I found a dead bird in my attic. It's hot and dry up there in summer (105F+), so it got pretty dessicated, I guess (it's been up there for 9 months now). I'd like to use the feathers to make a cat toy, but I don't want to risk infection of any type to me or my cats. Any ideas? Can I boil the feathers? The whole bird? Any ideas on dying the feathers bright colors? How do you handle a dead wild animal safely?
Mike
P.S. please respond to (m l a d a m s 'at' c o x 'dot' n e t) where 'at' and 'dot' are @ and . respectively, and the rest of the characters don't have any spaces in between. I have to list it like this or I'll get spam from a net bot (programs that scour the internet looking for email addresses to send spam to). Thanks.
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just to go spend $4.99 at Petsmart, or Walmart.
Not to mention that depending on what type of bird it is.. it's illegal for you to keep it. No I'm not joking.
Bury it and buy kitty summin with a bell on it.
Hey, you can try to get creative with a dead bird, but you will be much better off buying a cat toy that won't stink or leave dirt and feathers on the floor. And, if you went throught all the steps, it would wind up costing you about twice as much as a new, better one from the store.
I'm not overly concerned about legal issues in this case. Most birds that go in attics are either house sparrows or starlings, and those are completely unprotected.
However, anything you do to the bird is probably going to make it fall apart and/or STINK to high Heaven. If you want to let your cat play with it I don't see any problem as long as it takes place outside. In the house? NO WAY!
It is very likely infested with insect eggs that could hatch into any of several kinds of critters that you DON'T want in your house. They won't hurt your cat, but they might eat your furnishings.
If Kitty is allowed outside, toss it out in the yard and see if he/she likes it. Otherwise get rid of it ... and WASH YOUR HANDS!
Mount the cat.