A hand-held cat brush of your favorite variety with a water reservoir attached. As you pull back through the cat's hair, the bristles shift position slightly, and pull a lever that drips a small amount of water just ahead of the bristles' path. Not so much that it runs off of Fluffy's fur, but just enough to dampen the fur and help to pull away lose hairs and clean the cat a bit.

Drip volume is adjustable with a small dial or lever on the handle, so that this is effective for domestic shorthairs, persians, and everything in between.

A spring resets the dripper so that it doesn't leak when not in use.
-- shapu, Apr 27 2007

Cat mittens. http://www.43things...ntries/view/1919092
They like nubbly rubber gloves. Who'd have thunk? [jutta, Apr 27 2007]

Back in preschool, our default glue dispensers had rubber tips with a slit that closed tightly normally, but opened to let out glue when one applied pressure. That kind of tensioned-cut construct, on a much smaller scale, and lots of them, could be the material to make such a "tongue" out of.

The other useful materials principle could be something that "catches" on the hair next to something that doesn't. (E.g., a V shape pointing against the stroke direction.) Normally, both parts are adjacent and closed; when one of them catches and drags open, water comes out.
-- jutta, Apr 27 2007


My cat is self-watering.
-- DrCurry, Apr 27 2007


Anyone else think that glove looks a lot like a potholder?

BTW, [jutta]: I'd say that faux tongue is pretty independent of this idea; you ought to post it.
-- shapu, Apr 27 2007



random, halfbakery