:rolleyes: Why are so many people called “opinionated” who don’t want to express opinions, but to “tell” the rest of us their divinely appointed Truths?
Oh yeah: too late to edit, but I’d only spend the money IF THE CATS HAD A PROVEN TRACK RECORD of being TRULY hypo-allergenic.
There are lots of sites suggesting the Allerca cats are not as promised. Vaporware at best, just as allergy-inducing as a standard cat at worst.
I only paid $100 for my hypo-allergenic cat! Granted, he was a 5 year old ex-breeder, but the kittens he sired sold for just $600 too. My wife is very allergic to cats, but not ours. The reason is his fur is very low in the Fel d 1 protein that causes the allergy. Sometimes if my wife rubs her face/eyes into his fur she will have a mild eye irritation reaction, but this is nothing to the asthma and other symptoms she gets in the presence of other felines.
Our cat is a Siberian.
I personally speculate that Siberians are less allergenic because their population evolved that way and have been relatively isolated from most other domestic cat populations in the world by the harsher climate they were in. They have only been introduced outside of Siberia since the 90’s.
For anyone allergic person who wants a cat - find a Siberian breeder and go and spend some time there to see for yourself. This won’t work if you’re also allergic to dogs, as then it is not just the Fel d 1 protein that is your problem. Different Siberians can vary in the amount of Fel d 1 they have, but there is a huge amount of antedotal evidence out there showing Siberians are low in allergy.
I wonder if Allerca’s big lab breakthrough was just breeding enough cats like these with normal tabby’s.
The best part - Siberians are awesome cats. Think of a cat with a dogs loyalty and affection.
:rolleyes:
It always turns out that way. The Nosy Parkers want to tell everyone how to spend their own money. I remember a thread where Sandra Bullock had given $1M to Katrina relief, and there were still people posting that she should have given more, should have given it to the chiiiiiiiiiildren, etc. Everyone seems to think they know better than I how to spend my own damn money.
No, but then, I don’t want a cat. I’d never bankrupt myself to buy a pet, but if I were very comfortable, and did want that sort of cat, then, yes.
Right, how is spending our money as we see fit is anything new for society?
As there seems to be a few people posting who long for a cat but cannot due to allergies, I wanted to post more info about Siberians. It amazes me how the Allerca Company, which as already mentioned is a pretty shady company, consistently gets publicity on this issue when there are already hypoallergenic cats out there. $6000 for something you can go get today for SO much less is a crime. As I stated, I bought a 5 year old hypoallergenic Siberian cat for $100. The normal cost for kittens is similar to that of any purebred show quality cat. Before we found out our cat was available we were signed on for another cats kittens which were going to be sold for $700.
These cats may not be the answer for everyone; you need to check it out for yourself. But it did allow my very allergic wife and I to have a feline companion.
From Here
“The Siberian cat is also known for being hypoallergenic to many people. Although it has not been proven medically or scientifically, many people adamantly believe that the Siberian is hypoallergenic. They believe this because they are living proof. After living decades of being allergic to cats, I have seen adults cry because these loving cats have climbed all over them and they had no allergic reactions. Most Siberians have a low occurrence of the FELd1 enzyme in their salvia. This is what causes people to be allergic to cats. Many people that are allergic to cats have found that they can tolerate the Siberian and have little or no reaction to them. This is a cat-by-cat, person-by-person concept. If you are allergic to cats and want to try to see if you are allergic to Siberians, it is best to find someone near you with a Siberian or two so that you can spend a few hours with one and find out how you react. Personally, I have had very good luck with placing Siberians in allergy homes. About 75 percent of the people that come out to test have little or no reaction. Of these that have gotten a kitten from me, no one has had a problem having a Siberian or two in their home. There are no guarantees, but there is hope for allergy sufferers.”
This is a link to some breeders, hopefully near you!
http://www.kittysites.com/breeds/siberiancat/breeder.shtml
It’s not a divine truth. It’s just stating the obvious to people who appear to be blatantly oblivious.
