? Outdoor cats and nightly feeding schedules

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Panic

Panic

Member Since 2019
Bonus points if you have experience with ProZinc since we just switched over today. :)

My kitty prefers to stay outside at night, does anyone else here have kitties that stay out and if so how do you deal with feeding? (we struggle with ants most of the year so makeshift moats are usually what we use to keep them out of food) I have a PetSafe 5 feeder but it's quite bulky to be suspending above water lol.

More generally speaking, how often and how much do kitties need to have available during the night? Leaving food out to free-feed isn't an option, outside are multiple cats and inside is a greedy dog.
 
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Panic said:
Bonus points if you have experience with ProZinc since we just switched over today. :)

My kitty prefers to stay outside at night, does anyone else here have kitties that stay out and if so how do you deal with feeding? (we struggle with ants most of the year so makeshift moats are usually what we use to keep them out of food) I have a PetSafe 5 feeder but it's quite bulky to be suspending above water lol.

More generally speaking, how often and how much do kitties need to have available during the night? Leaving food out to free-feed isn't an option, outside are multiple cats and inside is a greedy dog.
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Although my chachi stays inside I do have a small feral colony that I care for outside. I apologize if this is off topic a bit but your comment about the ants brought a question to mind for me about flies. I bought a couple of the .97 cent square plastic water bowls from Walmart and turned upside down to control ants (fill with water around edge like the moat and bowls will sit perfectly on the flat surface) my biggest issue now are flies. I thought about the Petsafe but did wonder how to control the ants and flies. I've tried filling the edges with Rosemary but only works so so. Does the Petsafe help?
 
Bron and Sheba said:
Is there any way you can keep your kitty in at night?
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Until I can get her to stop ignoring the litter box and and peeing elsewhere instead I'm not allowed to keep her in :/

Chachi's Mom said:
Although my chachi stays inside I do have a small feral colony that I care for outside. I apologize if this is off topic a bit but your comment about the ants brought a question to mind for me about flies. I bought a couple of the .97 cent square plastic water bowls from Walmart and turned upside down to control ants (fill with water around edge like the moat and bowls will sit perfectly on the flat surface) my biggest issue now are flies. I thought about the Petsafe but did wonder how to control the ants and flies. I've tried filling the edges with Rosemary but only works so so. Does the Petsafe help?
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The PetSafe keeps the food covered until it's timed to open so flies shouldn't be a problem with it. It's very bulky and heavy though (12 x 17 inches if I remember right) so it needs support on both ends to keep it from tipping. I like the idea with the plastic bowls you mentioned but could definitely see the fly issue.

I'm going to try test out my feeder today by using a litter box with water in it and using some bricks inside to suspend the feeder on. I'll see if the ants go for it today. The other idea I had was getting a cooking sheet with a small lip to hold water and getting a smaller sheet to put upside down on top of it to keep the feeder on, though a lot of these moat ideas sound good on paper until you try it lol.

You do have to keep the PetSafe from getting wet though so you can't leave it out in the rain.
 
for ants, you might try circling the bowl area with cinnamon

most ants hate cinnamon and won't cross it

on Maui we have those, also roaches and centipedes -- I fill a lipped cookie sheet with water, put one of those pet-food-dish-wire-holders inside -- have found cats, like dogs, actually prefer their food slightly above ground level
 
Hi. I have one friendly feral I feed & discovered an awesome bowl that was used after the Katrina Hurricane. Its a Mote Bowl so no water is needed. Super durable & easy. You can now also get it on Amazon (they come in a 2 pack) but I'm providing the main company link:

http://www.antproofbowl.com
 
Flies are indeed a problem. It takes no time at all for them to lay eggs in the food. Ick. Plus, depending on where you live, canned food outside can attract opossums and raccoons and a few other critters.

I'm sorry, but I don't have any brilliant solutions for outside. Some people around here used to make "treats" out of canned food by putting it in small bite-sized globs on a cookie sheet and baking it. I suppose you could try that and see whether Panic would eat it. The baked food might draw fewer flies ... or not. Hard to say.

If the reason Panic stays out at night is due to litterbox issues, maybe you could consider putting her in a baby diaper with a hole cut for the tail overnight and keeping her inside. I have a cat who has been in diapers for 10 years (medical issie, long story). Surprisingly, most cats handle them pretty well.
 
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outside wet food here is a disaster, it's not flies, it's wasps ..
the paper wasps aren't aggressive, but the yellow jackets ARE :eek:

don't want the barn cats to get stung, so they have to live with kibble, since they're feral and won't come inside; they get most of their food from what they catch and eat, the kibble is just a supplement to make sure they get enough :cat:
 
CandyH and Catcat said:
outside wet food here is a disaster, it's not flies, it's wasps ..
the paper wasps aren't aggressive, but the yellow jackets ARE :eek:

don't want the barn cats to get stung, so they have to live with kibble, since they're feral and won't come inside; they get most of their food from what they catch and eat, the kibble is just a supplement to make sure they get enough :cat:
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Oh no! Finding the nest might help. If you could get to that nest destroy it they may move on.
 
Amy, that antproof bowl is really cool!! Even if I can't use it for my girl, I'm going to look into it for my dog! :D

The ants here are relentless, they fear nothing but water - even worse if there's tall weeds growing by the food bowls in a moat - they'll just climb the weed until it bends down into the bowl! :eek:
 
nests === plural -- they're all over the place, we have over an acre, with outbuildings, trees, shrubs, plus some of them nest underground

paper wasps aren't much of a problem, they're little predators hunting bugs that damage foliage .. don't bother them, they won't bother you
must be some good reason for yellow jackets -- we carefully remove and destroy the mud-daub nests at night, the ones that are on the house, the local yellow jackets don't seem to build the big cone shaped nests, have not seen one of those here
 
CandyH and Catcat said:
must be some good reason for yellow jackets -
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If you figure out what they're good for let me know :woot:

We have all kinds of wasps too but they usually do their own thing. Have about 2.5 acres in the country, the only thing I can't stand are the ants. Only kind of bugs I won't mess with are the yellow jackets and the hornets! Everything else is free game to swat at.
 
electrified fly swatters have come way down in price -- Harbor Freight has them cheap, Walmart only a little more -- you buzz me, I'll buzz you ! :stop:
 
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