Post by bill1306 on Jul 21, 2007 22:39:56 GMT -5
They say that there is more than one way to skin a cat and there is. I don’t know how many time this has happened to you, but it used to happen to me a lot. You start with a clean cat, that doesn’t have any blood on it, and then after you have finished skinning it, you turn the hide fur side out and it is covered with blood. The problem comes when you skin the head. You cut through the ear butts and then the blood starts flowing down inside the hide. I don’t want to wash cat hides, for that matter I don’t want to wash coyotes or fox either. Here is how I go about skinning cats, coyotes and fox. Also this system will allow people with low ceilings to use a power stretcher without it being 10 to 12 foot tall. First I apologies for the cat having a bloody hole in it, if it offends you find a different sport. For some of you, I know you all shoot the cats, I don’t. This cat was caught in the morning after I had run my traps. The guy that takes care of this ranch called me that morning and told me that I had caught a cat after I had gone through there. I told him to go ahead and shoot it. (Now his life is complete) This is the only cat I skinned this year with a bullet hole in it.
First I start down the backs sides of both of the hind legs, about ½ inches into the brown side of the fur on the leg. I make the cut from the bottom of the hock, to the belly side of the anal vent. I then cut around the vent and skin out the tail.
After I have the tail skinned out and the legs free, I grab the hide and give it a pull until I have the front shoulders are exposed.
I skin the front legs out to the wrist and cut around the hide at the pad. This will give you all of the white the cat has to give.
So far this is how almost everyone skins their cats. Here is where I differ from other trappers when I’m skinning fur. I use a piece of 550 cord (clothes line) and tie both ends together with a simple knot. This gives me a loop to wrap around the hide (twice) to attach the hide to the cable hook. I unhook the legs from the power skinner and put the loop over the hook where the legs were hooked. On coyotes, doing this will allow you to use the power skinner without it being twice as long as a coyote. By wrapping the 550 cord around the hide, close to the shoulders, it makes the pull off of the neck and head a lot shorter. This allows you to use a shorter power skinner.
Now the cat’s head is upward, so the blood will run down the body instead of inside the hide.
To hold the legs I just stick a steal stake through the cat’s hocks and place the bar under my hide holders.
Now I start skinning out the head. The first time it will seem a little strange, but the next time it will be like you have always done it that way.
Next I remove the cartilage from the ears. First take and place your finger inside the ear, like in the picture and apply pressure to where you are cutting between the outside of the ear and the cartilage.
Go about halfway down the ear; it just takes a couple of seconds after you have done it a few times.
Make sure that you have cut to the sides of the ear like the picture and you are ready to pull the cartilage out of the ear.
Just hold each part of the ear, in each hand and pull them apart. If you’re not sure how you will do on this, try it on a coon or something, it is easier than it looks.
I know if you are reading this, you already know how to flesh the hide. Cats are the easiest animal I trap to flesh.
www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/pe8e2c4b72ac3483001c73461dcd66b07/e87aafcc.jpg[/img]
Once the hide is fleshed, it is almost ready to be put on a wooden stretcher. Use a good stretcher, I only use cat stretchers made by HappyPlumber. I place the hide in a box of borax and rub borax all over every inch of the leather side of the hide, making sure you get it on the insides of the front legs, ears and the whole head. Center the cat’s hide on the stretcher and then pull it down. Now pull down on the back legs, one at a time and pin them. Pull the other one down next to it and pin it also. Both should be pinned on the tail board. Now pin them together down the tail board, making the belly look longer.
The next thing I do is to turn the stretcher over and I pull down the tail and place one pin in the end of it and one pin on each side of the base of the tail. These two pins will give you the length measurement of the hide or the size of the pelt. I have all my stretchers marked for the different sizes.
Turn the cat back over and pin the outsides of the legs. Once that is done spread the base of the stretcher until it is snug, don’t over stretch the width or the length.
Now pin the ears down flat against the hide. I use 3 pins on each ear.
