Update in Feb 2023: We've been using the feeder I built according to your design and it has worked great. I wish I could share the photos we get from a trail cam...they are amusing. The raccoons stretch their little legs to reach the platform, but they can't, then they climb up the inner post, and that doesn't work either. But they are tenacious!
Wow! That's a very good idea,ive had this problem for over 3yrs & this is going to be my next build! Cnt believe how those raccoons were even going up & down the ladder lol...Thanks for sharing.I know this is yrs ago Hopefully ull see my message.And realize ppl r still watching & learning from ur videos.
Nice work... May I suggest that you add a secondary platform between the roof and the dinning level to make it easier for the cats that jump from the deck railing onto the roof to climb back down to the food.
This guy is a genius who knows his coons, possums, and cats. I intend to use his idea for a cold weather cat house and feeder with a built-in electric blanket for cats. The cat house will have two openings on opposite sides becats have a natural instinct for an escape "out the back door." if threatened. Both entrances will have plastic bendable doors as wind breakers for really cold blustery weather. ... Thanks for the good research and great engineering. ... I'm really jazzed at this solution to a problem no one else has been able to solve. ^..^~~'
I'm glad I came across this. We feed community/feral cats and the possums are interfering and eating most of the food right now. This isn't "pretty" but it looks like it does the job and that's all that matters. Another use for flashing is to wrap it around a 4x4 post and cross beam used to hang birds feeders from. The squirrels can't climb the flashing. Thanks for sharing this!
Thank your for taking the time to post this video especially with the raccoons. You gave me an idea to modify this to create an entry into our garage for the outside cats. Somebody dropped them off as kittens and we're allergic so we put a cat door in our heated garage and get them regular shots and vet checks. Naturally, once the raccoons discovered the food...well. So I built a raccoon-proof feeder box but now I can keep those devils out of the garage altogether by moving the cat door up high and creating an entryway through the door based on your plans. Can't wait to try this. Awesome!
Very useful info about the raccoons. I didn't know their limitations. I feed stray cats and always have raccoons and possums trying to steal their food after sunset. During the day, I get birds and squirrels eating it too *sigh* The only thing that really worked for me was just feeding them at specific times so they know to come get their meals at those times and then take the dishes back indoors when they're done. The coons are rather smarter than I expected though and after I stopped leaving the dishes out after sunset, they started just coming around earlier in the day to look for them.
the only solution is put a little bit of food out at a time, at least the coons can't get that much. I don't think the older cats can jump that high either. you have to be careful, coons will kill cats over food, I"ve lost a few to them for sure.
Good thing raccoons aren't as smart as honey badgers. A honey badger would have pushed the crate or something closer to gain access. It was helpful to learn about the lateral jumping ability of raccoons. Do you add something to deter birds from eating the food? I find that can also be a big problem. I've been searching for table brackets but I think this would work better. We have raccoons and possums here too. You can feed them some puppy chow if it helps prevent them from getting into your compost, garbage etc. and being really noisy. Raccoons have territories that don't overlap so you don't have to worry about dozens showing up. I need to build a feeder plus a platform under a high cat flap to only allow cats to have access to our garage. Maybe I can do that on our side door. It's an old wooden door I could even cut through the single pane glass for the cat flap to still allow our resident community cats to get out of the snow etc. Birds won't be able to eat their food in there. I have heated seedling mats under dishes of wet food and in some sleeping shelters. I have cozy insulated totes with straw bedding in them too. I could maybe put flashing under the eve so raccoons couldn't climb down off the roof onto the door platform. If that wouldn't work I could maybe do something using the back window of the garage where there's already plywood in one half of the window. I first learned about raccoon proof feeders from a vet who's built them. She posted basic information on catinfo dot org. It's great noncommercial site about cat nutrition cited by many rescues and Jackson Galaxy. Our cat vet even prints out pages to hand out to clients. It's been a great help to prevent health issues, especially now that there are fewer vets available in my area.
Hi there were you able to build them? Mine is a little too high and the cats can’t get up at so I’m trying to figure out the right distance and some kind of launching pad for them.
@@pamdavis9077I built something like it. It’s very similar, just larger and a little taller than what this gentleman built. It works for my cats, however, my cats are young and nimble so they can jump up onto it and pull themselves up. It does NOT work for kittens, juveniles, older cats, etc.
Wow, people make sure you watch the ending cus that's the proof this contraption is well thought out. That one racoon made one heck of a jump from the ground cus he missed it from the fence but made it from the bottom. Cool seeing the raccons relentlessly trying to getting up there. Poor kitty got surrounded by them, I was worried at first how he'd get away. This video may be 6 years since posted..But im thankful it's still up here and I found it. Been researching for days on this. Helped me figure out how I can hopefully keep them from eating my feral kitty's food I give him. Opossums and raccoons pissing me off eating the not so cheap cat food I'm trying to fatten up the feral cat ive found is sleeping on a shelf inside my tool cabinet that sits on my covered back porch. I don't want to do anything that'd harm or scare off the cat,but I sure as hell am not buying food for some neighborhood army of raccoons and opossums. And this so far is the only quite simple solution I've found that seems to prevent both the raccoons and opossums. I'll be starting this build tomorrow morning...though the wood I've got to use is all scrap and I'll just use deck wood sealer to prevent it from rotting, then I've got some thin old diamond plate ( not good for much else than this sort of project) ill use around the bottom sides..Unless i find it gives them traction to climb up it. If it doesn't work, I think it's well worth buying the flashing. Only thing ide not do is have it near the roof cus the raccoons I have around here I've seen jump a good 8ft down off my rooftop onto a chainlink fence, granted they barley landed and were quiet wobbly landing but they did it. Anyways, thank you for sharing this!
