[Eala]

Is that really made out of cats' guts? And are those other things really made out of sheep skin? And is there a grade of cat gut and sheep skin for which we should be aware?

catgut (kàt´gùt´) noun
A tough, thin cord made from the treated and stretched intestines of certain animals, especially sheep, and used for stringing musical instruments and tennis rackets and for surgical ligatures.

sheepskin (shêp´skîn´) noun
1. The skin of a sheep either tanned with the fleece left on or in the form of leather or parchment. 2. Informal. A diploma.

And just to add to it, in North America elkhide is the preferred material for bagpipe bags... except... bagpipe elkhide comes from cows, not elk. Oh well.

[Argh]

I was sorry to find out recently that in publishing, elephanthide is only a type of paper.