Allergy-free cat goes on sale for £2,500

For allergic animal lovers, it's the answer to a prayer. An American firm has bred a cat it claims is 'allergy free'.

Allergic reactions to animals are caused by a protein that is excreted in saliva, skin glands and urine. The special felines were selectively bred by reducing this trigger protein.

The hypoallergenic felines are now on sale in America and will appeal to people who would normally develop red eyes, sneezing runny noses and breathing difficulties when around cats.

However, the cat will cost far more than one from your local shelter. Prices start at £2,000 ($3,950) each - plus a £500 ($1,000) shipping fee. Despite this there is already a long waiting list.

California-based biotech firm Allerca tested thousands of cats trying to find the tiny fraction that do not carry the glycoprotein Fel D1, which produces allergies. Those cats were then used to breed the hypoallergenic cats.

Company spokesman Steve May said it was a natural method. He said: "This is a natural gene divergence within the cat DNA - one out of 50,000 cats will have this divergence.

"So naturally divergent cats were found and then bred so there is really no modification of the gene."

In the US alone 38 million households own a cat, and around the world an estimated one in three humans suffer from allergies.