On Sun, 20 Jul 2014 00:44:48 -0400, "Jean B." > wrote:

>Ema Nymton wrote:
>> On 7/19/2014 5:21 AM, wrote:
>>> On Fri, 18 Jul 2014 23:22:26 -0700, sf > wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Fri, 18 Jul 2014 16:53:20 -0400, jmcquown >
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> It depends on the person. It might be fine for some people to rush out
>>>>> and bring home another pet. Others need time to process.
>>>>
>>>> I always do.
>>>
>>> There are other things that one can be doing, raising money for pet
>>> shelters would be one. I grow catnip on my balcony then when it is
>>> cut and dried I knit mice which I fill with catnip, usually do well
>>> over 100 and because the cat nip is so fresh, cats love them and I
>>> have standing orders every year and proceeds go to a no kill shelter
>>> locally. I even developed my own quick pattern for knitting the mice,
>>> takes about an hour, and any left over yarn will do because for cats,
>>> it is the cat nip that attracts not the colour of the mouse - I can
>>> put the pattern here if anyone wants it.
>>
>> What a great hobby. I get anxious at night, while sitting and watching
>> TV, so knitting would give me something to keep my hands busy. If you
>> have any short pieces of yarn, they are helpful to birds for nest building.
>>
>> http://inthenext30days.net/tag/birds/
>>
>> Becca
>>
>>
>Note: It has to be natural fiber. I looked into this ere I put out
>material for nest-building. Also, IMO, you need to think about
>camouflage. The stuff I put out was off-white, and I wonder if it made
>the nests too visible. I know one nest was destroyed shortly after it
>got built. It was really sad, because I saw the birds procreating, saw
>them building that nest, and then saw a blue jay that seemed to be
>breaking eggs. I also saw that the nest had been ruined.

Should also be aware to never give synthetic yarn to cats, often they
will swallow it and by the time they begin displaying symptoms it
could be too late. For bird nest building the best material to make
available is clothes dryer lint. I'm always careful not to put
anything outside that can harm critters, scrap yarn is dangerous as
many animals will ingest it and not be able to pass it... I've seen
robins with dental floss hanging out of their beak.