The next thing I do is to put stretchers made out of large plastic clothes hanger into each of the front legs. (sorry no close up pictures, just look at the finished cat furs) Give them a little pull toward the chin of the cat and place one pin in the cuff of the leg. I now turn the stretcher head down and back brush the fur from the tail to the head on the front and the back of the fur. Leave the hide upside down (nose toward the floor) until it is dry. On most furs you check to see if the hide is dry, by checking the ears. Taking the cartilage out of the ears, they will be the first thing that is dry. The slowest part of the hide to dry is the front legs, around the arm pits. After you think the hide is dry, take the pin in the front leg cuff out and try and bend the leg down and if it stays straight, it’s dry.
First I start down the backs sides of both of the hind legs, about ½ inches into the brown side of the fur on the leg. I make the cut from the bottom of the hock, to the belly side of the anal vent. I then cut around the vent and skin out the tail.
After I have the tail skinned out and the legs free, I grab the hide and give it a pull until I have the front shoulders are exposed.
I skin the front legs out to the wrist and cut around the hide at the pad. This will give you all of the white the cat has to give.
So far this is how almost everyone skins their cats. Here is where I differ from other trappers when I’m skinning fur. I use a piece of 550 cord (clothes line) and tie both ends together with a simple knot. This gives me a loop to wrap around the hide (twice) to attach the hide to the cable hook. I unhook the legs from the power skinner and put the loop over the hook where the legs were hooked. On coyotes, doing this will allow you to use the power skinner without it being twice as long as a coyote. By wrapping the 550 cord around the hide, close to the shoulders, it makes the pull off of the neck and head a lot shorter. This allows you to use a shorter power skinner.
Now the cat’s head is upward, so the blood will run down the body instead of inside the hide.
To hold the legs I just stick a steal stake through the cat’s hocks and place the bar under my hide holders.
Now I start skinning out the head. The first time it will seem a little strange, but the next time it will be like you have always done it that way.
Next I remove the cartilage from the ears. First take and place your finger inside the ear, like in the picture and apply pressure to where you are cutting between the outside of the ear and the cartilage.
Go about halfway down the ear; it just takes a couple of seconds after you have done it a few times.
Make sure that you have cut to the sides of the ear like the picture and you are ready to pull the cartilage out of the ear.
Just hold each part of the ear, in each hand and pull them apart. If you’re not sure how you will do on this, try it on a coon or something, it is easier than it looks.
I know if you are reading this, you already know how to flesh the hide. Cats are the easiest animal I trap to flesh.
www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/pe8e2c4b72ac3483001c73461dcd66b07/e87aafcc.jpg[/img]
Once the hide is fleshed, it is almost ready to be put on a wooden stretcher. Use a good stretcher, I only use cat stretchers made by HappyPlumber. I place the hide in a box of borax and rub borax all over every inch of the leather side of the hide, making sure you get it on the insides of the front legs, ears and the whole head. Center the cat’s hide on the stretcher and then pull it down. Now pull down on the back legs, one at a time and pin them. Pull the other one down next to it and pin it also. Both should be pinned on the tail board. Now pin them together down the tail board, making the belly look longer.
The next thing I do is to turn the stretcher over and I pull down the tail and place one pin in the end of it and one pin on each side of the base of the tail. These two pins will give you the length measurement of the hide or the size of the pelt. I have all my stretchers marked for the different sizes.
Turn the cat back over and pin the outsides of the legs. Once that is done spread the base of the stretcher until it is snug, don’t over stretch the width or the length.
Now pin the ears down flat against the hide. I use 3 pins on each ear.
The next thing I do is to put stretchers made out of large plastic clothes hanger into each of the front legs. (sorry no close up pictures, just look at the finished cat furs) Give them a little pull toward the chin of the cat and place one pin in the cuff of the leg. I now turn the stretcher head down and back brush the fur from the tail to the head on the front and the back of the fur. Leave the hide upside down (nose toward the floor) until it is dry. On most furs you check to see if the hide is dry, by checking the ears. Taking the cartilage out of the ears, they will be the first thing that is dry. The slowest part of the hide to dry is the front legs, around the arm pits. After you think the hide is dry, take the pin in the front leg cuff out and try and bend the leg down and if it stays straight, it’s dry.