| Designer Pets through engineering
Posted: 12/1/2007 2:25:04 PM | Looking for that perfect Christmas gift for the pet lover who thought they had everything? How about a designer cat? While you shouldn't buy anyone an animal as a gift, in a world where it seems like science can do almost anything and money can buy you almost everything, a U.S. firm has begun turning out felines that look like leopards and act more like dogs.
A company known as Lifestyle Pets is behind this bizarre cross breeding. And while some may find the concept disturbing, it's definitely profitable. The result of all their mixing and matching is the Ashera, a combination of an African Serval - a medium-sized wildcat - an Asian leopard wildcat, and a domesticated house cat, which the firm refuses to identify.
It can weigh in at 30 pounds, is said to be much more sociable than normal felines, can be taught to open doors and can walk on a leash. "It's exotic, but under the skin it's a domestic house cat, very easy to take care of and extremely friendly," explains founder Simon Brodie. "They're more dog-like than anything."
Brodie believes his firm is fulfilling a real need. "Everybody has thought at one time, 'wouldn't it be great to have a leopard at home, or a tiger?'" he explains in a statement that's certainly open to question. "Obviously you can't and this is about the nearest thing to it."
http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_17245.aspx
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Well at first I thought this was a hoax. Now I think this is a Pandora's Box with the lid open. First the pets of the rich and then their children. It will trickle down to rest of us eventually. How many people would get one of these cats? How many are attracted to the idea of engineering their children in the future? | |
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| Designer Pets through engineering
Posted: 12/1/2007 3:21:21 PM | | My concern is in terms of safety... I mean I have a 15lb tabby (mostly fat) at home, and while she is 11 yrs old she still has enough frisky in her to injure when she decides to use my hand for a toy. I'm sure I am not the only cat owner to "play" like this, and I wonder how much injury a 30lb version would cause.... | |
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| Designer Pets through engineering
Posted: 12/1/2007 4:18:00 PM | Too bad Alfred Hitchcock isn't around anymore. He could make a great movie out of this. The day the cats attacked!
I'll wait until they come out with designer children. I want one with webbed feet and a pair of antlers. | |
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| Designer Pets through engineering
Posted: 12/1/2007 4:26:32 PM | This isn't really new. People have kept servals, hybrids of them and other big cats for just about ever. A lot of them were legislated or zoned out of existance; the serval is one of the few "easy" big cats left.
This is no more an engineered or "designer" animal than say, a poodle. This is just what people do when they breed domesticated animals. The crosses usually have something called "hybrid vigour"; because of the genetic distance between them the offspring tends to be more vigorous.
They're cool animals, but stupid expensive. | |
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| Designer Pets through engineering
Posted: 12/1/2007 4:50:49 PM | This doesn't sound like a problem to me. We genetically engineer food products and virtually everything biological we use. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with designer pets. Or designer children for that matter. Arguments against this sort of thing just tend to be based on quasi-religious morality, i.e. "OMG don't play God!"
Now, when someone begins to create an army of hybrid shark/polar bear/tiger creatures then we can get worried. | |
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| Designer Pets through engineering
Posted: 12/1/2007 5:02:37 PM |
We genetically engineer food products and virtually everything biological we use.
And we have yet to see the full spectrum of consequences from GMO products.
Crossbreeding cats is different from crossbreeding salmon and tomatoes, if you will. What about people with fish allergies? I mean, I'm all for science, but it needs to slow down just a little in regard to genetics. | |
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| Designer Pets through engineering
Posted: 12/1/2007 5:29:59 PM | this is not news,....where do you think Yorkies come from,...all dogs strm from wolves,...toy yorkies are not even a sub breed mut the occasional midget pups which your not even supposed to breed ,....
I have one and I was told that they don't even release the pups until they are fixed so they can't reproduce,....
small toy breeds were created a long time ago when bathing more than once a year was frowned on,...and here's a tid bid of yikes information,...they were speciffically made for the fancy ladies to shlepp arround so that the fleas and ticks and whatever the women were infected with,...would jump off of them and onto the dog,....
They existed in lou of a well utilized bar of soap,...not all old days were good ones,...
BTW,...I didn't go out of my way to get a toy yorkie (a toy yorkie has to be under 4 pounds full grown to quallify as toy) I rescued her from a very bad situation,....I don't believe in buying pets,...I believe in adoption and rescues whenever possible,....
although I mostly agree with your conclusion,....
One of my favorite movie quotes is from Jurasic Park,...and it's as follows,...
"They were so buisy with the idea that hey can do this,...
they forgot to consider if they should,....."
some things are best left in the hands of Mother Nature,.... | |
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| Designer Pets through engineering
Posted: 12/2/2007 6:15:24 AM |
Too bad Alfred Hitchcock isn't around anymore. He could make a great movie out of this. The day the cats attacked!
