Patent Application
20250176494
The invention is a system for supporting a cat that is situated on a person's shoulder.
Scientists believe that the special relationship between humans and house cats emerged roughly 10,000 years ago. Despite millennia of domestication, many cat behaviors are still governed by instinct. Animal experts posit, for example, that cats that like to sit on a human's shoulder, commonly referred to as shoulder cats, do so to obtain a higher vantage point and to feel safe. When something unexpected happens causing a shoulder cat to begin slipping off a shoulder, its tendency is to claw in in order to stabilize itself. That may result in torn clothing and seriously scratched skin.
Devices have been invented that act as a pet carrier and are worn around the back or the front of the wearer. Some are designed to ride high up, between the shoulders, placing the pet behind the wearer.
Cats, however, when riding on a shoulder, seem to prefer to orient themselves essentially at right angles to the shoulder, facing forward. Owners of shoulder cats who take them on hikes observe that their cats prefer to face forward so they can see in the direction of movement.
A device that acts as a pet carrier and is oriented parallel to the shoulders neglects the cat's instinctive preferred orientation.
The invention is a shoulder-mounted platform that sits essentially at right angles to the portion of the shoulder that extends from neck to shoulder joint.
The invention comprises two portions, one in front of the wearer and one behind the wearer, connected by a strap and a harness for securing it to the wearer. Each portion comprises an upper plate structure, an outer plate structure, and an inner plate structure. The upper plates are affixed to the outer plates, which are affixed to the inner plates. The inner plates are attached to the harness.
The connecting strap is an adjustable hook-and-loop material strap that adjusts the displacement between the front and rear portions related to the wearer's shoulder dimensions.
The outer plate is a hinged structure with a portion that is affixed to the inner plate, and a portion that is affixed to the upper plate.
The upper plate, when affixed to the outer plate may be extended horizontally, and rotated horizontally. The portion of the outer plate that is affixed to the inner plate may be extended, right or left, laterally, and rotated in a vertical plane. These adjustments enable the invention to be fitted to a variety of shoulder dimensions.
The harness comprises two horizontally oriented portions that surround the upper torso, and portions that connect the inner plates to the horizontally oriented harness portion. These allow the invention platform to be mounted on either shoulder and to be adjusted to fit the wearer.
The invention is a shoulder-mounted platform upon which a cat may position itself when a wearer is sitting, standing, or walking.
The invention enables the wearer to deploy the platform on either shoulder, and has structural features that enable adjustments to accommodate a wearer's size for optimal fit, comfort, and support.
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The upper, outer, and inner plates may be made of any material sufficiently rigid and durable to support a predetermined upper weight limit. As shown in the embodiments, the fixtures that hold the upper plate to outer plate, and outer plate to inner plate, are shown as threaded bolt-and-nut structures. These are exemplary and may be implemented using other fixture structures. The strap that joins the front and rear upper plates is described as hook-and-loop strapping. This is exemplary and may be implemented using other, adjustable-length, strapping materials.
The harness may be made of fabric, leather, vinyl or other similar materials so long as when adjusted, the adjustments are preserved until readjusted.