The ONLY thing that would worry me about how you did it, is if some animal, or a wind coming and knocking your feeder though the glass. I personally would temporarily anchor the base wood to the deck. Even if you used bungee cords or slipped some "L" brackets through the deck slots
This style of feeder is proven to work. If it's a tad low or Coons get up I put met strips around the edge of the platform too, so they can't reach up and dig in. Thx for the vid.
What do you mean by met strips? My table worked for 10 yrs but recently one raccoon has somehow been able to reach up and jump up to grab the ledge and get up on my table.
Awesome! I’m building this for the feral cats here... I have 6 and I’m worried that the old one won’t be able to jump up that high. There is also 7 raccoons in the neighbourhood. the 2 mature females are big so it’ll be interesting if they can get up there. @ 8:22 in the video one raccoon did make a leap from the ground, it was just after he fell after trying to jump from the railing ..... Hope this works!
This is the greatest design ever! It works 100%. We built off this video and painted to match the house. It’s a lifesaver. Place cat food bowl in the center in an aluminum roasting pan with 1.5” of water and that keeps the Ants away. Easy Peezy.
Glad it works for you! And glad I could help. I had to modify mine a little over the years, but it's the same basic design. If they learn to hang under the bottom and pull the flashing inward to gain access, you can nail flashing to the underside and that will stop it, it's what I had to do.
I have a way to make the feeder ant-proof. I have used this on several feral cat feeders and it works perfectly...no need to moat food bowls in water anymore. Get a tub of TangleFoot insect barrier (on Amazon). Smear it around the entire circumference of the center pole, up high as possible to keep it up away from animals. Ants will not cross it. Might need to replenish it a couple times a year...especially if applied to bare wood) but a tub will last forever. Works great on the hooks on hummingbird feeders, too.
I’m also improvising with the same problem. It’s an experiment every time in order to achieve a better outcome. Mine incorporates an automatic feeder. The metal flashing might be what I need! Thanks for sharing.
Raccoons are little buggars! They have an important job, and some of them are actually nice about leaving the cat food alone. But most are not! If I have anything to share, (out of date eggs, food scraps etc. ) I put it out in the woods in the same spot each time, so they know if I have anything, that is where it will be. Then I bring the cat food in at sunset, and give them a last call at bedtime. That is hard for ferals, but I put it back in the morning. MOSTLY, the raccs don't come by till it is dark.
I feed stray cats and have problems with possums and raccoons eating the food, costing me money in food. This gave me some good ideas for a feeding station setup.
Skunks have been known to jump up on garbage cans. I hope its more than 4-1/2 feet high. GREAT job on the aluminum flashing you put around the entrance to the feeder! I have seen a raccoon try AND make it on to my round edged, round, plastic patio table.
We had one built using your video by one of our neighbors. He volunteered. Our platform is roughly half the size you show. I am wondering if that is why our ferals are not jumping up to the feeder. Can you tell me how long it took for your cats to adjust to eating from it & any suggestions? Thank you so much for sharing this video.
I think they will jump up there if they get hungry enough. Maybe put a box or small table in front of it to close the distance (like a step) to let them get used to it. Then pull it away and they will know there is food up there.
Did you ever get your modified? I’m trying to do this and built one but yet I got it’s too high and the cats won’t jump that high and if I do a launching pad, the raccoons can use it to get to the table.
We have bears here. They would just slap this down and have dinner after they stop laughing. Then after being lured here they would come inside and eat what’s in your refrigerator for dessert. It’s hard to fool Mother Nature.
Those raccoons are pretty small compared to the ones we have around here. One year I put my bagged garbage inside my house a little too close to my front door (temporary until I took it off the following day) and a giant raccoon destroyed the floor below my door trying to reach it. A following night, trying to figure out what the heck destroyed my door, I put more garbage inside after fixing the door but stayed up. Come to find out it was a raccoon about the size of a medium to large dog. Never before or since seen such a large raccoon. I'm in a situation now where I want to feed a feral cat (temporarily) until I can get it to a vet for vaccines/checkup and also win its trust before bringing it inside. This all assumes it survives long enough. The wildlife here is generally pretty big. Even the hawks are big enough to take off with a cat.
Great idea! I was thinking about building this structure 40" up on the side of our shop/garage. Same concept, just braced to a wall instead of on a post. Do you think that would work?
I have something similar to what you are describing and the racoons can climb walls so you have to put flashing everywhere. They will also climb on the roof to get down to it if possible.
