HELOISE: Here's a window of opportunity to save birds

Dear Readers: Birds sometimes have a hard time telling the difference between the reflection in a window or a sliding door, and the sky. We have had them fly into our window and be seriously hurt and even killed! It’s a sad sight to see a dead bird outside the sliding door. Here are few hints from our friends at the Audubon Society to help prevent this:

•Hang “sun catchers” on the outside of windows.

•Install a full screen on a window.

•Put decals on the outside.

•Block the sun by planting trees or installing awnings.

•Move bird feeders a good distance from windows.

•Hang tinsel in small clumps of strands on the top of the outside window frames.

Birds tend to hit glass windows more during migration and breeding seasons. Making a few changes could help save lives. Heloise

Dear Readers: Patricia Dye of Blue Springs, Miss., sent a photo of her 9-year-old miniature pinscher, Baby, smiling for the camera. For a look, visit www.Heloise.com. Heloise

Dear Heloise: For years I have avoided burning candles because I feared my rambunctious cat might set the house on fire. I realized today that I can burn candles in my kitchen sink and in my tiled walk-in shower, where they can do no harm. They’re not pretty, but I do get the benefit of the wonderful aromas throughout the house. Tina Winnett, via e-mail

Dear Heloise: Some time back, you mentioned using plastic foam peanuts as a bedding material for pets. We discovered a nifty bedding material by accident.

We have a document shredder and use the shredded paper for packing material. When the shredder is full, we empty it into plastic grocery bags. We had thrown a couple of these full bags into an open cardboard box when we discovered one of our cats had made a bed in it. The paper in the bags had compressed to form a perfect mold of the cat’s body. It was obviously very comfortable, as the cat kept returning to the box.

Soon we noticed our other cat fighting the first one for this comfortable bed, so we made a second one for her. It is quite a sight, seeing the two of them resting in adjacent boxes, almost like hens on eggs!

So, free plastic bags from the grocery store and free shredded paper have resulted in beds more comfortable than most you could find at the pet store! A Reader, Houston

Dear Heloise: I love reading your column. My little dog was named Ping Pong. When I would come home from work, she was so glad to see me that she bounced around like a little pingpong ball. I would take her to the vet, and when they asked her name, most everyone made the comment, “What a cute name!” Jane Williams, via e-mail

SBlt Send 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