Dear Heloise: I would like to make bird suet but cannot find my recipe. I have purchased all of the ingredients. Now my yard is full of birds, and I need the recipe. Where can I find it?

Judy, Baton Rouge, La.

This homemade recipe makes a big batch, so you can wrap leftovers in wax paper, put in a freezer bag and freeze it.

Homemade Bird Suet

1 cup lard (rendered fat of hogs, not vegetable oil)

1 cup peanut butter (crunchy or plain)

1 cup flour

2 cups instant oatmeal

2 cups cornmeal

1 cup raisins

1 cup ground peanuts (unsalted)

Carefully melt the lard and peanut butter in a very large pot over low heat, then add all of the other ingredients and stir to mix. Pour it into a large pan and put in the refrigerator overnight. It will firm up. Then just cut into blocks to fit your suet feeder. Or you can reuse the containers that commercial suet comes in.

Heloise

Dear Heloise: One of my cats had a sore on her back near her rump, and the vet put an Elizabethan collar on her to stop her from licking. Since we live in a two-story townhouse, my cat had a hard time getting up the steps. I took an old pair of pantyhose, cut off the legs and cut out the crotch area for the cat's tail and privates. I put each of the cat's hind legs through the panty legs, and the sore spot was covered. I pinned the excess hose together to keep it on.

Eleanor C., via e-mail

Write to Heloise at P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279 or fax to 210-435-6473. E-mail heloise@compuserve.com.