The claws are out in the world of cat science (sorry about the pun). After Dutch authorities seized three cats sold as an ‘allergy free’ breed an almighty row has broken out.

They were supposedly sold for $40,000 by LifeStyle Pets as being “scientifically-proven hypoallergenic cats” and the Dutch seized them under suspicion they may actually be an endangered breed. LifeStyle’s website says its ‘Ashera’ cats were developed “by blending two exotic feline bloodlines with a domestic breed of cat … genetic monitoring is used to standardize breeding and ensure that the defining features of the Ashera remain exceptionally consistent”.

But another cat breeder has come forward to say he thinks these ‘Ashera’ cats are nothing of the sort. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Chris Shirk of Pennsylvania’s Cutting Edge Cats saw pictures of the seized cats in the Dutch press. He thinks they are so-called Savannah F1 cats, of which he recently sold three to another breeder.

The plot gets even thicker…

As the icing on the cake, according to The Scientist real ‘Ashera’ cats – as opposed to fake ones – may not even be all they seem:

In January of last year, The Scientist staff writer Kerry Grens investigated a company called Allerca that claimed to have created the world’s first hypoallergenic cat. Grens uncovered a string of shady dealings and questionable science associated with the company, including the fact that its founder, Simon Brodie, had served two and a half years in jail for fraud. Read Grens’ full story here and a follow-up story here.

Rather than respond to enquiries from The Scientist and others Brodie has issued a press release making a number of allegations against the author of the Union-Tribune piece. The Scientist says the journalist has denied all the allegations and the UT’s lawyers are now involved (they’ve posted the lawyers’ letter on their website).

Image: this is a normal, bog-standard, run of the mill cat / Getty