Do you worry about other wildlife and the ferals

[gailc]

The reason I ask is yesterday DH asked if I was feeding strays-(who me!!) as while he and Dad were stacking firewood Dad noticed some "scat". They of course asked if I knew animal-NO!!! Dad said it was skunk!!
This is about 150 ft or so from where I feed the cats by the house. I checked dish-the Felidae was still there as Tommie Two doesn't like it-so I guess know that I bought food again that he should eat I won't keep out at night??? If skunks are moving around possums can't be fair behind and I know they eat cat food.
Any experience????

 

[tnr1]

Originally Posted by GailC

The reason I ask is yesterday DH asked if I was feeding strays-(who me!!) as while he and Dad were stacking firewood Dad noticed some "scat". They of course asked if I knew animal-NO!!! Dad said it was skunk!!
This is about 150 ft or so from where I feed the cats by the house. I checked dish-the Felidae was still there as Tommie Two doesn't like it-so I guess know that I bought food again that he should eat I won't keep out at night??? If skunks are moving around possums can't be fair behind and I know they eat cat food.
Any experience????

Gail...are you leaving food out at all times?? The recommendation is to feed at sunrise and sunset and removing the food so that other wildlife doesn't come to feed on the food.

Katie

 

[semiferal]

Yes, for a few reasons. First, some forms of wildlife can be dangerous for cats. Second, you don't want wildlife coming too close to human dwellings. Many are potential rabies vectors, for instance, and skunks are obviously a nuisance.

The biggest and most important thing to do about this is to feed when wildlife is not active. What helps with this is that cats are most active at dawn and dusk while many forms of wildlife are nocturnal. You can take advantage of this by feeding only in the morning and/or evening. Put the food out and clean it up within an hour or less. That way the cats will be fed and wildlife will not be attracted to the feeding area. This will keep the cats safer and keep the neighbors happier.

 

[momofmany]

We put the cat food out on platforms - the skunks can't get up there but possums can climb. Since the possums mostly come out after dark, we remove the food overnight.

Our biggest problem is free roaming dogs, not other wildlife.

 

[missy&spikesmom]

Yeah.... You know, I have neighbor dogs roaming around and enjoying the buffet of food, if I leave it out too long... NOT that I do not like dogs, because I love dogs! But, these neighbor dogs are soooooooooo well-fed and do NOT need any extra food, believe me!!! And I know dogs just don't understand that concept, but it is STILL annoying,(because when they are done eating, if they catch the food in the cat dish, they proceed to do their "business" on the lawn, close by!!! ) Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.......