Sol Republic debuts headphones for cats. Read that again: Cats!

WILSONVILLE, Ore. -- In a move sure to please the feline audiophiles of the world, fast-rising Wilsonville-based headphones brand Sol Republic has made what it’s calling the world’s first headphones for cats.

Yes, you read that correctly. Cats.

The company’s news release Thursday may be the first ever to include the disclaimer “any use as cat headphones must have the prior approval of a veterinarian.”

As absurd as it sounds, the company did exactly what it says. It has produced 10 pairs of tiny, limited edition headphones designed for cats that it’s selling for $999, with the proceeds going to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

It’s a gimmick for certain, but one the company embarks upon with the intent of enhancing its brand with the customers it covets most.

To explain this requires backing up a bit.

Sol Republic is a high-end headphones brand that jumped into the market last fall with products priced between $59 and $129 to compete with brands like Beats by Dr. Dre, starting initially in 1,400 Apple Inc. and Best Buy retail stores.

Last month the company announced it had raised $22 million from investors to finance its growth. By the end of the year it expects to be in as many as 15,000 retail stores and it has reached the pinnacle of accidental product placements when the all-time Olympic medal-winner Michael Phelps decided to wear them before each of his swimming events at the London Games.

But the company has put most of its focus into getting the brand known among high-profile DJs, a subsection of the music world known to bring with it a robust fanbase of audiophiles.

About six months ago, Sol Republic linked up with recent Rolling Stone magazine coverboy Deadmou5, the Canadian-born DJ and producer who has become one of the biggest names in the world of electronic dance music.

In April, Sol Republic and Deadmau5 teamed up for the first time at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami when they offered concert-goers free trips from their hotels to the venues on a co-branded shuttle bus.

But translating that partnership into an actual product marketing opportunity was a little more challenging.

“He’s very much the anti-marketing person,” Sol Republic President Scott Hix Thursday. “He hates mainstream marketing.”

His cat, however, has no problem with it.

Deadmau5, according to Hix, has turned his cat, Professor Meowingtons, into something of an alter-ego. His concert tour last summer, for example, was called the Deadmau5 Meowingtons Hax Tour. Meowingtons appears in several Deadmau5 videos and has his own Facebook profile with more than 100,000 likes.

“Anybody who knows Deadumau6, who has 6 million (Facebook) fans, absolutely knows who Professor Meowingtons is,” Hix said.

All of this leads up to the news release Thursday announcing the partnership between Sol Republic and Professor Meowingtons Enterprises.

The marketing campaign also includes a nearly two-and-a-half minute faux infomercial, which is posted below.

“For too long, felines around the world have had to listen to music solely through speakers, or through ill-fitting headphones designed for humans,” the news release quoted Prof. Meowingtons saying through an interpreter. “My Sol Republic headphones for cats are the world’s first headphones designed by cats, for cats. Our extensive testing has indicated that the headphones will also fit small dogs, but they are not for dogs. I’m not kidding, don’t even think about putting these things on a dog.”

The 10 sets of Sol Republic cat headphones are available at American Rag in Los Angeles, Dave’s WEAR House and Canine Styles in New York’s West Village, and at SolRepublic.com.