Hello Kitty?

Direct from the NY Times, a hypoallergenic cat. Now I've had a dog and a cat, but the allergies just killed me and so we had to give them away each time. But now there is hope. For a mere $4000, 12-15 month delivery, and a meticulous interview process, I can purchase my very own allergy-free cat.

I mean, the gene that causes allergy is suppressed in these new cats.

Strike that. I mean ... no gene or molecule is suppressed. No drug or gene splicing or genetic engineering was involved. It's just that this biotech company who wanted to suppress or disable the allergy-causing molecule instead found several cats with a mutated one that doesn't cause allergies that much. So this company rounded up as many cats as they can with the mutated gene, bred hundreds of them, and are now marketing it as PRODUCTS! Welcome the ALLERCA Cat!

At that point, the research shifted course. Allerca screened thousands of cats to identify a population with the modified gene and then set those cats to breeding. Because the mutant gene is dominant, the breeding cats could be mated with normal cats to produce hypoallergenic kittens. And no special licensing or government approvals were necessary.

So, for the past few months, Allerca’s small pool of hypoallergenic cats have been busy reproducing. Their breeding facility cannot be visited and “is at a secret undisclosed location,” said Ms. Young, Allerca’s chief executive.

Now that's not the end of it. Check this part:

At 10 to 12 weeks, every Allerca kitten is neutered before it is delivered. The company insists this is mainly to prevent feline overpopulation. But every Allerca cat carries the dominant hypoallergenic gene and, in theory, could produce copycat hypoallergenic kittens.

So let me get this straight: a company is marketing a product that is NATURALLY occurring (no genetic engineering, gene splicing, or any of that sci-fi stuff), and it is eliminating the competition as much as possible by NEUTERING the kittens under the guise of preventing "feline overpopulation" and thereby maintaining its own superior quality control?
WTF? Can I say S-C-A-M?