For people like us, shedding “season” is every single day. Long haired cats, short-haired dogs, horse mane and tail hair; there is no shortage of this highly renewable resource!
So we decided to take on the challenge of finding useful ways to dispose of it.
Here are fifteen unique (and often a bit disturbing) ways to utilize your pet’s excess fur. (And if that’s not enough for us, we have 10 more ways to use fur in 10 Creative Uses for Hair and Hairballs and even some creative ways you can use hairballs in this article, 15 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Hairballs!)
But here are our favorites…
[heading style=”1″ color=”#006666″ style_color=”#006666″]1. Help Birds make Nests[/heading]Birds like to stay warm in winter and many of them seek out specialty fur to build their nests nice and comfy. Not only does fur insulate, but it is very soft and most birds love it as a nest building material.
We learned that we can help birds by putting our dog and cat fur into a suet feeder like this:
(Credit: Wild About Birds)
But if you have a husky or Persian cat, you may want to consider a larger feeder. This is one the husky lovers use:
(Credit: husky lovers )
[heading style=”1″ color=”#006666″ style_color=”#006666″]2. Make Fishing Lures[/heading]It’s a little known fact that strands of your horse’s mane and tail make excellent fishing lures. Apparently, the furry portion of your dog and cat’s fur can be “dubbed onto the body of the fishing lure” to create more lifelike movement.
(Credit: HookHack)
If you’re out in the wilderness, don’t forget to look for deer and elk hair! Their hair (and we suspect a horse’s mane and tail hair) can be used on the lure as they have very unique “flaring” properties.
[heading style=”1″ color=”#006666″ style_color=”#006666″]3. Protect Your Garden from Pests[/heading]If you have dogs, chances are good you won’t have many problems with this, but just in case, you can stuff the fur into some old pantyhose and hang around the garden to help keep deer and rabbits out of your garden.
According to the Post-Gazette, a woman named Joyce Zilliot “…stuffs dog hair into panty hose, which she arranges “spread-eagled” around her vegetable gardens and flower beds.”
Apparently, she’s been doing this for years, and she swears deer and rabbits don’t eat her plantings.
(Photo credit: Almanac)
[heading style=”1″ color=”#006666″ style_color=”#006666″]4. Spin Into Yarn[/heading]Dog fur that’s been spun into yarn is known as Cheingora. It’s remarkable properties include being even warmer than sheep’s wool and more repellent to water! If you have a long haired breed, this is the choicest fur to use for spinning, but pretty much any type of fur can be spun into yarn and then knitted into a nice, warm sweater or comfy pair of socks.
Remember that it’s easier to spin hair that’s been brushed rather than cut!
Here’s part one of several instructional videos that have been put together by the German Shepherd community and show you how carding and spinning dog fur is actually done.
[bt_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZowsUs0JHw” width=”600″ height=”400″ responsive=”yes” autoplay=”no”][/bt_youtube]How does a nice warm pair of cat fur socks sound to you? Why not take a spinning class to learn how to put your pet’s fur to good use? The book, Crafting with Cat Hair will teach you how to do this and more!
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[heading style=”1″ color=”#006666″ style_color=”#006666″]5. Knit Clothing[/heading]
What is more ironic than making a sweater for your dog out of his own fur? Talk about reuse and recycle! Not to mention, he’ll already be accustomed to the smell! We think that’s one of the most fascinating projects you can do!
Here’s how the owner of a golden retriever made a really nice sweater for her dogs – out of their own fur.
[bt_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jHTfshTzpM” width=”600″ height=”400″ responsive=”yes” autoplay=”no”][/bt_youtube][heading style=”1″ color=”#006666″ style_color=”#006666″]6. Make Jewelry[/heading]
Got a handful of cat hair or dog fur you don’t know what to do with? Take a handful and send it into Flora Davis at Etsy, and she’ll make some beautiful jewelry for you. That way you’ll have a small part of your pet with you for years to come.
(Photo Credit: Flora Davis
[heading style=”1″ color=”#006666″ style_color=”#006666″]7. Make Felted Beads[/heading]On that same note, you can make felted beads with pet fur. Here are the directions you’ll want to follow (and as a side note, cats love playing with balls of their own fur!)
(Photo Credit: Instructables)
[heading style=”1″ color=”#006666″ style_color=”#006666″]8. Make Cat Toys[/heading]Yes, you read that right. You can make some super easy cat toys that will keep your cat entertained for hours. Just roll up the fur in a cigar shaped toy and roll it on over to your cats!
If you need other ideas for toys, check out DIY: Homemade Toys for Cats.
(Photo Credit: Imgur)
[heading style=”1″ color=”#006666″ style_color=”#006666″]9. Garden with it[/heading]Fur holds moisture well and that means it can help keep plants hydrated during the dry months of summer. This natural way of gardening not only keeps plants healthy, it releases proteins that can help your plant grow strong.
[blockquote font=”3″ cite=”According to WiseGeek” align=”right” pull=”yes” italic=”yes”]Hair works well to help soil retain moisture and keep plant roots hydrated as well as helping to regulate the plant’s temperature. Over time, the nitrogen will be released from the hair as fertilizer for plants, leading to greener, thriving plant growth. It does take a long time for the nutrients to be released from hair as fertilizer, however, so the first plants grown with hair may not be as vigorous as subsequent plantings. Due to this slow-release quality of hair as fertilizer, it might be better to use hair for plants that have a long growing cycle or slower overall growth.[/blockquote] [load_module id=”582″]
[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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