Moto, meet Barry Sonnenfeld, about as close to a modern day Hitchcock as you might find. Go to abc's website and watch "Pushing Daisies" as he did a one hour comedy/murder mystery on a cloned cat empire. The guy is even starting to look like Hitchcock a bit.
He's an oddball and his work is probably some of the best stuff out there second to the Coen Brothers. Look up his list of movies, too, it might surprise you to find you know of his work already.
But yeah, one psycho is all it takes for some one to turn a 30 lb cat into something that would rip a pitbull to shreds. Eventually you'd probably hear about packs of these things in the wild taking down deer in front of children in parks. | |
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| Designer Pets through engineering
Posted: 12/2/2007 10:11:30 AM | How about a cross between a tasmanian devil and a wolverine,
with added genes imprinted to attack militant Islamists, pedophiles,
drug dealers, and gang memebers on sight.
That would be at the top of my christmas list... | |
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| Designer Pets through engineering
Posted: 12/2/2007 7:31:13 PM | A cat bred from leopards sounds dangerous.
But who can resist a sweet Bichon-poodle mix? I played with one and she was so adorable, gentle and affectionate. Mutt mixes are fun and are typically good dogs. WOOF!! | |
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| Designer Pets through engineering
Posted: 12/2/2007 7:52:14 PM | I'm already looking at mixes for dogs, myself. Trying to figure what to mix with a Rough Collie. I was thinking Alsation, but then I thought, maybe Golden Retriever. Either way, I want a big fuzzy mutt that's socialable. I want a dog I can bring home to my parents' place - because it'll get along with their dogs.
The hell with cats :P | |
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| Designer Pets through engineering
Posted: 12/3/2007 6:51:55 AM | Try for a Lab/Golden mix....I've seen so many good examples of that mix.
As for designer pets, there are far too many animals unloved right now to support such a thing, imho. One of the worst things about my life right now is that I can't own a dog where I live. I miss that greatly.  | |
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| Designer Pets through engineering
Posted: 12/3/2007 8:36:14 AM | Right on, Montreal Guy!
Looking for a designer pet?
Go to your local animal shelter, they're full of them.
A house kitty the size of a Tiger?
Think of how large a litter box you'll need.........
And how many bags of Friskies........ | |
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| Designer Pets through engineering
Posted: 12/3/2007 10:26:01 AM |
Try for a Lab/Golden mix....I've seen so many good examples of that mix.
I had one when growing up. Not only smart and loyal but they like the water, too. She would come out in the rowboat with me and jump in on command. It was a lot of fun having a dog that could swim with you, too.
But stay away from the front. They don't know any better. Dog toenails when they are doggy paddling makes for nasty wounds! | |
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| Designer Pets through engineering
Posted: 12/3/2007 1:56:28 PM | | Having a cat like that doesn't appeal to me, but if they could genetically engineer a small housepet that eats grass (maybe a cross between a cat and sheep, or maybe a llama), people could enjoy the companionship of a pet and save money on lawnmowing expenses. | |
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| Designer Pets through engineering
Posted: 12/3/2007 8:35:03 PM | A goatapagos turtle!
Description: The GT (goatapagus turtle) is a crossbreed between a goat and a galapagos turtle. It's great for heavy urban environments because its shell deflects small caliber pistol fire as it slowly and peacefully eats your grass. Best of all the GT will serve as a Petshield(tm)** so your kids can dive behind him during driveby shootings. This pet will outlive your whole family and still keep your lawn looking good long after you are worm food.
**To maximize your Petshield(tm) use our Armorall Kevlar Paint regularly on your pet. Except nothing but the best! | |
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| Designer Pets through engineering
Posted: 12/6/2007 2:44:51 PM | This sounds like a "dry run" for "designer babies". Actually, "designer pets" already exist. One example is the British Bulldog. It was deliberately cross-bred from the Mastiff. The Bulldog has unbelievable levels of health problems, including major heart problems.
Someone tried to re-introduce the Mastiff, but no-one wanted to buy them. The funny thing is that the only reason he wanted to re-introduce the Mastiff, is that the Mastiff is a healthy animal, unlike the Bulldog.
Just wait until someone comes up with the 3-headed dog. Cerberus, anyone? | |
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| Designer Pets through engineering
Posted: 1/1/2008 6:11:02 PM | you all jest but I want one of those new glow in the dark/fluorescent cats!!! talk about freaky! 
http://www.itchmo.com/scientists-clone-red-fluorescent-cats-4210 | |
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| Designer Pets through engineering
Posted: 1/26/2008 7:56:03 AM | People have genetically engineering animals since they started to domesticate them.
Unless it results in some type of "freakish" mutation....who cares what people do in the future?
As long as it doesn't hurt the animal. | |
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| Designer Pets through engineering
Posted: 1/26/2008 1:37:46 PM |
A house kitty the size of a Tiger?
A tiger is about 600 pounds. A serval, that these cats are bred from, is about 40 pounds. There are no domesic cat/leopard hybrids. The smallest big cat, an ocelot is not a househole pet. People who keep them (in outdoor pens) say they can trash any house in 20 minutes. The lady I know that has one also has a sloth. It takes all knids...
