NOVEL UTILITY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26853, 18 August 1948, Page 6

NOVEL UTILITY

CATSKIN RUG DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED Cat lovers in a northern part of the city may have felt some fears for their pets if they read an advertisement recently, which requested the services of “ someone to tan and cure three dozen catskins.” When the Daily Times interviewed the. 'advertiser, however, it was found that no fell swoop had been made upon 36 unsuspecting cats, for the skins were easily obtained from a merchant. If he can secure the services of an expert, the advertiser will have the skins cured and made up into a rug or a mat.

This is no novel experiment, for eight years ago, while rabbiting in Central Otago, he caught 15 wild cats and, as they had to be destroyed, the enterprising trapper decided that the skins coula be put to some use More labour being available then, he had no difficulty in getting them cured by a local firm and made into a rug. It is still in good condition, and besides being a useful addition to the household, it makes quite a presentable picture, the light grey furs blending with the varying shades of black. Because of the success of his earlier enterprise the advertiser now wishes to make a rug on a larger, and probably more picturesque scale. His difficulty is to get past the fii'st stages, as the firm which formerly cured tne skins is at present unable to accept the order.

Although not very optimistic about his chances, the advertiser hopes he will have the nroverbial “ luck ” of a cat. . .....