Flora Davis creates jewelry out of fur groomed from her cat, a flame-point Ragamuffin called Gaia who sheds mounds of fluffy hair each week. She then sells her fluffy creations on Etsy.

Davis was first inspired to make something out of Gaia’s hair when she first started grooming her cat, whose fur needs to be groomed at least once a week or it starts to get matted. She explained to Wired.co.uk: “Ordinarily I would have thrown the hair into the compost, but it felt so soft in my hands, I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away. As I examined his beautiful hair, I started rolling it into a ball and then, on impulse, I threw it to him. He loved it!”

Over time the balls of fur began to accumulate around Davis’ apartment. “Awash in hairballs, I gathered a bowlful and placed them on top of the piano. Surprisingly, the balls had a lovely appearance that reminded me of oversized white pearls. This was my inspiration for using Gaia’s ‘toys’ in a way that would display my love for this special cat.”

Davis has spent a while perfecting the technique of making perfect fur spheres. She starts by taking a small handful of fluff, which she molds into a starter ball. To this she adds more fluff around the edges and then rolls it between her palms quickly until the strands of hair start to felt into tight, solid ball forms. She then stashes the balls until there are enough to make a necklace — which can take between two and three months.

‘Awash in hairballs, I gathered a bowlful and placed them on top of the piano.’

So far, Davis has created a range of different necklace designs; a little cage featuring a number of cat hair baubles which is “informal and goes nicely with a T-shirt and jeans”; a piece called Bubbles which features a range of fur balls attached to a branchlike necklace that “would be appropriate at any gala event”; and some more classic necklaces which look a little like chunky pearl necklaces.

You can pick up your own piece of furry history on Davis’ Etsy page. Prices start at $95, rising to $280. Rumor has it Wired.co.uk’s editor, Nate Lanxon, is moments away from ordering her entire collection of creations. See more of Davis’ cat-fur jewelry in Wired UK’s gallery.