Here’s a really great way to completely fuck with your pet and their sense of self for the small price of a mask, postage and pet therapy.
Disclaimer: This writer does not endorse this kind of psychological warfare waged upon unsuspecting animals.
But if animal masks are your thing – ‘kay – I suppose you might as well make one in the likeness of presumably your favourite animal of all time; your domestic pet.
Whether your cat looks like Felix or Garfield, Sylvester or Stimpson J. Cat, magical Mr Mistoffelees or your average moggy, this company will replicate its features so you can wear their head on yours.
Two Japanese companies – because two heads are apparently better than one – have put their masked heads together to come up with the concept which is actually available to buy.
The folk over at creative planning office Shindo Rinka and the expert craftsmen at modeling workshop 91 (pronounced kyuu-ii) just need you to submit a picture of your pet, and they’ll get to work on bringing you guys closer together than perhaps comfortable.
The concept isn’t limited to cats, either. You can have a gorilla mask – but not pet, I hasten to add – or a rhino – likewise – but the cat masks seem to be the most popular example, confirming my suspicious ‘cat people’ might get a bit too attached to their stereo-typically stand-offish pets.
In a press release, you can see an example of a finished product modeled after Rui, a bengal cat who lives in Kyoto.
There’s a video of the finished product too, if you dare:
As of now, the only way to purchase one is through an online contact form on the Shindo website, filling out your payment information and checking the box that says ‘My Family’.
Once they’ve accepted your order, the craftsmen sculpt a mold, apply some fake fur and then the patterns and colors of your pet are filled in to create the fully personalised product from your pet’s worst nightmare.
It’s the perfectly bizarre accompaniment to this revolting cat tongue:
The replica will set you back 300,000¥, which is the equivalent of $2700 – or £2040. To be honest, it might be not much more money to get complete facial reconstruction to live entirely like a cat everyday.
Your pet might respect you more for the follow through.
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A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.