My brain just thought this up. Would it work? What if you built a small tube opening from the bottom of this type of construction? The small size would make it possible for only the kittens to enter. They could climb up the tube to the food. You would place the hole at the bottom of the construction so the cat squeezes between the floor and the tube entrance. Then the kittens crawl up the tube to the food? Alternate: Create a kitten-sized feeding area attached to the floor. It would be a mound (box shape would be easier) with kitten-sized entry. Inside would be food/water. What do you think?
Thank you I seen your video about 2 years ago I've been looking for it since . It just popped up again .Know I can make it I made sure I saved it this time .
Thank you so much for caring and building this and sharing! I see it works for racoons and cats but do you or anyone know if will it work for the Little "Posey possum" who also comes? For my house area, I put a radio out and play it and the Racoons have yet to come near the radio but the opossums don't care about the radio and walk right by it. .
Yep... It actually works better for Possums than Raccoons. The Raccoons are pretty crafty and won't give up easy. The Possums will climb under and hand there for a while and finally leave. I would recommend, as added protection, to wrap the post in aluminum sheets, this will make it harder for the Raccoons to climb - or better use a steal post. At any rate, after you build it, put a camera on it. It is funny to watch.
I’m just reading this . Ok that’s good to know as I have both as most ! . I’m getting a plan together to make one.. your video is good and Aim sure has helped many kitties through the people youve helped!!! Thanks again
Does this feeder stay put during stormy / windy weather? Great idea, but feel bad for the racoon bandits as they're hungry too. I'm struggling right now putting food out for cats and today had a momma raccoon and four babies out in my yard eating it. Plus, my neighbor isn't happy with them coming around because of their small dogs (although they've actually been around for years...they just haven't seen them). Lately I've been taking the food in at night and now the raccoons are coming during the day. Yikes!
Mine is 46 inches and then it’s too high for the cats. One cat made it but the other one that is so skinny and weak couldn’t make it so I’m doing launching pads and then the raccoons can launch. This is so hard to get it just right where the raccoons won’t make it to the table.!!
Hi. Great idea. I'd like to make this - can you tell me the lengths of the 2x4's on the ground? I'm new at woodworking & I don't want to cut it too short or waste wood by cutting it too long. Thanks!!
QuincieJMc The 2x4’s on the ground are 28 inches. The 1x4’s on ground are 30 inches. I made the 1x4’s a little longer to support any potential front/rear sway movement. Go at least 28 inches on the 2x4 and 1x4’s and it will be fine.
This is amazing! I am going to try it. One question: did you have to train your cats to use it? The cats I feed are all feral now and they run from me.
I know what I forgot to ask you . If you mentioned, I didn’t catch it . How long are the 2x4s on bottom for support? I see your deck flooring . The supports sit on about 6 of those. deck boards gotta be 6-8 inches wide . I’m guessing the 2x4s are 30 inches wide?! Lol let me know if you get a chance .,thank you . Be safe in this world of corona virus ..
Obviously you can put a water dish or dispenser in the feeder. Alternatively, I have a 30" high yard sale birdbath 3 wire legs that my last 9 lb kitty could reach up to (back legs on ground). It happens to be next to a patio now and a smaller feral (kinda average size) can reach it at 16 inches. Never paid attention whether she could reach higher. Both cats prefer it over water dishes on ground and coons (at least 3 currently) ignore it even after I pulled heated water dish this spring. Grd water dishes always get dirty every nite.
I built this and it worked wonders for keeping out raccoons and my feral cats love it. However, magpies began to eat me out of house and home. I have a video to show what I did that solved the problem. Can I send it to someone who it can be posted with this video to help other feral cat owners?
I am the owner of this video. I could possibly post the video to the end of this one. Not sure how I could go about getting the video from you. Maybe post it here on UA-cam and then I’ll download it. You would need to give me all rights to it before I can upload it to my channel
That flushing is dangerous at the bottom, it can cut a kitten that's trying to jump up. The bottom of the flushing looks like it will cut something up?
@Madison Daily I do. I feel for all wildlife. Currently we have passing through our yard bear, deer, raccoons, possums, groundhogs, fox, owls, snakes, various amphibians, etc. Coyotes too though I haven't seen them. AND many stray cats. Whew 🙂
We built this exactly & hoped for success, but we have one raccoon, who puts his hind feet on the legs/braces at the bottom, and with his front paws/claws, pulls himself up (We have a night-cam that catches all this) and breached it!! We were so disappointed. My husband modified it, putting the legs/braces, moving it in, and he breached it again last night, by stretching to get his hindfeet on the wood & at that point, shoves the metal sheeting forward so his front pawas reach the top. Grrgh! We're looking now to find further modifications.
Wrap the wood post with the same aluminum flashing. Start bottom, over lapping about half an inch as you go up. Do not start at the top, if you do they can still climb it using the over lap. They are tough to stop! I had to go back and wrap my post, that stopped them.
I did wrap it later on. They can still climb it. I also added an extra 5 inches all the way around the base of the landing, that pretty much stopped the smart one's.
