Think of the noise that emerges from your lips when you blow on food that’s too hot to eat. It probably sounds something a little like “fufu.” It’s from this onomatopoeic sound that the Nékojita cat FuFu robot takes its name, and on the CES show floor in Las Vegas, I experienced Nékojita FuFu’s cooling breath for myself.
Unlike my real cat, who only ever sneezes in my hot drinks, this little feline robot hangs over the side of your bowl of soup or coffee mug and blows gentle gusts of cool air onto anything you want to cool down. Inside is a fan that generates “breaths” in a randomized rhythm designed to mimic human breathing.
As it silently breathed on the back of my hand with its button-sized cat mouth, it occurred to me that it would likely be much more effective at cooling hot food than warm human breath — because it was genuinely cold. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to taste test anything the robot had blown on to double check that it didn’t burn my tongue, but it’s supposed to bring your food and drink to the perfect temperature within 3 minutes.
“Nékojita” translated into Japanese means “cat tongue” — a phrase used to describe an intolerance of hot food. Many adults have sensitive tongues, but the idea for the robot initially came from one Yukai Engineering’s team members who wanted an easier way to cool down for food for his baby.
The robot is small enough to sit easily in the palm of your hand, making it easily portable. There would be absolutely nothing stopping you from carrying it around in your bag to bring out at a cafe or a restaurant if you have a particularly sensitive tongue.
When it becomes available on Kickstarter later this year, Nékojita FuFu will cost just $25. If you’re the kind of person who buys Christmas gifts throughout the year rather than putting it off until the chaos of holiday shopping season, this would make an ideal 2025 stocking stuffer. I’m already earmarking it for some of my younger family members, who I know would be instantly charmed with a cat robot who can cool down their hot chocolate.
