Scientists now breeding a £5,000 GM cat

• Super-cat may soon be here to save mankind...

• at least if you have allergies

• But is it morally and ethically correct?

Key quote

"This company is basing the ‘new’ cat on British shorthairs, a breed known not to be a high risk for allergy sufferers. It smacks of a harebrained scheme to cash in." - Therese Clarke, spokeswoman for EveryCat UK

Story in full IN A bizarre scientific breakthrough that could only have been pioneered in California, scientists there are breeding designer cats that will not make your eyes water.

But the relief of also being sneeze-free around the world’s first genetically-modified hypo-allergenic "Tiddles" will cost you 5,400.

The GM cat, which will not activate feline allergy, was developed by Allerca Inc of Los Angeles. Exploiting the latest in ribonucleic acid (RNA) biotechnology which transmits genetic information from DNA, the company is "silencing" the cat gene, carried through saliva and skin, which irritates humans.

The gene-silencing technique is being used worldwide by scientists researching everything from cancer cures to decaffeinating coffee.

Simon Brodie, Allerca’s president, promised that by 2007 he will be producing a GM-British shorthair breed.

The company is accepting deposits of 190 for the cats, which will sell for 2,000 in the United States and double that amount in Asia. Mr Brodie expects eventually to sell 200,000 a year.

Genetically engineering animals for profit was an inevitable result of developments in genetic engineering, which until now have been for scientific purposes.

The most famous example was Dolly the sheep, which was cloned by two doctors at Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute. The team went on to clone pigs, as part of ongoing research into the possible future use of that animal’s organs for human transplants.

But the commercial exploitation of GM cats was condemned yesterday by animal welfare groups and cat lovers, who said it was unethical.

Ross Minett, the Director of Advocates for Animals, said: "It is morally and unethically unacceptable, and we are against it. The allergy issue is important to people, but there are ways to deal with it without genetically engineering an animal."

Therese Clarke, a spokeswoman for EveryCat UK, formerly the Cat Association of Britain, agreed.

Mrs Clarke, who spent years researching allergies, said: "It is morally dubious and unnecessary. My husband suffered allergies but developed an immunity by slowly building up his tolerance to cats.

"This company is basing the ‘new’ cat on British shorthairs, a breed known not to be a high risk for allergy sufferers. It smacks of a harebrained scheme to cash in."

Allerca was encouraged by the development in Florida of the GloFish, a zebra fish, implanted with a fluorescent anemone gene to make it glow. The creature escaped censure from the US Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration because it was not bred for consumption.

Mr Brodie said his cats would be in the same category. He added: "Things can change. As long as people don’t start eating cats and they don’t enter the food chain, they should be handled like the fish."

Millions worldwide are cat-allergic because of the glycoprotein Fel d 1, secreted by the sebaceous glands.

It is found in the fur, pelt, saliva, serum, urine, mucous, salivary glands and hair roots of felines.

Allergies play havoc with the eyes, nose, ears, throat, lungs and skin. Until now, avoidance was the main treatment.

Mr Brodie said: "The hypo-allergenic cat will be a significant new alternative. People who lived without the companionship of a cat will now be able to have one of their own."

But Mr Minett added: "We should remember this cat will not appear miraculously. There has to be tests and ‘wastage’."