Yes, I’ve had a few beat it. I had to install more flashing under the bottom (under the platform) to keep the raccoons from hanging from the underside and leaping up. I’ll do a follow video when I have time to show the improvements
@@terriandsteves Theses guys will customize for you, you just have to add flashing!! I am in the process now!! www.etsy.com/shop/Undercoverpethouses?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=526974908
It's still doing well. I put flashing under the bottom side b/c I had a couple young strong raccoons learn to use their back legs and hang from the underside and put up around the flashing. I also put flashing around the post, but they still can climb it. The flashing on the underside stopped them. Overall, it still works well
@@Ozarkwild Oh my gosh thank you so much! I have someone who is going to build it for me, and I like yours the best as it has the crossbeam bottom legs so it can be moved, and most just have it in the ground. .. which won't work as I will need to move it based on figuring out if they can jump from high overhead trees etc. I showed them your video and they are going by your basic table design height, and flashing, etc and I was thinking .. I have a mother and young racoons and I knew they would be climbing up that post and trying to get up, and that makes sense you put flashing underneath it.. is there anyway you could post an updated video showing that? I bet I have showed your video to 35 people already and one friend in North Carolina is gong to use your video to have one made as they are SO RARE to find good ones like yours! Lonesome XJ you are a God send!
@@pamdavis9077 I'm about 3 or 4 weeks from releasing a follow up video, I have documented the enhancements I've done. I have one more video to do on it, but I'm out of town for a couple of weeks. I would advise waiting to build yours until seeing the follow up video. I forgot to mention I extended my platform a few inches, and I'm going to extend it even more due to a couple of Raccoons who have also learned to hold on to the screws holding the flashing on and gaining access. If you do go ahead and build one, I advise to raise the total height by 3 inches and then extending the platform (deck) at least 6 to 8 inches all the way around (the flashing would remain in the same location, and the deck would extend the 6 to 8 inches beyond it). Its a war I am going to win with these critters.
Did you ever get the video of your cat feeder enhancements posted? If so, I couldn't find it. We've had several breaches of ours by raccoons, the most recent a couple of nights again-- the most capable & athletic raccoon yet. We will try putting the flashing around the wood post...we were just hoping to see your video first. Thanks
We have a trail cam on the one we use. There are lots of squirrels around, but they don't pay the feeder any attention. Maybe they just don't like cat food.
So glad I found this. Coons are starving my cats and costing me money in cat food. 😾 I'll never understand men who spend thousands of dollars on dogs and gear for hunting them when all ya gotta do is put some catfood out. 😆
Update in Feb 2023: We've been using the feeder I built according to your design and it has worked great. I wish I could share the photos we get from a trail cam...they are amusing. The raccoons stretch their little legs to reach the platform, but they can't, then they climb up the inner post, and that doesn't work either. But they are tenacious!
I keep waiting for the raccoons to drag the ladder over to the food. 😂😂😂😂😂
I have 20 feral cats and about 5 raccoons competing for food! Your build is adorable!
Thank you
That's a badass kitty at the end- making that jump and then recovering from that near fall😻
Wow! That's a very good idea,ive had this problem for over 3yrs & this is going to be my next build! Cnt believe how those raccoons were even going up & down the ladder lol...Thanks for sharing.I know this is yrs ago Hopefully ull see my message.And realize ppl r still watching & learning from ur videos.
Nice work... May I suggest that you add a secondary platform between the roof and the dinning level to make it easier for the cats that jump from the deck railing onto the roof to climb back down to the food.
This guy is a genius who knows his coons, possums, and cats. I intend to use his idea for a cold weather cat house and feeder with a built-in electric blanket for cats. The cat house will have two openings on opposite sides becats have a natural instinct for an escape "out the back door." if threatened. Both entrances will have plastic bendable doors as wind breakers for really cold blustery weather. ... Thanks for the good research and great engineering. ... I'm really jazzed at this solution to a problem no one else has been able to solve.
^..^~~'
Did you try your idea ?
I'm glad I came across this. We feed community/feral cats and the possums are interfering and eating most of the food right now. This isn't "pretty" but it looks like it does the job and that's all that matters. Another use for flashing is to wrap it around a 4x4 post and cross beam used to hang birds feeders from. The squirrels can't climb the flashing. Thanks for sharing this!
Good job! The ladder close by was making me nervous; one day the raccoons will knock it over and make a bridge.
cover the post with aluminum sheets and they will not climb post , i had to cover A/C lines to keep them off my roof
Thank your for taking the time to post this video especially with the raccoons. You gave me an idea to modify this to create an entry into our garage for the outside cats. Somebody dropped them off as kittens and we're allergic so we put a cat door in our heated garage and get them regular shots and vet checks. Naturally, once the raccoons discovered the food...well. So I built a raccoon-proof feeder box but now I can keep those devils out of the garage altogether by moving the cat door up high and creating an entryway through the door based on your plans. Can't wait to try this. Awesome!
I would love to see the picture of this finished idea. Sounds like something that might work for my shed for the outdoor cats.
You are welcome
Very useful info about the raccoons. I didn't know their limitations. I feed stray cats and always have raccoons and possums trying to steal their food after sunset. During the day, I get birds and squirrels eating it too *sigh* The only thing that really worked for me was just feeding them at specific times so they know to come get their meals at those times and then take the dishes back indoors when they're done. The coons are rather smarter than I expected though and after I stopped leaving the dishes out after sunset, they started just coming around earlier in the day to look for them.
the only solution is put a little bit of food out at a time, at least the coons can't get that much. I don't think the older cats can jump that high either. you have to be careful, coons will kill cats over food, I"ve lost a few to them for sure.
