Japanese artist turns fallen fur into Trump wigs and sushi hats

An artist in Tokyo has made the bane of all cat owners — fallen cat fur — into wigs and hats for her feline pets.

Hiromi Yamazaki, who owns three Scottish Folds named Mugi, Nyaa, and Maru said her project began when the hashtag “#trumpyourcat” started trending on the photo-sharing app Instagram during the 2016 U.S. presidential elections.

Social media users were sharing photos of their cats wearing wigs made out of fallen fur resembling Trump’s tuft, a hairstyle Hiromi said it was a struggle to master.

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“(Trump’s hair) is a very difficult hairstyle. I always check images online, but it looks different to me every time,” Hiromi said.

Now, her project has expanded into sushi and animal hats. Each item takes about half an hour to complete.

Her husband, Ryo Yamazaki, is in charge of uploading photos of their cats onto his Instagram account “rojiman” which now has 862,000 followers.

Cats are known to shed seasonally, especially during spring and autumn. Hiromi calls these two seasons “harvest time.”

“I think fallen cat fur is the source of stress for every cat owner. You have to clean the floor or clean your clothes before leaving the house. But for us, fallen cat fur has become a very valuable item because it is the ingredient for making our hats,” Hiromi explained.

“Cat fur has become a household treasure.”

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But because her fur collection is limited, some hats have to be dismantled whenever there is a new project. She now has a year’s worth of cat fur kept in a black box twice the size of a shoe box, and eight hats on display in her home.

Hiromi said she hopes these hats can also one day become mementoes for when her cats pass away.

“When the time comes when our cats leave us, I think this can become a memento. Whenever I feel their fur I will remember them. That is what I think about when I make these hats.”