For pets, a wearable fan made in Japan

NEWS AND COMMENT: Cats and dogs in Japan can now wear a wearable fan to cope with the modern-day high temperatures caused, it is believed, by global warming. The picture looks extraordinary. This is a battery-operated, 80 g (3 ounce) fan which is attached to a mesh outfit and which blows air around the cat or dog's body. It all looks a bit over-engineered and contrived to me with the decoration as well. Or perhaps that was added by the dogs' owner.

Wearable fan for pets. Image in public domain.

Veterinarians teamed up with a Tokyo clothing manufacturer to make this clothing accessory. It does point to a new problem however. With these extraordinary temperatures, cats and dogs with long or dense fur find themselves in an environment which is unsuited to their anatomy.

Wearable fan for pets. Image in public domain.

The president of maternity clothing maker Sweet Mommy, Rei Uzawa, was inspired to make the device/clothing when she saw her own chihuahua exhausted after a walk in scorching summer weather.

As is the case with the UK, there's been no rain and in Japan the hot weather came early. She believes that they have the right product for the market.

In Japan the rainy season ended in late June and they have suffered the longest heatwave on record with temperatures up to 35°C for nine days. This is very similar to the UK which is going through an extraordinary heatwave and drought.

Mami Kumamoto,48, said that she normally uses dry ice packs to cool down her dog but believes that the fan makes the task easier. She lives with a miniature poodle whose name is Pudding and a terrier named Maco.

It costs around ¥9000 in Japan which is about £55 in the UK and $68 in America.