You thought of everything!!! Funny videos of cats & raccoons!!!
Good thing raccoons aren't as smart as honey badgers. A honey badger would have pushed the crate or something closer to gain access.
It was helpful to learn about the lateral jumping ability of raccoons. Do you add something to deter birds from eating the food? I find that can also be a big problem.
I've been searching for table brackets but I think this would work better. We have raccoons and possums here too. You can feed them some puppy chow if it helps prevent them from getting into your compost, garbage etc. and being really noisy. Raccoons have territories that don't overlap so you don't have to worry about dozens showing up.
I need to build a feeder plus a platform under a high cat flap to only allow cats to have access to our garage. Maybe I can do that on our side door. It's an old wooden door I could even cut through the single pane glass for the cat flap to still allow our resident community cats to get out of the snow etc. Birds won't be able to eat their food in there. I have heated seedling mats under dishes of wet food and in some sleeping shelters. I have cozy insulated totes with straw bedding in them too.
I could maybe put flashing under the eve so raccoons couldn't climb down off the roof onto the door platform.
If that wouldn't work I could maybe do something using the back window of the garage where there's already plywood in one half of the window.
I first learned about raccoon proof feeders from a vet who's built them. She posted basic information on catinfo dot org. It's great noncommercial site about cat nutrition cited by many rescues and Jackson Galaxy. Our cat vet even prints out pages to hand out to clients. It's been a great help to prevent health issues, especially now that there are fewer vets available in my area.
Yeah, I would prob just shoot the badger.
Oh my god, THANK YOU!! I hope this works as well as I expect it to. I'm building 3 of them for all of our feral and outdoor cats.
Hi there were you able to build them? Mine is a little too high and the cats can’t get up at so I’m trying to figure out the right distance and some kind of launching pad for them.
@@pamdavis9077I built something like it. It’s very similar, just larger and a little taller than what this gentleman built. It works for my cats, however, my cats are young and nimble so they can jump up onto it and pull themselves up. It does NOT work for kittens, juveniles, older cats, etc.
Wow, people make sure you watch the ending cus that's the proof this contraption is well thought out. That one racoon made one heck of a jump from the ground cus he missed it from the fence but made it from the bottom. Cool seeing the raccons relentlessly trying to getting up there. Poor kitty got surrounded by them, I was worried at first how he'd get away. This video may be 6 years since posted..But im thankful it's still up here and I found it. Been researching for days on this. Helped me figure out how I can hopefully keep them from eating my feral kitty's food I give him. Opossums and raccoons pissing me off eating the not so cheap cat food I'm trying to fatten up the feral cat ive found is sleeping on a shelf inside my tool cabinet that sits on my covered back porch. I don't want to do anything that'd harm or scare off the cat,but I sure as hell am not buying food for some neighborhood army of raccoons and opossums. And this so far is the only quite simple solution I've found that seems to prevent both the raccoons and opossums. I'll be starting this build tomorrow morning...though the wood I've got to use is all scrap and I'll just use deck wood sealer to prevent it from rotting, then I've got some thin old diamond plate ( not good for much else than this sort of project) ill use around the bottom sides..Unless i find it gives them traction to climb up it. If it doesn't work, I think it's well worth buying the flashing. Only thing ide not do is have it near the roof cus the raccoons I have around here I've seen jump a good 8ft down off my rooftop onto a chainlink fence, granted they barley landed and were quiet wobbly landing but they did it. Anyways, thank you for sharing this!
The ONLY thing that would worry me about how you did it, is if some animal, or a wind coming and knocking your feeder though the glass. I personally would temporarily anchor the base wood to the deck. Even if you used bungee cords or slipped some "L" brackets through the deck slots
He does need to be able to move it, so think about that, too.
This style of feeder is proven to work. If it's a tad low or Coons get up I put met strips around the edge of the platform too, so they can't reach up and dig in. Thx for the vid.
What do you mean by met strips? My table worked for 10 yrs but recently one raccoon has somehow been able to reach up and jump up to grab the ledge and get up on my table.
My husband used your design and built one for our cat The Mouser. It works great!!! Thank you so much for sharing!!!
What a great design! Thanks for sharing!
This looks easy to build. I'm going to build one identical to this. Thank you!
You can also wrap the post in flashing. That will prevent climbing and make it much more resistant.
Awesome! I’m building this for the feral cats here... I have 6 and I’m worried that the old one won’t be able to jump up that high. There is also 7 raccoons in the neighbourhood. the 2 mature females are big so it’ll be interesting if they can get up there. @ 8:22 in the video one raccoon did make a leap from the ground, it was just after he fell after trying to jump from the railing ..... Hope this works!
Were you able to build one?
Great video! Thanks for sharing all the measurements! Excited to make something similar!
This is the greatest design ever! It works 100%. We built off this video and painted to match the house. It’s a lifesaver. Place cat food bowl in the center in an aluminum roasting pan with 1.5” of water and that keeps the Ants away. Easy Peezy.
