I have only been helping to feed a feral colony for 6 weeks and am astounded how much (good quality) food we are throwing away. In these 6 weeks we have had freezing temperatures and, for obvious reasons, had to remove solid, frozen food twice a day. Suddenly, the weather became so warm that flies were trying to get at the food even while I was still filling the dishes. Then we had strong winds and heavy rain: although the dishes are under cover, they are exposed so that, unless the rain comes down vertically the dishes soon become full of water.
In a previous thread I read that @FeebysOwner had found this automatic feeding dish Safe Feeder. I immediately bought 2 secondhand. They are battery-operated and work well. They are air-tight and, when closed, should keep out both rain and flies. However, there are at least 2 problems as far as I can make out:
When I had one visiting feral in my back yard, I only fed her in the evenings and put food in the open garage when it got too wet or cold. She would visit at approximately the same time every night so I knew what was going on. But, these ferals live too far away and (fortunately) I normally only have to feed them mornings and evenings twice a week. How do the rest of you manage feeding outdoor cats in all weathers? Has anyone had any experience with SureFeed. It is not operated with a microchip - there are only sensors, so that other animals (and humans) can operate it, too.
In a previous thread I read that @FeebysOwner had found this automatic feeding dish Safe Feeder. I immediately bought 2 secondhand. They are battery-operated and work well. They are air-tight and, when closed, should keep out both rain and flies. However, there are at least 2 problems as far as I can make out:
- According to the instructions, they are not intended for use outdoors
- It will hardly be possible to apply the learning-programme to help feral cats get accustomed to feeding from the dishes and accept the opening and closing mechanism.
When I had one visiting feral in my back yard, I only fed her in the evenings and put food in the open garage when it got too wet or cold. She would visit at approximately the same time every night so I knew what was going on. But, these ferals live too far away and (fortunately) I normally only have to feed them mornings and evenings twice a week. How do the rest of you manage feeding outdoor cats in all weathers? Has anyone had any experience with SureFeed. It is not operated with a microchip - there are only sensors, so that other animals (and humans) can operate it, too.