This is Daisy under an umbrella watching me get her food ready .This is how I feed the cats outdoors. I put a beach umbrella over one of our round metal tables and place cat feeders on the table...under the umbrella. Then we lower the umbrella so only the cats can get in.
With the umbrella lowered all the way down to the table height, the birds won't venture in to eat the cat food and it also keeps the rain out...unfortunately, nothing keeps the little squirrels & chipmunks out.
Here's what it looks like...Just like a little dome over a table, but it's not lowered all the way down in this picture yet...You can still see a little gap between the table and the umbrella.When we leave on our extended vacations, we put several feeders under the umbrella and have someone check them three times a week, and fill them if necessary...They also have to pet the cats, while they are filling up the feeders...It's a little extra bonus they get...for feeding the cats. *S*
The feeders used to last for almost 2 weeks, but now we have neighboring cats who have found them...and eventually the skunk and the opossum will find them too. Because of the 'stinky one' and the opossum, I have to get creative and move the feeders around to different locations.
Because of strong winds that
accompany thunderstorms, we tie the ends of the umbrella down to the table edges...otherwise, the umbrella goes sailing into the neighbors yard or turns inside out. The umbrella will also be protected by a very large sycamore tree that is over-head. The sycamore tree has very LARGE leaves, but right now it doesn't have any yet.
Last year I accidentally bought several umbrellas that were NOT waterproof...I thought all umbrellas were waterproof, but I was wrong. Some are only made to keep the sun out. The one that is over the table at the moment has been heavily rain tested this week and is C.A.T. approved for use.
11 comments:
Brilliant!!!
What an interesting solution.
Ava
That was very nice of you to do that. It looked cute.
How did you ever come up with such an idea. The umbrella looks neat. I am sure the kitties like to be out of the rain to eat.
Thanks for commenting on my blog. More will follow. I can't find a picture of the black sand but know my mother has one or two so I will just have to pay her a visit.
We always have to get creative about feeding the cat, also. We try to remember to bring in the food at night, or the possums and raccoons get it. Then there's always the occasional bear...
How clever you are! Wish I could persuade my spoiled boy that it's OK to eat outside. When we adopted him at 3 yrs of age, his habits were pretty well set.
doubleknot...I didn't come up with the idea...they did, the cats. I only came up with lowering it so that the birds wouldn't eat their cat food...Those starlings can eat ALL the cat food when they come in droves...but they don't like being trapped...Besides sometimes there's a cat hiding under the umbrella.
Susan...I tried bringing in the food, but I'm so forgetful. I certainly would remember though if we had BEARS. Yes, in Georgia you do have bears don't you?
Sue...My spoiled girl won't sleep outside, won't nap either and I'm not so sure she eats outside, although she knows where the food is kept. There are 7 regular outdoor cats who eat from under the umbrella and I have noticed 3 extra Toms helping themselves lately.
Very clever. It's a struggle to try and stay one step ahead of squirrels and other critters.
I love it! ! ! ! I NEVER in a million years would have thought of that...but it's brillant!!
You are one creative gal Sandy!! Kudos to you..bet you could send that to a magazine as a handy tip and maybe get paid for it..it's good. Hugs, Finn
Very clever!
Very ingenious set-up!
I love it. I showed the idea to my hubs, however, and he didn't love it so much. I think it is somewhat genius!
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