Glad it works for you! And glad I could help. I had to modify mine a little over the years, but it's the same basic design. If they learn to hang under the bottom and pull the flashing inward to gain access, you can nail flashing to the underside and that will stop it, it's what I had to do.
I have a way to make the feeder ant-proof. I have used this on several feral cat feeders and it works perfectly...no need to moat food bowls in water anymore. Get a tub of TangleFoot insect barrier (on Amazon). Smear it around the entire circumference of the center pole, up high as possible to keep it up away from animals. Ants will not cross it. Might need to replenish it a couple times a year...especially if applied to bare wood) but a tub will last forever. Works great on the hooks on hummingbird feeders, too.
I’m also improvising with the same problem. It’s an experiment every time in order to achieve a better outcome. Mine incorporates an automatic feeder. The metal flashing might be what I need! Thanks for sharing.
Nice, love it when raccoons get outsmarted.
Raccoons are little buggars! They have an important job, and some of them are actually nice about leaving the cat food alone. But most are not! If I have anything to share, (out of date eggs, food scraps etc. ) I put it out in the woods in the same spot each time, so they know if I have anything, that is where it will be. Then I bring the cat food in at sunset, and give them a last call at bedtime. That is hard for ferals, but I put it back in the morning. MOSTLY, the raccs don't come by till it is dark.
That looks badass!
LOL!!! I love the music you put for the Racoons... Funny!!!! Nice design BTW.
That's awesome! The raccoons are awfully cute trying to get up there, but glad they can't!
Absolutely amazing! Thank u I needed this idea for the Ferals!
I feed stray cats and have problems with possums and raccoons eating the food, costing me money in food. This gave me some good ideas for a feeding station setup.
This is awesome. Those raccoons are relentless geez
Omg I love this!! I am trying to feed my raccoons, opossums and cats but can't keep my poor cats happy because the raccoons will take it all 😂
Awesome video! Thank you!
Skunks have been known to jump up on garbage cans. I hope its more than 4-1/2 feet high. GREAT job on the aluminum flashing you put around the entrance to the feeder! I have seen a raccoon try AND make it on to my round edged, round, plastic patio table.
Did you ever figure out how to get it raccoon proof?
We had one built using your video by one of our neighbors. He volunteered. Our platform is roughly half the size you show. I am wondering if that is why our ferals are not jumping up to the feeder. Can you tell me how long it took for your cats to adjust to eating from it & any suggestions? Thank you so much for sharing this video.
I think they will jump up there if they get hungry enough. Maybe put a box or small table in front of it to close the distance (like a step) to let them get used to it. Then pull it away and they will know there is food up there.
Very helpful. Thank you.
Hello! Wanted to let you know that I finally made my own feeding platform and DIY video and I gave you a shout-out! Thanks!
Nice! The raccoons are a menace. Thanks for sharing
yes-- LOVE IT!
Pretty slick!
Will give this a try, thank you
can you post a hand drawing of the proper dimensions please. how high to platform, dimensions of platform distance from railing etc. thank you!
That’s awesome 😂
Appreciate the video.Helped a lot!
Thank you. Current one at 28 inches with flashing isn't working. Guess we'll make kitties jump higher. Good video.
Did you ever get your modified? I’m trying to do this and built one but yet I got it’s too high and the cats won’t jump that high and if I do a launching pad, the raccoons can use it to get to the table.
We have bears here. They would just slap this down and have dinner after they stop laughing. Then after being lured here they would come inside and eat what’s in your refrigerator for dessert. It’s hard to fool Mother Nature.
Yeah we have bear at my hunting club. I've to come with with a true bear proof deer feeder. Not for lack of effort.
Good idea very helpful
Very smart design.
Thank you
The racoons get an A for effort! : )
sweet, thanks for that.
Those raccoons are pretty small compared to the ones we have around here. One year I put my bagged garbage inside my house a little too close to my front door (temporary until I took it off the following day) and a giant raccoon destroyed the floor below my door trying to reach it. A following night, trying to figure out what the heck destroyed my door, I put more garbage inside after fixing the door but stayed up. Come to find out it was a raccoon about the size of a medium to large dog. Never before or since seen such a large raccoon. I'm in a situation now where I want to feed a feral cat (temporarily) until I can get it to a vet for vaccines/checkup and also win its trust before bringing it inside. This all assumes it survives long enough. The wildlife here is generally pretty big. Even the hawks are big enough to take off with a cat.
Did you ever wind up getting kitty inside?
Great idea! I was thinking about building this structure 40" up on the side of our shop/garage. Same concept, just braced to a wall instead of on a post. Do you think that would work?
I have something similar to what you are describing and the racoons can climb walls so you have to put flashing everywhere. They will also climb on the roof to get down to it if possible.
My brain just thought this up. Would it work?
What if you built a small tube opening from the bottom of this type of construction? The small size would make it possible for only the kittens to enter. They could climb up the tube to the food. You would place the hole at the bottom of the construction so the cat squeezes between the floor and the tube entrance. Then the kittens crawl up the tube to the food?
