If you've been reading Grape Japan for a while, you'll probably recognize Japanese online retailer Felissimo and their YOU + MORE series (a play on the pronunciation of "humor" in Japanese), responsible for playful items like a fried prawn sleeping bag or a wearable blanket that turns you into a cow-abducting UFO. Whether by coincidence or by design, Felissimo, which contains all but the last two letters of the word "feline" in its name, is very fond of cats, to the point that they've created a sub-brand within this series called Neko-Bu (or Cat Club)! Under the Neko-Bu label, they've offered hooded cat pajamas and blanket cuddle buddies, even kitty marshmallows. One of their more popular items was smartphone-compatible gloves which makes it look like kittens are pawing at your screen when you wear them.

Now, in a follow-up to that popular item, Neko-Bu has just announced smartphone-compatible mittens called "Jama-neko tebukuro" (which roughly translates as "bother-me kitty gloves").

As you can see above, the gloves come in three breeds:

silver tabby (1), brown tabby (2), and calico cat (3).

When you wear a pair of these ingenious mittens and hold your phone, the cute kitty's face peers at you from behind your smartphone screen, as if it were begging for you to play. Then, when you begin tapping on the screen, it looks like the kitty's pawing at the phone, trying to bother you so you give it the attention it seeks.

The thumb pad is made of a special electrically conducive material which allows you to use your smartphone. The warm mitten covering shields you from cold, but it can also be removed when you need to touch your screen with two or more fingers. Moreover, the back of the mitten is covered in a soft fur that gives you the impression you're caressing a cat.

Let's take a closer look at the three designs:

A pair of gloves sell for 3980 yen ($39.43 USD), with a portion of the proceeds going towards efforts to help cats that need homes. While they are currently available for purchase online in Japan, those outside of the country will want to wait for them to show up at Felissimo's international store.