15 Strange Uses for Shedded Dog, Cat and Horse Hair
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[heading style=”1″ color=”#006666″ style_color=”#006666″]10. Clean up Oil Spills[/heading]
There are groups around the world using hair as a way to help clean our oceans. Not only is hair environmentally friendly, it has remarkable absorption properties and can remove oil toxins without damaging water. A group called Matter of Trust is actively recruiting volunteers (as well as hair and fur donors) to help clean up oil spills.
[box title=”Did You Know?” title_color=”#006666″ box_color=”#006666″]- There are about 2,600 oil spills annually.
- About 726 million gallons of oil are spilled into the water annually.
- One quart of oil can contaminate 1 million gallons of drinking water.
- 300,000 lbs of hair and fur are cut daily in the U.S.
[heading style=”1″ color=”#006666″ style_color=”#006666″]11. Make memorial[/heading]
On a more serious note, there are many ways to remember our pets after they pass on. If you haven’t saved a clipping of your pet’s hair, do so now. Just place it in small zip-lock baggy and tuck it into a photo album. Because when your pet’s time comes, you will be too upset to think about it.
For some beautiful ways on how hair has been used in pet memorials, head on over to our section on pet loss and specifically look at the article, Funeral For A Friend…
[heading style=”1″ color=”#006666″ style_color=”#006666″]12. Use for Compost[/heading]
Composting is the “in” thing and for good reason – there are many benefits to creating healthy, organic soil that can be used for planting and farming. Here are some interesting ways you can use pet fur to compost. Remember, fur helps retain heat and moisture!
Did you know that police have used dog and cat fur to track dangerous criminals and to prove cases in court? Here’s one such case: Cat Fur Can Identify Criminals
What would a criminal investigation team find if they came to your house?
[heading style=”1″ color=”#006666″ style_color=”#006666″]14. Stop Bullying of other pets[/heading]
Turns out, it’s not always easy to get your pets to stop bullying one another without first getting them accustomed to being around one another. This is particularly useful for cats who don’t get along with other cats. We just place the fur into a small toy and then let the cats play with one another’s fur to get used to each other.
The other method is to share a brush between the two. We like the toys stuffed with fur for more fun though! Here are other ways to deal with different Types of Aggression in Cats.
Pet hair can be used for many different things, including vaccine development. At one point, it took researchers almost a year to collect 2 ½ lbs of fur for a new vaccine they were working on (they could have just called us and we would have that amount for them by the end of a business day).
Occasionally, you’ll see “fur donation drives” come up in the scientific community. Keep an eye out for them because your donation of cat fur and dog fur can really help them in research.
As you can see, there are many different types of uses for leftover fur from your pets shedding days. The only limit is your imagination!
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