It pushes against my cheek to wake me up, it sniffs pretty much everything I eat before I eat it, and it’s always sticking itself in my business. I’m talking about my girl Ghost Cat’s nose. It’s pretty and pink, and now it’s a gold pendant worn around my neck, thanks to the Precious Metal Prints Pet Nose Pendant Kit.
Created by a small jewelry business in Knoxville, Tennessee, the Pet Nose Pendant Kit is available in hundreds of retail stores across America (and in a small handful of Canadian shops). Pet parents looking to immortalize a perfect little sniffer can also order directly online and get the kit delivered to their door.
Available in hand-finished silver and hand-finished gold, these kits are a cool gift idea.
When the delivery guy brought two of the kits to my place last month, my pets went into a bit of a frenzy. They seems to know this delivery was pet-related, and Ghost Cat in particular was very excited. She sniffed around and jumped up on my shoulders as I unboxed the kits, which are essentially just little boxes containing an instruction form and a plastic case with two lumps of putty (one part blue and one part white). The instruction form indicates the putty is what’s used to capture the shape of a cat’s nose. You mix the blue and white stuff together, press it against your cat’s nose, and then allow the clump of clay to harden before mailing it back to the Precious Metal Prints folks in Knoxville.
After she checked out the contents of the kits, Ghost Cat had a quick loaf nap.
The kit comes in two colors: hand-finished silver and hand-finished gold. I chose gold for Ghost Cat, because as my first pet, she will always be No. 1 in my heart. She’s the Queen of this household, so gold is super appropriate for her nose. Also, the color goes great with my gold-star stud earrings (think Amy Pond in the first episode of the Matt Smith seasons of Doctor Who).
So after choosing the gold kit for Ghosty’s nose, I followed the enclosed instructions, mixing the blue and white impression materials together into a ball before pressing the lump onto Ghost Cat’s recently cleaned schnoz.
She would get close enough for a sniff, but not so close that I could press the clay to her face.
I’m not going to lie — Ghost Cat was not a fan of this part. Unlike my dog Marshmallow (who seemed stunned and sat still when getting her schnoz pressed), Ghosty was a bit of a challenge, because as we all know, you cannot tell a cat to sit. I knew she was going to squirm even before I tried, so I tasked my husband with getting Ghosty’s imprint for me. He worked quickly, pressing the chunk of clay against her face and removing it swiftly after a second or two. While Ghost Cat did turn away as quickly as she could, she (thankfully) didn’t wreck the impression.
She didn’t care for the process, but Ghost Cat approved of the hardened nose form.
We let the chunk harden, filled out the instruction form with my information (including the optional initials I wanted stamped on the back of the pendant), and mailed it back to the Precious Metal Prints folks. They run a small shop down there in Knoxville, individually crafting each kitty and puppy noseprint. This isn’t mass produced stuff — it’s hand-finished and custom, and it shows.
The back of the pendant is stamped with Ghosty’s initials, making it even more unique and charming.
It takes two to four weeks for a finished pendant to come back to the customer, and I think it’s well worth the wait. The finished piece comes back with a delicate gold chain to wear the pendant on. I’ve been wearing Ghosty’s nose around town, and it’s a real conversation starter. Be prepared for everyone from baristas to bank tellers to ask you about your cat’s nose!
Be prepared — strangers will ask about the pendant!
Catster scorecard for Precious Metal Prints Pet Nose Pendants
Quality: A +. The folks at Precious Metal Prints call these “heirloom quality,” and I have to agree. I’ll be keeping Ghosty’s noseprint with me for the rest of my life.
Style: With two colors available, there’s an option to match any jewelry preference. Like I said, Ghost Cat’s nose goes perfectly with my gold Amy Pond earrings, but if I wanted it to match my white-gold wedding band, I could have got it in silver. These pendants are the perfect cat-lady accessory — they let you show your feline pride without venturing into tacky territory.
Function: This item is more sentimental than functional. A metal impression of a kitty’s nose probably isn’t the most practical item you could spend money on.
Creativity: I understand Precious Metal Prints initially sold this kit as a fingerprint pendant before getting requests for pet noses. Kudos to them for meeting the demand.
Value: The silver Pet Nose Pendant costs $79.99 and the gold version will run you $109.99. I think that’s a good deal when you consider that this is a custom piece of jewelry.
Bottom line
I think the Pet Nose Pendant is a cool product and would make a really neat gift for a cat lover, especially those who share their heart with a senior kitty. What better way to remember the nose that poked you awake every morning than to wear it around your neck?
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