GD" puppy sells for $8,950. They come with a one-year replacement guarantee, and all their shots, Brodie said.

Saturday September 19, 2009, 5:02 pm
Sorry if I might be offending anybody but as a human companion to two feral born cats (and a cat allergy I didn't know of until they started coming into the house) this makes me really ill.
I heard about hypo-allergic cats before but didn't know they were already so widely bred and sold.
IMO someone who wants to OWN a cat and BUYS one that is specificallly bred for that person's specific needs does NOT love cats but has all sorts of other issues. Bad enough to still breed certain cat breeds (cats can breed very well on their own, they most certainly do not need our help) and show them off while millions are gassed every year, but this is too much. This makes me ill.

Saturday September 19, 2009, 5:32 pm
That's alright-Ulli-it makes me ill too

-knowing how many Bengals and Savannahs and Chaussies and even an Ashera or two cannot be re-homed because their wild blood makes it nearly impossible and the genetic deformities they suffer at the hands of some madman-and then they go and do this

-I would take a shot every day to keep Mu and it would be Mu I would want and not some designer cat that is just being "Created" by some Frankenstein -tailor-made for someone's personal needs-with what we deal with every day and knowing what we know this was an affront to all that we do and all the cats we try to rescue-some idiot in it for the money-and lots of money-piling more cats on top of the ones we already try to rescue and that have been abandoned and therefore become "ferals"-one wheel that just keeps turning and turning and turning...

Don't worry about offending anyone-not for a minute-

Sunday September 20, 2009, 9:07 am
To pay that much money UPFRONT before delivery seems crazy in itself. To pay that MUCH money for any cat sounds like a "RIPOFF"

Sunday September 20, 2009, 8:32 pm
Ulli well i have to say that i agree with you 110% that is not only the wrong thig to do but very selfish breeding cat's or any animal that there is problem's in the control deppartment because mam created the problem in the first place is not wright,Linda i donot feel bad that you lost the money i feal bad that the money was to sopport a person who makes a living of the hurt of innocent animal's,you shud be ashamed of your self,if i had my way there would no such thing as animal breeder's,they are scum!

Tuesday September 22, 2009, 9:34 am
I would never pay that much money upfront (I've learnt from experience - not cat related though)