Suet recipe will keep bird friends in fine feather

Dear Heloise: I am in search of a suet recipe that my mother saw in The Washington Post. Can you help me? Jean Duffey, via e-mail

Jean, I’m happy to reprint this, but it’s a little different from the other one. Our friends at the National Bird-Feeding Society gave us the following suet recipe: Get real suet (the hard fat of cattle and sheep) from the butcher and cook it down. Then mix in some cornmeal or peanut butter, roll pine cones in it and then sprinkle with birdseed.

If you still want to make a pine-cone feeder but don’t want to use the suet, you can simply use peanut butter. Just roll a pine cone in peanut butter and then in birdseed. This works just as well, and it is a great project for kids. Heloise

Dear Heloise: A good way to applaud a doggy after it completes its duties or when walking around the neighborhood is to place some doggy treats in an empty plastic bottle. When the doggy does a good deed, the way to applaud will be by shaking the bottle with its treats inside. The doggy will love it! Don’t forget to give it a treat! Anna Victoria Reich, Stafford, Va.

Dear Readers: Gayle Limbeck of Scio, Ore., sent a photo of her Norwegian forest cat, Running White Ears, sitting pretty. Gayle says: “Our cat is black and white with white-tipped ears. A real runner and climber, even by cat standards. Our vet laughs every time we bring the cat in and she hears his name.”

Visit www.Heloise.com to see Running White Ears! Heloise

Dear Heloise: Who would think that an inexpensive purchase from an auto-supply store would help out our aging cat? When she began to have some litter-box issues, we thought our time with her would soon be over.

We found an aluminum drip pan at the store. We placed it under the litter box, and our floors were protected by this light but sturdy tray. Charlotte, via e-mail

Dear Heloise: I have a little dog, and my house looks like I have a bunch of kids, with toys and chewies all over the place. To keep things neater, I pick up all the stuff and place it in a wicker basket. K.M., New Braunfels, Texas

We do the same with Cabbie, our mini schnauzer, who then proceeds to pick out her toys, and we start all over! Heloise

Dear Readers: How much do you feed your fish? Extra food will just end up spoiled at the bottom of the tank. Feed fish several little meals, and just enough food, so that they can eat it before it sinks to the bottom. Get a book about your fish species, and learn as much as possible. Heloise

XSend a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

King Features Syndicate