Alternate:
Create a kitten-sized feeding area attached to the floor. It would be a mound (box shape would be easier) with kitten-sized entry. Inside would be food/water. What do you think?
Any tube that leads to food will end up with some critter's head stuck in it. Or even a whole kitten perhaps.
Thank you I seen your video about 2 years ago I've been looking for it since . It just popped up again .Know I can make it I made sure I saved it this time .
Glad you found it again! Thanks for watching
I will take one. 😁😎👍😉 Really could use it, raccoons hv came this year to my Cat shelter. Live near a river in a town... oy
Thank you so much for caring and building this and sharing! I see it works for racoons and cats but do you or anyone know if will it work for the Little "Posey possum" who also comes? For my house area, I put a radio out and play it and the Racoons have yet to come near the radio but the opossums don't care about the radio and walk right by it. .
Yep... It actually works better for Possums than Raccoons. The Raccoons are pretty crafty and won't give up easy. The Possums will climb under and hand there for a while and finally leave. I would recommend, as added protection, to wrap the post in aluminum sheets, this will make it harder for the Raccoons to climb - or better use a steal post. At any rate, after you build it, put a camera on it. It is funny to watch.
I’m just reading this . Ok that’s good to know as I have both as most ! . I’m getting a plan together to make one.. your video is good and Aim sure has helped many kitties through the people youve helped!!! Thanks again
excellent video. thank you for sharing! i'm wondering if kittens would be able to access it.
No, I thought the same thing. You just have to bring the food inside before other nocturnal critters show up.
We have a question.
How do you get the kittens up in this cat feeder?
The caretakers are desperate to know. Thank you.
Does this feeder stay put during stormy / windy weather? Great idea, but feel bad for the racoon bandits as they're hungry too. I'm struggling right now putting food out for cats and today had a momma raccoon and four babies out in my yard eating it. Plus, my neighbor isn't happy with them coming around because of their small dogs (although they've actually been around for years...they just haven't seen them). Lately I've been taking the food in at night and now the raccoons are coming during the day. Yikes!
I wanted to let you know that I just build one thanks to you
Awesome! Hope it works out for you.
What are the dimensions of the base?
put the water bowl in there too.
I Built one at 43 inches and our local Racoon Laughed at us by jumping and pulling himself up on the platform...pfft
Mine is 46 inches and then it’s too high for the cats. One cat made it but the other one that is so skinny and weak couldn’t make it so I’m doing launching pads and then the raccoons can launch. This is so hard to get it just right where the raccoons won’t make it to the table.!!
We have coyotes. I wonder if they can get into the feeder?
I would have put a raccoon feeder out too knowing me
Bears? I have struggled with the same problem w/Raccoon, Possum, mice, bugs, ants etc... Thanks!
Hi. Great idea. I'd like to make this - can you tell me the lengths of the 2x4's on the ground? I'm new at woodworking & I don't want to cut it too short or waste wood by cutting it too long. Thanks!!
QuincieJMc
The 2x4’s on the ground are 28 inches. The 1x4’s on ground are 30 inches. I made the 1x4’s a little longer to support any potential front/rear sway movement. Go at least 28 inches on the 2x4 and 1x4’s and it will be fine.
thereistand - thanks for the quick reply! I do appreciate it.
I wonder if smaller kittens can make the jump tho?
Put some food down for racoons too and they will not try anymore to steal cats food.
This is amazing! I am going to try it. One question: did you have to train your cats to use it? The cats I feed are all feral now and they run from me.
No need to train the cats, they will smell the food and make the jump
@@Ozarkwild Thanks!
I know what I forgot to ask you . If you mentioned, I didn’t catch it . How long are the 2x4s on bottom for support? I see your deck flooring . The supports sit on about 6 of those. deck boards gotta be 6-8 inches wide . I’m guessing the 2x4s are 30 inches wide?! Lol let me know if you get a chance .,thank you . Be safe in this world of corona virus ..
I have mine at 42 inches high but one big raccoon can consistently make it up? Big raccoon though?
Did you ever get solution
Please help how do I keep the raccoons from soiling the water feeder for feral kitties
Obviously you can put a water dish or dispenser in the feeder. Alternatively, I have a 30" high yard sale birdbath 3 wire legs that my last 9 lb kitty could reach up to (back legs on ground). It happens to be next to a patio now and a smaller feral (kinda average size) can reach it at 16 inches. Never paid attention whether she could reach higher. Both cats prefer it over water dishes on ground and coons (at least 3 currently) ignore it even after I pulled heated water dish this spring. Grd water dishes always get dirty every nite.
I built this and it worked wonders for keeping out raccoons and my feral cats love it. However, magpies began to eat me out of house and home. I have a video to show what I did that solved the problem. Can I send it to someone who it can be posted with this video to help other feral cat owners?
I am the owner of this video. I could possibly post the video to the end of this one. Not sure how I could go about getting the video from you. Maybe post it here on UA-cam and then I’ll download it. You would need to give me all rights to it before I can upload it to my channel
@@Ozarkwild I have ever posted on UA-cam but I could send it as a email attachment if you would kindly give me your email address. It is very short.
I notice you haven't used this feeder yet - how'd it do?
