Pacagen

Pacagen, a Massachusetts-based pet company, proudly purrs on its website (above) and in posts on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, that its Cat Allergen Neutralizing Spray is able to remove 98% of cat allergens.

“Say goodbye to sneezing and hello to snuggling!” the company boasts in a Facebook reel showing the spray being used on multiple surfaces in the home.

Pacagen also advertises its spray as an alternative to taking allergy medicine.

But does this spray actually work?

While the company has an entire webpage devoted to its “science” and claims its product is made of patent-pending nanobodies that “block the interaction sites of allergens,” it doesn’t provide any actual research or studies to back up its efficacy claims. (And, by the way, “patent pending” just means that the company has applied for a patent, which anyone who is not dead or in jail can do; it does not mean that the patent has been approved.)

It’s also worth noting that Pacagen’s “internal testing” purportedly found that the nanobodies in its spray can neutralize “up to” 98% of the cat allergen Fel d 1, language that we don’t see in all of the company’s ads referring to the 98% statistic and which makes us wonder how often the 98% bar is reached in real-life settings.

But what Pacagen’s marketing doesn’t disclose at all is that while Fel d 1 may be the most potent cat allergen, it is not the only one. In fact, research shows that there are seven other cat allergens and that Fel d 1 is responsible for 60 to 90% of people’s cat allergies (an interesting statistic particularly given Pacagen’s claim that its spray removes 98% of cat allergens).

Company responds

In response to a request for comment, Pacagen said its testing results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal “soon” but did not respond to a follow-up question asking for the name of the journal.

“Unfortunately, the publication process takes a bit of time and we can’t share a lot of data right now because these journals do take previous published results into account,” the company said in its initial response, without clarifying what it meant by “previous published results.”

Pacagen did not dispute that its spray only targets Fel d 1, telling TINA.org that it “did not discover anything to neutralize the other allergens in cats.”

The bottom line

If you’re hoping to pet your cat sneeze-free and are tempted by Pacagen’s ads, ask questions (such as, what is the science backing up the marketing claims?), and consider consulting with your veterinarian and your own health care provider regarding effective cat allergy prevention treatments.

Find more of our coverage on ads targeting pet owners here.