A community of cats and the endless feast

September 30, 2015 11:26 AM

I have one outdoor cat- he hates being in the house due to 3 dogs. They leave him alone but he will jet out the doggie door when I try to bring him in for any reason. He eats twice a day on the porch. (I am at work and cannot post a pic but mine is a fluffy grey ball)

There is a community of community (feral) cats that live behind me. All are spade and fixed but they know when feeding time is and are eating my cat's food. Here are the issues:
1. my cat will not stay in the house. Even if I close the doggie door temporarily he runs and hides so feeding him inside is not an option.
2. Number of feral cats ranges from 2-3 to 5-6 on any given day.
3. My cat will not defend his food. He just steps away when they come over.
4. I leave for work most days while my cat is eating so I cannot always guard the food.

Any ideas? I am stumped.

posted by shaarog to Pets & Animals (8 answers total)

One household I know, which had cats and dogs and the cats were afraid, installed catwalks- 4" wide planks just a foot or so below the ceiling, throughout the house.
The cats travel here and there in the house without ever coming down. They spend a lot of time up there and seem to absolutely love it.

Maybe something like that? You could put a platform up there with food and water.
posted by Puddle Jumper at 11:35 AM on September 30, 2015 [4 favorites]

I don't know how well this works, but it's an interesting idea:

"Selective Pet Feeder....The scientifically-developed WonderBowl opens only for the pet wearing the unique tag (included). Ideal for multi-pet households and pets on special diets, it is designed to prevent children and other pets from eating from the food bowl. Simply attach the tag to your pet’s collar and enjoy worry-free selective feeding!"
posted by artistic verisimilitude at 11:36 AM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]

I am a certified TNR cat care person, but am not local to you.

The options here are tricky. And maybe have some cost to them.

* Make a safe alcove in your house for the cat that he can get in and out of.

* Make a safe alcove or cat-feeding-house outside your house for the cat, with a door triggered by RFID or some such? (For example.)

* Make a cat run and/or cat tent and/or ... some kind of enclosure for your outdoor buddy, for temporary use?

* The selective pet feeder might or might not work with pushy-ass ferals around, but maybe it's better than nothing.

Poor cat! Poor you, too. What a total pain. I wouldn't recommend the arduous work of moving a feral colony, especially since someone is clearly doing cat-caretaking for them. If you know who your local TNR people are, they might have some good advice. Rough one!
posted by RJ Reynolds at 11:44 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

Do you have a room you could make dog-free for the cat?

Can you change the cat's food hours to times you are home?
posted by jeather at 11:47 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

Could you screen in the porch so kitty can get "out" but feral cats can't get in? And 2nding the idea to put up catwalks around your house (and maybe porch) so he feels safer.
posted by Weeping_angel at 12:52 PM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

I think an RFID feeder is the solution here, although they are pretty expensive.
posted by poffin boffin at 1:13 PM on September 30, 2015

Set up a feeding area inside the house where the dogs can't get to the cat food, and that is safe and easy for the cat to get to. We feed our cats in a back bedroom that has a baby gate they jump over to get to the food & litter boxes. If that won't work, maybe a raised area the dogs can't reach but the cat can? A dresser or a table with a chair nearby the cat can use as a launching pad but that the dogs won't be able to utilize?

Or just start feeding the cat when you come home from work so you can monitor the feeding. The cat will adjust to a new feeding schedule quickly and I promise, will not starve for the hours you're away at work. Then take up the food when you go to sleep.
posted by RichardHenryYarbo at 1:15 PM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Idea (assuming your cat comes to you when you put out his food): Create an enclosed feeding station with a four-way cat flap. So you put the food into the enclosure with the flap set to allow kitty to go in. Once he goes in to eat, you set the flap to only open out. Your boy can leave whenever he's ready, but no other cat can go in.

Or, as RJ Reynolds suggests, the same thing, but with a microchip cat flap so he could go in and out at will, but I don't know how well that works if he is in small space. (ie, if he's close enough to the flap while inside, the chip might activate the door to the open state, meaning other cats could get in).
posted by taz at 1:46 AM on October 1, 2015