Fur as nest­ing mate­r­i­al

In nature, birds use var­i­ous mate­ri­als to build their nests. In addi­tion to branch­es, moss, and dried grass, they also col­lect fur from var­i­ous ani­mals, such as hors­es and sheep, for exam­ple. Some­times they steal fur direct­ly from live ani­mals dur­ing their shed­ding sea­son. How­ev­er, they would not take the risk of pluck­ing fur direct­ly from preda­to­ry ani­mals.

Cat under­coat is also use­ful!

Cat under­coat is undoubt­ed­ly a valu­able mate­r­i­al for nest build­ing: it is soft and has good insu­lat­ing prop­er­ties. How­ev­er, only untreat­ed fur is safe for birds. This means that the cat must not be treat­ed with chem­i­cals such as sham­poos, con­di­tion­ers, and flea drops.

Where did the idea of offer­ing cat’s under­coat to birds come from?

Here is the man who inspired many oth­er cat own­ers to donate cat fur to birds in the spring: Video Reddit.com or Arti­cle Greenmatters.com.

The fur should be placed in a “cage” so that it does­n’t blow away in the wind. In addi­tion, the cage should be eas­i­ly acces­si­ble to birds, but not to cats. Cats enjoy being brushed and observe birds com­ing in the gar­den.

Unfor­tu­nate­ly… not all cats can donate their fur…