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Markets in everything, unless of course it is a hoax
Hypoallegenic cats: "These cats allow some of the millions of people with feline allergies to finally enjoy the love and companionship of a household pet without suffering from allergic symptoms."
Here is one analysis; CNN seems to believe.
The pointer is from Jacqueline Passey.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on September 21, 2006 at 08:51 PM in Economics | Permalink
Comments
A colleague in work got one. These are real. Bizarre but real.
Posted by: william at Sep 21, 2006 10:37:37 PM
At last. Wonderful news. I hope they also altered the gene for bringing in rats, mice, squirrels and birds as tokens of love. And for vomiting up hairballs.
Posted by: dearieme at Sep 22, 2006 7:24:49 AM
To be positive for a moment: what we need in Britain is cats that will help us cull our out-of-control deer population. What do you think - a gene from a cougar perhaps?
Posted by: dearieme at Sep 22, 2006 7:26:41 AM
It is my understanding that the increasing popularity of poodle crosses - pekipoos, shipoos, labradoodles, woodles, etc - relates specifically to a characteristic of the poodle's coat which makes it less irritating to the allergic.
Of course if anyone did breed a wolf-poodle cross (woodle) the double coat which is one of the things which distinguises wolves from other canines might cancel this out.
Posted by: triticale at Sep 22, 2006 8:14:30 AM
Yes, triticale is right that poodle crosses are a way to limit allergies to dogs. Part of the difference is that poodles don't shed very much. This is also why poodles require haircuts, unlike short-haired dogs who continually shed.
Posted by: DK at Sep 22, 2006 8:23:56 AM
Ronald Bailey mentions ALLERCA on page 196 of Liberation Biology (2005). He thought that neighborhood liaisons would dilute the value of their cats, but, as I suspected, ALLERCA requires buyers to spay or neuter their new pets.
Posted by: Eric Hanneken at Sep 22, 2006 10:54:21 AM
You still read Passey???
Posted by: Anderson at Sep 22, 2006 11:23:26 AM
Allerca's office was in my building, and they were evicted for non-payment of rent.
There was also this article in the San Diego Tribune, which questions their credibility.
So I lean towards this being a scam.
Posted by: Patrick at Sep 22, 2006 2:05:07 PM
There seems to be two classes of mammal some of whose hair grows just about indefinitely rather than growing to a certain length, staying at that length for a while, and then shedding.
1: poodles
2: humans [head hair including male beards only]
Can anyone out there in cyberspace think of a third example?
-dk
Posted by: Dick King at Sep 22, 2006 6:15:17 PM
If not shedding is what makes poodles different, then crossing them with wolves, which shed something fierce when the weather warms up, might not be particularly useful.
Posted by: triticale at Sep 22, 2006 9:04:45 PM
While the cat offer is somewhat real, they are not truly hypoallergenic. It is not the hair, it is the dander that humans react to. These cats generate much less dander than the average cat. So not completely allergy free, but less allergic response. Since I am allergic to cats and do not wish to have a pet that considers itself superior to me, I am not taking them up on the offer.
Posted by: Murphy at Sep 25, 2006 11:43:00 AM
There seems to be two classes of mammal some of whose hair grows just about indefinitely rather than growing to a certain length, staying at that length for a while, and then shedding.
1: poodles
2: humans [head hair including male beards only]
Can anyone out there in cyberspace think of a third example?
-dk
Posted by: Dick King at Sep 25, 2006 5:04:32 PM
