Japanese clothing company invents wearable fans for dogs and cats to beat heatwave

A clothing company is making wearable fans for dogs and cats to beat the extreme heatwave in Japan as temperatures remain above 35C.

Sweet Mommy, a maternity wear company in Tokyo, hopes to attract anxious pet owners and has teamed up with veterinarians to come up with a new range of clothes for pets that will include built in fans to keep the animals cool.

The new products, which reached the market in July, contain a lightweight (80g) battery-operated fan attached to a mesh outfit that will blow air around an animal’s body.

The range is named Cool Dogs, but it can worn by cats too.

Rei Uzawa, president of Sweet Mommy, said she was motivated to create it after seeing her own pet chihuahua exhausted every time it was taken out for a walk in the scorching summer heat.

“There was almost no rainy season this year, so the hot days came early, and in that sense, I think we developed a product that is right for the market,” she said, according to Reuters.

In an interview with South China Morning Post, Ms Uzawa said the two AAA batteries that power the outfit can last almost three months if a pet owner takes their dog out for a 10-minute walk daily.

Japan, like large parts of south Asia, Europe and the Americas, is suffering through its worst temperatures due to the human-induced climate crisis.

The country is still under a hot spell after it witnessed its longest heatwave in 150 years, since records began, with temperatures remaining up to 35C for nine days in June.

The heatwave is also having an impact on people’s health making heatstrokes a lot more common.

Animals are suffering through the blistering heat as well and the company hopes this will lead to more pet owners considering solutions like these to be able to take their pets outside.

“I usually use dry ice packs (to keep the dog cool). But I think it’s easier to walk my dog if we have this fan,” said Mami Kumamoto, 48, owner of a miniature poodle named Pudding and a terrier named Moco.

Ms Uzawa says Sweet Mommy has received around 100 orders for the product so far. It comes in five different sizes and is priced at 9,900 yen (£60).

Additional reporting by Reuters