4 Cat Proof Bird Feeder Designs: Best Way To Keep Those Birds Safe!
With the weather getting warmer and birds flocking by the millions, you’ll soon be needing to provide some extra food for them.
You’re about to read some seriously cat-proof designs for bird feeders. These are some of the smartest bird feeder designs that have come to light over the years.
It’s funny how you can make these super-smart cat-proof bird feeder designs by using common items found around your house. Check out these 4 cat-proof bird feeder designs.
4 Cat Proof Bird Feeders to Keep the Cats out and the Birds Safe
Birds-I-View Window Bird Feeder
In my opinion, this is the optimal strategy if the room in question has any available windows. This bird feeder, designed like a home, can be attached to a window using suction cups, and its tray can be pulled out for easy refilling.
Please explain how it is feline-proof.
When it’s attached to a window, it’s nearly impossible for a cat—or any other animal or rodent—to enter.
Making sure there are no ledges close by that a cat may use as a stepping stone is a no-brainer. That’s because if they do, they’ll pull it right off the window and wreak havoc.
In addition to being a pleasant and secure option, it also has other benefits. The fact that, from the opposite side of the glass, you can have an unobstructed glimpse of the birds as they feed is the actual selling point. Really neat!
Go Simply Amazing Window Bird Feeder
Having a backup plan, such as this additional window feeder, is usually a good idea. It’s not as tall as the Birds-I-View replica up top, but it serves the same purpose.
After viewing some customer-shot footage of birds eating from this feeder, I can confidently declare that it’s the most fun you can have watching birds without leaving your yard.
A few words on the logistics of implementing such a feeder;
Put it in a spot where you won’t be bothered by the accumulation of bird droppings below it if it gets heavy use;
It is possible that leaving a food trail from the previous feeding spot would attract birds;
For a more secure hold on the window, wet the suction cups or even apply a drop of coconut oil;
Caged Tube Bird Feeder – Audubon Park
This Audubon Park model might be perfect if you’d rather have a feeder that hangs in your garden than one that sticks to a window.
The tube in the middle contains bird food, and the tips provide a feeding surface. They are put in a wire cage to keep cats and other animals from bothering them.
However, the location of this type of feeder does affect its efficiency. You’ll want to find a sturdy limb to hang it on. In such a way that cunning felines can’t find a way in.
To prevent a cat from pouncing and catching a bird. However, if a cat can get close enough, it will continue to shove its paw through the bars and scare the birds.
Droll Yankees Domed Bird Feeder
Another wire enclosure with effective anti-cat features. The unique feature of this design is the cage’s domed top, which prevents cats from easily climbing or sitting on the cage and also prevents them from reaching into the cage below.
The tube that provides food is integrated into the cage itself. The bird food may be poured in via the top and the container then sealed.
Having a dome at the top of the cage means that birds may fly in from the outside and feed without being harmed.
If you want to make sure your birds are secure while using this cage, hang it where a cat can’t get to it.
Why Do Cats Attack Birds?
It’s in a cat’s DNA to stalk and pounce on its victim. Most housecats still like going on hunting expeditions, even though they never have to worry about starvation when they have a steady supply of food sent to them.
The factors that drive males and females are distinct from one another. Hunting is a primary way that male cats establish control in their territories and satisfy their primal need for excitement.
While male cats hunt for food, female cats seek to provide for their young.
If you’re interested, I explained why felines sometimes bring home corpses.
What Else Can You Do to Protect Birds from Cats?
It’s excellent to have a cat-proof bird cage so the birds may feel safe while they dine. Try one or more of the following, though, if you’re still dealing with hostile felines and frightened avian residents:
If your cat is causing problems, try attaching a bell to their collar. One of the earliest and most reliable methods of alerting nearby birds to the presence of a cat is the use of bells.
Cats should be neutered if you don’t want young males to roam your neighborhood looking for live prey. Spaying and neutering house cats is strongly encouraged for several reasons. One such motivation is to reduce their aggression and bloodlust.
Reduce the appeal of your garden to neighborhood cats – You may make your garden less appealing to neighbors cats if their intrusion is an issue.
Lavender, rue, and pennyroyal are all aromatic herbs that cats find repulsive, so planting them is one way to discourage them from visiting your garden.
Or, if you’ve identified one or two entry points that felines are utilizing to get access to your garden, you may seal them off.
