Cornering what some may considered a very niche, luxury market, headphones developer SOL REPUBLIC has created a new and limited line of headphones designed specifically for cats.
"Are you sick of staring at a cat that is clearly bored out of its mind?" asks the apparently severely allergic salesman, identified by SOL REPUBLIC as Gavin McInnes, in the infomercial. As the cat squirms away, McInnes explains the headphones have been developed by cats, for cats, following an "unmitigated number of experiments."
Though some might assume the product was fake, the commercial -- and the headphones -- are real, SOL REPUBLIC's co-founder and CMO Seth Combs confirmed to The Huffington Post.
Developed in collaboration with Professor Meowingtons, pHd, the feline companion of Canadian producer Deadmau5, the product is being touted as the world's first ever line of cat-only headphones.
According to a Business Wire release, Professor Meowingtons issued a statement praising the headphones.
"For too long, felines around the world have had to listen to music solely through speakers, or through ill-fitting headphones designed for humans,” Meowingtons said through an interpreter. “Our extensive testing has indicated that the headphones will also fit small dogs, but they are not for dogs. I’m not kidding, don’t even think about putting these things on a dog.”
But this new technology doesn't come cheap. Fully adjustable and complete with "dog-isolating technology," each of the 10 hand-painted sets retails for $1,000.
Pet owners eager to get their paws on a set may already be out of luck, however. According to SOL REPUBLIC's website, they've already sold out.
"We had 84 purchase requests within the first hour [of the infomercial going live]," Combs told The Huffington Post. All proceeds from the headphones will go to benefit the ASPCA.
Though the cat project was "definitely a labor of love," SOL REPUBLIC also makes headphones for humans.
No word yet as to whether specialized dog headphones are in the works, from SOL REPUBLIC or elsewhere.
However the Ear Plug Superstore sells Mutt Muffs, the "world's only over-the-head hearing protector for animals," available in black or gray, for $54.66.