The Bengal breed of cats is a cross between an an Egyptian Mau (one of the more primative breeds of domestic cats, possibly the first one) and an Asian wildcat. The F1 generation are pretty unlike domestic cats and aren't exactly "family pets" to say the least but as they're bred back to Mau's in subequent generations they're docile and make above average pets. F2 is ok, by F5 they're into real pussycat realms.
Bengals are quite different from regular cats. They come when called, like water and are very different than regular domestic cats. Egyptian Mau's and Abyssinians are close (but no cigar). I have a bengal and a Maine coon; they both have more personality than any dog I ever met and are a helluva lot less messy, destructive and time consuming. | |
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| Designer Pets through engineering
Posted: 1/27/2008 9:11:27 AM | | Irresponsible ! We don't need "designer" pets! There are so many abandoned, abused pets in shelters all over the US ! If you want to do something novel, adopt one, buy it a shiny new collar with some bling, then pamper and adore it ! | |
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| Designer Pets through engineering
Posted: 1/27/2008 9:57:04 AM | ^^^^AMEN! We should promote pet adoption from shelters. Adopt a sweet cat or dog, and spoil your pet with lots of love!!
WOOF MEOW!!
I like both cats and dogs. | |
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| Designer Pets through engineering
Posted: 1/27/2008 5:52:11 PM | anyone who supports this idea or would actually buy one, is sick.
like mentioned above there are millions of great animals in shelters who need a home. many die horribly because they have nowhere to go.
many idiots, who should take the place of these tortured animals, refuse to get pets fixed. many more can't get it through their thick skulls what kind of commitment a pet actually is, how long they live
we're talking about living, feeling things. not play toys
i'd be more likely to support genetic egineering of babies if we could breed out stupidity and selfishness | |
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| Designer Pets through engineering
Posted: 1/28/2008 2:02:58 AM | I remember watching the film 'Six Days' with Arnold Schwarzenegger in it and there is a company called 'Re-pet' which brings dead animals back to life through cloning. The process is also extended covertly to human beings.
I think given the expansion of biotechnology, genetic engineering of animals is pretty much inevitable. From an ethical viewpoint, I think theraputic bio-engineering of animals is acceptable if it is to eradicate genetic diseases which would otherwise kill the animal or cause it suffering if it lived. I think the situation is more complex if animals are genetically engineered to serve some function for medical research, as is already the case. While I agree picking up discarded animals from the pet shelter is a good thing to do from the ethical viewpoint, I don't think having a cloned pet or a pet 'designed' through genetic engineering would necessarily be ethically wrong, especially if the engineering had been designed to make sure the animal is free of genetically-transmitted diseases or conditions which would cause it suffering.
With human embryoes we have a more complex situation. In so far as human embryoes are concerned, we have the question as to whether it is ethically right to destroy embryoes which are not required (such as those left over from IVF) or for certain medical research (i.e. stem cell research). We also need to examine the possibility of altering the embryo while it is alive and growing in the womb, which will probably become a reality in the next 5-10 years. If this eventuates, I think it is acceptable to alter an embryo in the womb if the aim of the action is some good, i.e. curing a genetic defect which would evolve into a crippling genetic disease later in life if left untreated. On the other hand, I think tampering with an embryo to try and select some form of quality or attribute (intelligence, musical ability, gender, etc) or enhance it would be much harder to defend ethically. On the case of stem cell research, I think we need to carefully balance the possibility that an embryo implanted into a womb in the proper way can grow into a unique human being, against the need to use stem cells in fundamental medical research which may cure many diseases and conditions which blight the lives of already living people. Clearly an embryo which is frozen and not developing is not in the same state as one which is growing inside a test tube or womb, and the ethical complexities in these situations require us to take many factors into account.
On the question of wealthy people having access to biotechnology which they use to alter embryoes before or after implantation in the womb, while the poor cannot have access to that technology at all, or only a lower quality form, that will raise some difficult ethical questions in the future which we will all need to think carefully about. The problems which were caused in the 20th centry, as well as some of the abuses and injustices which occured, as a result of attempts to 'improve' humanity by eugenic methods, means any use of future medical technology to 'improve' humanity in some eugenic way demands a lot of accountability, vigilance, and caution. | |
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| Designer Pets through engineering
Posted: 1/28/2008 3:32:56 AM |
anyone who supports this idea or would actually buy one, is sick.
i'd be more likely to support genetic egineering of babies if we could breed out stupidity and selfishness
Pot. Kettle. Black.
If somebody has never contributed to the disaster that are modern pounds and want a superior animal (and serval crosses are very much so) calling them "idiots" or "sick" because they don't share your world view is, in a word, selfish.
The idea that pounds are full of superior, healthy, vibrant young anumals is fatally flawed as anybody who goes there regularly knows. | |
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