Been using it for years. Works great
Our racoons defeated this.
Some of mine have learned how to do the same. I have made some minor mods
That flushing is dangerous at the bottom, it can cut a kitten that's trying to jump up. The bottom of the flushing looks like it will cut something up?
How do you keep squirels out
I don't have any trouble with them on the cat feeder... But the bird feeder, that's another story.
I really wanna do this but the cat im tryna feed is a baby so idk if it will be able to make the jump :(
It's a beautiful job !! How pesty are the bears there in regards to the cat food ?
Funny footage 😄
@Madison Daily I do. I feel for all wildlife. Currently we have passing through our yard bear, deer, raccoons, possums, groundhogs, fox, owls, snakes, various amphibians, etc. Coyotes too though I haven't seen them. AND many stray cats. Whew 🙂
We built this exactly & hoped for success, but we have one raccoon, who puts his hind feet on the legs/braces at the bottom, and with his front paws/claws, pulls himself up (We have a night-cam that catches all this) and breached it!! We were so disappointed. My husband modified it, putting the legs/braces, moving it in, and he breached it again last night, by stretching to get his hindfeet on the wood & at that point, shoves the metal sheeting forward so his front pawas reach the top. Grrgh! We're looking now to find further modifications.
Wrap the wood post with the same aluminum flashing. Start bottom, over lapping about half an inch as you go up. Do not start at the top, if you do they can still climb it using the over lap. They are tough to stop! I had to go back and wrap my post, that stopped them.
@@Ozarkwild Do you have a picture? I’m trying to picture what you’re saying, but I’m not sure I understand. Thank you!
Replace the aluminum sheeting with a thicker grade.
why didn't you wrap the post with flashing too?
I did wrap it later on. They can still climb it. I also added an extra 5 inches all the way around the base of the landing, that pretty much stopped the smart one's.
But the rain will blow in from the sides too, not just the top???
Rain blows in to the landing, but the interior of the box stays pretty much dry.
Hi,
Have you had any racoons beat it?
Yes, I’ve had a few beat it. I had to install more flashing under the bottom (under the platform) to keep the raccoons from hanging from the underside and leaping up. I’ll do a follow video when I have time to show the improvements
@@Ozarkwild thanks. I am battling some racoons at my almost racoon proof setup and am going to create a second feeding station like yours.
Do you make these and sell and ship them? I desperately need this. I live in PA.
I guess no reply means no. Sigh.
@@terriandsteves Theses guys will customize for you, you just have to add flashing!! I am in the process now!! www.etsy.com/shop/Undercoverpethouses?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=526974908
can you give an update on how it is doing? Did you put flashing around the bottom post?
It's still doing well. I put flashing under the bottom side b/c I had a couple young strong raccoons learn to use their back legs and hang from the underside and put up around the flashing. I also put flashing around the post, but they still can climb it. The flashing on the underside stopped them. Overall, it still works well
@@Ozarkwild Oh my gosh thank you so much! I have someone who is going to build it for me, and I like yours the best as it has the crossbeam bottom legs so it can be moved, and most just have it in the ground. .. which won't work as I will need to move it based on figuring out if they can jump from high overhead trees etc. I showed them your video and they are going by your basic table design height, and flashing, etc and I was thinking .. I have a mother and young racoons and I knew they would be climbing up that post and trying to get up, and that makes sense you put flashing underneath it.. is there anyway you could post an updated video showing that? I bet I have showed your video to 35 people already and one friend in North Carolina is gong to use your video to have one made as they are SO RARE to find good ones like yours! Lonesome XJ you are a God send!
@@pamdavis9077 I'm about 3 or 4 weeks from releasing a follow up video, I have documented the enhancements I've done. I have one more video to do on it, but I'm out of town for a couple of weeks. I would advise waiting to build yours until seeing the follow up video. I forgot to mention I extended my platform a few inches, and I'm going to extend it even more due to a couple of Raccoons who have also learned to hold on to the screws holding the flashing on and gaining access. If you do go ahead and build one, I advise to raise the total height by 3 inches and then extending the platform (deck) at least 6 to 8 inches all the way around (the flashing would remain in the same location, and the deck would extend the 6 to 8 inches beyond it). Its a war I am going to win with these critters.
Did you ever get the video of your cat feeder enhancements posted? If so, I couldn't find it. We've had several breaches of ours by raccoons, the most recent a couple of nights again-- the most capable & athletic raccoon yet. We will try putting the flashing around the wood post...we were just hoping to see your video first. Thanks
What about squirrels? They can jump.
Squirrels haven't been an issue so far
We have a trail cam on the one we use. There are lots of squirrels around, but they don't pay the feeder any attention. Maybe they just don't like cat food.
@@salgentile1686 that’s been my experience. They don’t like cat food
Putting 15,16,17 or 18 pounds of cat food out at one time is just a waste.
So glad I found this. Coons are starving my cats and costing me money in cat food. 😾 I'll never understand men who spend thousands of dollars on dogs and gear for hunting them when all ya gotta do is put some catfood out. 😆
strange to see the measurement inches being used in this modern day... imperial lol
I live in the USA where we use inches to measure and miles to drive