Well, I came home from work one day and our cat (ketten) had gotten out front and was lying in the bush, leg all mangled up. I rushed him to the emergency vet and $1000 later he was stabilized but needed to go to a animal hospital to see what could be done. We were given three options: 1) try and save the leg ($4000); 2) amputate the leg ($4000) or 3) put the kitten to sleep ($200). My wife was distraught and I agreed to option 1. Wrong decision, because we eventually had to go with option 2. All in all once medicatins and everything were totalled up, close to $10,000. In retrospect we question our decsion making quite a bit, we made a decision completely out of emotion, so whuile we have spent a LOT of money on one cat, I don’t recommend it (unless of course you have a lot of money).
P.S. The cat is still with us, as healthy and happy as ever, with three legs, so we don’t feel TOO upset about it :).
I seem to remember you have a kid, and I’m certain a fair number of militantly childfree people feel the same way about your progeny as you do about your co-worker’s cats.
It’s not up to you to decide the importance of someone else’s companion.
I wouldn’t pay $6K for a cat, no. I’m very allergic, and I like cats, but I’m not into spending that kind of money for a designer animal.
I’ve found Siamese cats are easy for me to tolerate. I was living with one and had no problems. However, if I visited my sister, who had 3 cats in the house, I’d be completely miserable with horrible hay fever within 10 minutes. I think the culprit was her unfixed orange tabby.
Anyway, if I ever do get a cat of my own, it’ll most likely be a used Siamese.
I spent at least that much on a cat who nearly died of pancreatitis (I didn’t intend to at first, but once she started to get better, I couldn’t say “okay, kill her now,” and so the vet bills piled up). However, that was nearly two years ago and she’s fine if diabetic and a tad pudgy, so I don’t consider the money wasted.
Spending that much on a dead cat, however, would be an extravagance.
I’d feel weird paying anything beyond re-homing fees for a cat or dog, so no.
Would I spend it on a cat or pet I already had and loved? Probably. Dammit.
I’d never pay for an animal.
I’ll second this one. In fact, I did. Well, not to the tune of 6K US, but it was about $2,000 in total.
One of our cats (born 2004, about EUR 30 each from a shelter) developed a wonky knee that needed surgery - at least it did if the cat was to enjoy its life as much as its sibling. He was about 1.5 years old at the time.
What are you gonna do, deny it a good slice of life quality for the next 15 years? Of course not, you pay for the surgery. He’s been happy as Larry ever since.
Pay 6K for a cat, as just the purchase? No way in hell. And we’ll leave SHAKES’ comments for what they are as well, given the forum.
You’re right Aesiron, while I still stand by my assertion that I personally wouldn’t spend a whole lot of cash on a family pet, I see now, in retrospect, that I could have worded my previous posts a little better.
I was being snide and condescending. I apologize for that.
It’s not an excuse, but I’ve been in a pissy mood these past couple of days.
Eh, I wouldn’t pay for a human, either.
Are there other low-allergen breeds besides Siberians? I want to adopt another homeless cat, but my mom has slight allergies. I looked on Petfinder, and they don’t have any Siberians near us.
We paid $800 for our rag doll. And then there were the vet bills and toys and crap. All told, the big throw rug cost us a grand at least. When my wife cries, I can’t say no. We had just lost Jane, and he was a good cat that she’d had for years. She felt a deep loss. So for me, the money was to make her feel better. It’s a weird cat. Follows you around almost underfoot, like a dog. Beautiful, though. I’ll say that.
$6,000 is a bit out of my range, but I’m really tempted.
I love cats. Everything about them.
I’ve had dogs before. Dogs are idiots. They love you only because they don’t know any better. Plus they shit everywhere.
A cat? A cat is a worthy adversary. You work for the cat, not vice versa. Prove yourself worthy and a cat MIGHT not consider you a complete fool.
Sadly, I’m badly allergic to cats.
When I win the lottery, a hypoallergenic cat will be one of my first purchases. Until then, I’m petless.