DKinTX Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Saturday my family and I went hiking. During our hike, my youngest daughter saw a pile of bones in the woods. She of course picked them right up and was delighted to discover a skull, with teeth still attached. There were various other bones, leg and others. The bones were white and clean with no remaining flesh on them, so my husband let her bring them home. We didn't know what animal they had belonged to, but I had my guess due to the fangs. Sure enough when I got home and looked it up: house cat. We then compared the size and teeth to our own cats, and they matched up. That's when I began to think it was morbid...we own two cats, and now the skeleton of another? It seems wrong to have a cat's skeleton when we have cats for pets, and obviously the cat was eaten (whether it was killed first or died some other way and eaten by vultures we don't know). When I told my Nana she said we should bury it and have a little funeral for it. In other words she agreed it was creepy. But when I suggested that to my daughter, she was dismayed at having to give up her "really cool" find. What do y'all think? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GothicGyrl Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 KEWL!!!!!!!!!!! Now consider the source, but I think it's pretty darn cool and a neat science experiment!! In fact, I'd probably have her lay the bones out and try to "knee bone connected to the..." type thing.. maybe she could also draw it out on paper for you. I think it's pretty cool actually not a bit creepy! But, consider who this is coming from . :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKinTX Posted February 4, 2008 Author Share Posted February 4, 2008 KEWL!!!!!!!!!!! I think it's pretty cool actually not a bit creepy! But, consider who this is coming from . :) I'm LOL right now because when I wrote the og. post I almost wrote "my subject line is a guarantee Toni will reply!" but I didn't want you to take it the wrong way, LOL!!! Thanks for your input. We'll see if yours is the popular opinion..my daughter hopes so! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 I vote for letting your dd keep them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Living in the middle of nowhere, my son finds stuff like that all the time -- usually deer. I think it's creepy -- he thinks it's kewl. :-) I vote for letting her have and enjoy her "treasure." Kris (A cat person, too.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Cool! If we had a skeleton, we'd wire it together and display it. I don't think it is morbid or creepy. Consider the source of this opinion, though. When I suggested to DH that we find some wild animal road kill, bring it home and leave it outside until decomp left the bones clean, boil the bones, and wire the skeleton together ... let's just say DH was shocked, but not awed! You all are so lucky. My kids and I have been hiking in bear country every summer for 6 years, looking for skeletons of dead bears (which the ranger said we should find) and didn't find one single bone of anything. RC But when I suggested that to my daughter, she was dismayed at having to give up her "really cool" find. What do y'all think? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
percytruffle Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Not creepy at all at our house. Very cool and special. Treasures are for keeping!:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanie Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Saturday my family and I went hiking. During our hike, my youngest daughter saw a pile of bones in the woods. She of course picked them right up and was delighted to discover a skull, with teeth still attached. There were various other bones, leg and others. The bones were white and clean with no remaining flesh on them, so my husband let her bring them home. We didn't know what animal they had belonged to, but I had my guess due to the fangs. Sure enough when I got home and looked it up: house cat. We then compared the size and teeth to our own cats, and they matched up. That's when I began to think it was morbid...we own two cats, and now the skeleton of another? It seems wrong to have a cat's skeleton when we have cats for pets, and obviously the cat was eaten (whether it was killed first or died some other way and eaten by vultures we don't know). When I told my Nana she said we should bury it and have a little funeral for it. In other words she agreed it was creepy. But when I suggested that to my daughter, she was dismayed at having to give up her "really cool" find. What do y'all think? Thanks! My dc would be diggin that! (No pun intended there) If they're learning from it then I'm all for it. We always find interesting things on our walks and I love how they just imagine what it could be. My dc would want to mount it if they could! I'm sure the novelty will wear off and then y'all can respectfully dispose of it. This is a great opportunity to learn what part is missing from the bone structure of the cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 If no one in your household is bothered by it, keep it. I take it the kids are fine and the live kitties aren't fretting or fussing. :p Now remind your dd or kids that not every visitor will love it like they do. :eek: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GothicGyrl Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 I'm LOL right now because when I wrote the og. post I almost wrote "my subject line is a guarantee Toni will reply!" but I didn't want you to take it the wrong way, LOL!!! Thanks for your input. We'll see if yours is the popular opinion..my daughter hopes so! Nah!!! I'd take it as a compliment. :) And it looks like popular opinion is to keep it.. although I never thought about the wire part... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Atl Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 There would be no way I could pry those bones away from my dd7. She would hide them first. We have a small museum of "dead" things. She loves all things fossil, rock, bones, insects, etc. We even have frog and snake mummies (dried in salt). Oldest dd12 thinks this to be (gross). I vote, let her keep them and use them for science and art. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Well, since they are nice and clean and purty, let them keep it. I like what Toni said about playing connect the ___ bone to the ___ bone. Now when my kids brought home parts of a deer skeleton with fur and flesh still on it, I made them return it to the canyon-Yuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umarider Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 When DD was 7 we found a skull in the woods. We brought it home and she took it to school. At the time she had a phenomenal teacher who also had all kinds of cool stuff in her classroom. She helped DD identify it as a racoon skull and the kids all had a great time examining it. Later, while living in CA, my younger DD took the skull for show and tell. The teacher was appalled that I let my kids keep a skull. She said something along the lines of "only you would let your kids have something like that". That was an eye-opener for me. I'd always thought it was a great chance to get to explore biology hands-on! Maybe that's part of why we are HSing now! Let her keep it, but also use it as a chance to talk about how people have differing feelings/reactions to such things and why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GothicGyrl Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Later, while living in CA, my younger DD took the skull for show and tell. The teacher was appalled that I let my kids keep a skull. She said something along the lines of "only you would let your kids have something like that". That was an eye-opener for me. I'd always thought it was a great chance to get to explore biology hands-on! Maybe that's part of why we are HSing now! And I would have snarkily replied "So when do I take over your job"? :) You bet your patootie "only I" would do something like that. ;) I ain't a'shamed.