Letter: Don't sneeze at the cat

From S. G. Fleming

I was more than a little irritated to read Ingrid Newkirk’s rant in her
letter concerning your earlier article about the possible development of
genetically modified cats
(28 July, p 71, and
7 July, p 12).

Many people who are unfortunate enough to suffer severe (read “potentially
life-threatening”) allergies to cats but who love them nonetheless, will be
thrilled at the prospect of owning a GM animal that does not express the
troublesome Fel d 1 protein. As such a sufferer, I am unable to enter a room
that a cat has occupied, yet I have always wanted to own a cat. My wife and
children, also animal lovers, are deprived of this basic pleasure because of my
allergy.

The steps which Newkirk suggests to render a cat less allergenic are
ineffective and often impractical—for example, not everyone can call on a
third party to brush the cat on a regular basis and not everyone’s allergies
“fade with time” as she contends.

Her flippant remark about getting “a ready-made transgenic cat, also known as
a dog” serves only to reveal her ignorance. Many cat lovers would not wish to
have a dog whose size, temperament, habits and needs are quite different to
those of a cat and which would be unsuitable as a pet in many settings. She also
ignores the fact that a lot of people who are allergic to cats are also allergic
to dogs (and often birds as well).

North Yorkshire