I'm not a cat owner because that would involve way more sneezing and eye irritation than I'm trying to go through. Still, even I know that a common frustration from those who do own them is how much they can shed.
So it's impressive enough when somebody manages to make sure their home isn't blanketed in the stuff. But when somebody actually finds a use for all of that hair, they're really doing something special.
And one Japanese photographer is doing exactly that special something.
He has two others of the same breed, a white one named Maru and a gray one named Nya.
They're the reason that Yamazaki lists his other occupation as "fallen fur hat designer" on Instagram.
Since they're all different colors, that means he has a bit more of a palette to work with for his creations.
Weaving pet hair together seems hard enough without having to create a recognizable duck figure on top of everything.
The cats always model these hats with varying degrees of confusion.
This festive little number, for instance, manages to include fur from each of the three cats thanks to that star on it.
However, what's less clear is how he managed to shape all that cat hair into such a well-defined Gundam head. He'd have trouble picking a more complicated hat if he tried.
The crown is impressive enough, but the weird little hair curls coming out of the side of it were a nice touch.
Yamazaki made this one in time for the 42nd anniversary of the game Dragon Warrior, just in case you were wondering where you've seen that slime before.
It seems like Maru is wearing the top of a tower on its head since the swirling colors all lead up to an adorable point.
It's pretty impressive that Yamazaki was able to get the head, the tusks, and the snout right using only three colors.
Getting that hat to stay on must've been a challenge too.
So instead, he decided to deck Maru out with a big, spiky seashell that might look familiar to Pokémon fans.
The bigger they are, the easier it is for a cat to try and shake them off of their heads, after all. That's how that saying goes, right?
How fortunate that Maru happened to pick a face that looks appropriately mysterious for this witch hat. It would really wreck the mystique if it was in the middle of yawning or something.
So right before November 1st, Japan's national Dog Day, he decided to unveil this adorable rendering of a Shiba Inu.
Still, the red tie helps makes it clear for any of us wondering whether this piece's similarly to Donald Trump's hairstyle was intentional.
Mugi's hat is based on the mascot for the Urawa Red Diamonds. As you might have guessed, they're a soccer team, and the mascot is supposed to be a "devil dog."
Apparently, News Zero in Japan did a story all about him and his "fallen fur hats." I'm guessing he wanted Nya to look professional for the big appearance.
