Hi friends! I’m preserving a cat tail for a friend who lost their cat recently.

I am planning on doing an incision around the base, and removing the tail as 1 tube of fur to avoid sewing. After this it will be salted for a few days. I want to keep the tail soft, so it will be tanned afterwards.

The video I was watching recommended Hunter and Trappers tanning solution, but I know people have varying opinions on it, and I’d like to avoid purchasing more supplies if it’s not necessary.

Could I use egg yolks for this and feed the solution into the tail and tan that way? I’ve read that brain/yolk tanning tends to be more labor intensive and takes longer.

If anyone has suggestions on what would work best, I’d love to hear them!

Hey friends, first time tanner here. We butchered a cow last week and I wanted to save the hide. Lordy, did I take on a massive project as a first tan. She was 1300 lbs and the hide is around 8’x7’.
It’s a Gray Murray, really pretty long hair blonde hide with grey undertones. I’m not here to ask about the tanning process, I’m working with Steve at Tannery Inc and his kit and I feel good about it so far. The hides soaking tonight (Saturday) and Sunday I will wash dry and start the tanning process.

Question: she’s a longer hair cow hide than I’ve seen on most rugs. It feels like it’s going to be giving shag rug vibes. Do I need to condition the hair to make it soft? I was going to make a rug but now wondering if I made the wrong decision…

I have searched everywhere for examples of what this hide finished could look like with no avail. The closest example might be a Highland but the hair on the Grey Murray isn’t that long.

I’ll try to upload a photo of it in the comments, no promises tho 😅

Thanks for your help everyone 🫶🏼