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 There were a bunch of skulls hanging on the wall. One was Dinah, our old milk cow, there were a couple of other bovine-types, a possumy looking thing and two bucks with decomposing flesh on them still. Those two had to go out but the others were welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 I think she can bury it after she tires of studying it. And I would still at least spray it down with Lysol..... Regena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy in FL. Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Not morbid or creepy at all. I wouldn't have any problem with it! Cindy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 When I was about 3rd grade I brought home a cat skull. My mom boiled it in something (vinegar maybe? or maybe ammonia?) so that it wouldn't smell (though it was clean of all tissue) and/or pass on any germs to us. It was one my prize possessions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrianne Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 She found it, right? We have many assorted animal bones in our collection. You could turn it into a cool science lesson. Adrianne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 And I am sure your pet cats don't care :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKinTX Posted February 4, 2008 Author Share Posted February 4, 2008 You guys are awesome!!! My daughter thanks you profusely. Though, my cats are plotting their revenge... :-) Thanks for all the replies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2GirlsTX Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 my daughters both would find that soooo awesome, no way would they want to bury it. My oldest would want to do something weird, like put it back together with glue and then paint it with glow in the dark paint to freak her little sister out..LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Definitely cool! I'd keep it. To be honest, we do have a tiny little muskrat skull we found by the river. I once tried to collect a skull from a roadkill. The animal had been decomposing for a while, and it was winter so it didn't smell, but the skull was stuck to the rest of the remains. :( The funniest part is that some people I knew saw me doing this (it was the middle of the night, I was on my paper route) and I had to explain what I was doing the next time I saw them :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2legomaniacs Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 My boys found a deer skeleton in our woods. It still had part of one leg intact with hide and hoof so it was easily identified. They go back to that spot every time they are out there. Good lessons to be learned from observing nature in that way. So, a cool vote here. (although I admit I wouldn't want it actually in my house!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3lilreds in NC Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 but I would let my kids keep it and do my best not to look squeamish, LOL. I think it's fine. That sounds like something my dad would have brought home to show us when I was a kid. And, if I found one that was clean like that, I would probably pick it up and bring it home too, in spite of myself. See what homeschooling has done to me???? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 This sounds just like a scientist to me. It would only creep me out if it were a person. Of course, this is coming from a biology minor who once dissected a cat (okay, 25 years ago or so, and it was euthanized. You could tell because some of them had been spayed, etc--they came from a shelter.) Plus a rat and a shark and some insects. And I was the one of the most squeamish children I ever heard of--I wouldn't touch anything we had to dissect in high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikin' Mama Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 I hope I'm not the only one who says "no." :) When I was a girl, my dad took me hiking a lot, and I loved finding "souvenirs." I had rocks, bones, skulls, whatever. And I proudly displayed them on the desk in my room. I don't have these little trinkets anymore, but the fond memories remain. But take this with a grain of salt. I also loved to clean the fish when we went fishing; I still do. I really don't like putting the worm on the hook though. That really doesn't make sense. :confused: Kim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cathy in IL Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 I vote for keeping it and using it for a science project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Hood Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Finding bones comes in 2nd to my 9yodd's favorite thing to do. We had quite a collection before we moved last summer. It was my delight to toss them. Now we live by another pasture and dwp lands where she goes to hunt them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Oh, the worm on the hook thing totally makes sense to me. It might hurt the worm, you see. Same with using live herring when fishing for Pacific salmon. The fact that you're putting it in the water for a fish to bite so that you can eat the fish has absolutely no bearing on the principal of not hurting that live bait. I LOVE fishing, but have never been able to put that live bait on. Of course, we don't fish much and dh doesn't use live bait, but my dad does. I can't put the salmon or cod out of it's misery, either, because I won't hit it hard enough to stun it because it might hurt it. But, boy, I do enjoy eating it when it's done. So, you see, I think what you said makes lots of sense! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in MD Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 claws when they're retracted? That's super neat. If it doesn't, try to find a cat family skeleton in a museum and look for them :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Friederike in Persia Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 nt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doran Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 We love that kind of stuff and feel fortunate when we find it. Our collection has included, over the years ----- :rolleyes: I just made a list of all the things we've collected and studied since the kids were born, then deleted it because I figured it would disgust somebody. ---- One we didn't keep, but would have if we'd had a chance. Friends of ours were renovating an old house and found a dessicated cat in the attic. Fur still intact. I'm told they leaned it up against a post outside right after they found it and it freaked out the workers! I would've loved to see it - to keep it! - but they tossed it before I got to have a say. Anyway, keep the skeleton. Learn from it. It was a gift from nature to you and your children. Doran Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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