Does your cat make you "cat-choo" along with other allergic symptoms? Have you ever wondered — if your cat was allergic to you — whether your cat would voluntarily take allergy pills or shots, simply put up with the sneezing and wheezing and watery eyes or just leave?

If your cat was allergic to you, I think he would be torn. First, he would want to stay in the comfy territory you created complete with cat-friendly cuisine but if too uncomfortable, he might just spring for greener pastures — if not trapped indoors.

There is something about stroking a purring cat that sends most people into cat purr-vana. Feline independence contributes to their mystique because in many ways they are closer to a wild animal than the canine. Remember, dogs were domesticated first, then cats.

Now let's turn the tables. If you are allergic to cat dander, although probably relying on good sense not to adopt one, you are still missing out on some of life's most enjoyable simple pleasures.

If your allergy to cats has prevented you from experiencing feline friendship, there is "good mews." More than two years ago a company in San Diego, ALLERCA, announced it intended to create allergy-free cats. In October 2006, the company released pictures of these specially bred cats, and test results appear to prove the company's claims.

For one thing they have a bona fide expert doing the testing. Dr. Sheldon Spector is a clinical professor of medicine at the UCLA School of Medicine and has published more than 250 journal articles, books and book chapters. His private practice, in Los Angeles, is the California Allergy and Asthma Clinic.

His study involved human patients who had been clinically diagnosed with cat allergies using skin tests. The patients were blindfolded, then led into three rooms where their observable allergy symptoms were measured.

In one room, a stuffed animal served as a control. In the second room there was a hypo-allergenic cat, and in the third room a good old-fashioned alley cat known to produce allergy symptoms in susceptible people.

Spector's results have not been fully released for scientific scrutiny, but the fact that he is claiming success says a lot with his professional credibility on the line.

What I find interesting is that these cats represent a special niche in that they are genetically engineered, but not cloned. Here's how it works: The company, ALLERCA, was able to identify the exact part of the feline genetic code that produced the protein that triggered allergic symptoms in people.

Then they developed a proprietary diagnostic technology that was able to test individual cats for this gene. By testing enough cats, they found the naturally occurring genetic variations where the Fel D1 gene sequence was altered so the cat did not produce this protein. Then from those, they selected the best possible breeding stock, and through several generations, selectively bred those cats that don't contain the genetic ability to produce the cat dander that causes the most problems in people.

The fact that these cats are not cloned significantly reduces the medical liabilities resulting from messing with Mother Nature. Selective breeding is similar to creating a new breed of cat, and generally, if done carefully, is very successful.

The bottom line is that although these new cats are expensive at $3,950 each plus $900 for shipping, they have the genetic potential to not only keep your eyes and nose from running, but the health and early socialization potential to be the some of the best cat pals on the planet, see www.allerca.com.

Another thing I like is that these hypo-allergenic kittens go through a very special socialization program. Cats go through their critical socialization brain development period very early in life, around three to seven weeks of age.

Therefore, the vast majority of cats that we all know have not been optimally socialized to people. The right type of gentle handling, imprinting on people, and sensory stimulation has the potential to develop the optimal feline personality to hang with humans. Note that these cats would not do as well in the wild, but then, how wild are your parties?

Compared to dogs, cats bond more to territory than to social group. Because dogs evolved from wolves that ran in packs that moved over large territories, they were more bonded to their buddies that helped them bring down the big prey.

Cats, on the other hand, evolved protecting their hunting grounds from other cats who wanted to move in, which is how cats got the rap of "asocial."

But what this myopic view of cats misses is their social potential to bond with other cats — and people — that they accept as family.

In that same hunting area, a male will readily accept one or more females (duh), and if the hunting is good and the living is easy, then the offspring will also be accepted, and even defended. It's the feline equivalent of tribal lords protecting sweet areas of territory. Patriarchs take care of their own, but can't get along with each other well unless separated. In the wild, if their territory became somehow undesirable, (e.g. a constant exposure to allergy) the cat would simply move on.