It’s one of the tougher things to do. Cats are quite nimble and obstinate creatures, if they want to get into your garden there is a significant possibility they will do so.
But it doesn’t do any damage to attempt to stop them, or at the very least make it less fun.
Perfect the Feeder’s Placement
When attempting to keep your animal buddy away from your guests, the location of the bird feeder is crucial. Putting up bird feeders in a highly visible position makes it harder for your cat to sneak up on the birds undetected.
Birds usually do well taking care of themselves when they are aware of the presence of cats. The real danger comes from the cats hiding in plain sight.
You may further decrease the likelihood that your cat will try to leap onto the feeder by positioning it away from any nearby trees.
It’s not often that cats succeed in making a kill after jumping down from a tree, but that doesn’t stop them from giving it a go.
Use citrus
Citrus scents are quite offensive to cats. However, a bird’s sense of smell is subpar. They won’t be able to smell the citrus, and even if they can, they won’t care.
Citrus can thus be used to deter a cat from a bird feeder. Place citrus peels on the ground or rub citrus oil onto the underside of the feeder. You shouldn’t put it near the seeds because it’s usually poisonous to the birds if they eat it.
Citrus oil can also be used topically by simply sprinkling it on the ground.
A variety of other oils can serve the same purpose. Most cats hate vinegar, although it’s a common home necessity.
However, in large quantities it will be lethal to grass and other plants. So, be cautious about using undiluted vinegar in your garden.
As an alternative, you can buy deterrents that have already been manufactured. Citrus oil is a common ingredient, although oftentimes just a few additional items are added to them.
They are often rather pricey despite the fact that you can probably achieve the same results with a homebrew.
Lay Out Spikes
A bird feeder with metal spikes surrounding it is probably not a good idea. Cacti and other plants, however, are an entirely different matter.
Cats, like humans, often dislike sharp objects. They don’t like stepping on these at all. Easy cat exclusion may be achieved by planting cacti or other similar plants in areas where they are suitable.
The prickly earth won’t bother the birds. If they want to get to the feeder, they can accomplish it without ever touching the ground.
Rose bushes and related plants can also be used. The situation is exacerbated here, too, because some cats may choose for the cover of thorny plants instead. The rose bushes do not all have sharp thorns.
Use Pepper
Casin, the “spicy” component in peppers, causes an allergic reaction in cats. The cat may safely smell it without worry of danger.
Dilute a cayenne-based sauce with water and sprinkle it over the bird feeder to create a pepper spray. The bushes and the floor surrounding the bird feeder should be targeted because these are places the cat loves to hide.
It’s unlikely that spraying the bird feeder itself will have much of an effect.
Rather than making a spray, you may just sprinkle cayenne pepper flakes on the ground near the bird feeder. If a cat starts sniffing about, it will get an unpleasant surprise from the odor.
Install Motion-Detecting Sprinklers
Some motion-activated sprinklers are great for discouraging cats from specific regions. Water is usually avoided at all costs by cats. If they don’t, the unexpectedness of the water spray is usually enough to keep cats from coming back.
The primary drawback of such gadgets is their high price. When the birds are nearby, they may also sound an alarm and power up. Similarly unpleasant for a bird is being doused with water.
However, if cats keep getting doused with water, they probably won’t come back.
Keep Your Cat Indoors
If your own cats are lurking about the bird feeder, it’s probably best to keep them indoors. If you succeed in scaring them away from the bird feeder, they will most likely find another source of bird food.
You may probably guess that this is really undesirable. Your cat will still kill birds, but probably not at your feeder. Little prevents them from endangering vulnerable or all birds.
Of course, if you can’t find the cat’s owner and the cat keeps coming back to your bird feeder, you don’t have much of a choice.
Although they represent the greatest threat to the local avian species, feral cats are also largely beyond your control.
Use Bird-Proof Collars
Some collars claim to be impenetrable by birds, and they are worth looking into.
Not having hard data to back up their claims, we can’t advocate employing them entirely. To the contrary, we advise combining it with other approaches.
The risk is small as long as you get a collar that can withstand the elements.
These neckwear accessories are available in a wide variety of styles. Bells on some of them attract birds by making noise as the cat walks.
Some of them have fluorescent or even ultraviolet hues. The idea is that birds have an exceptionally high sensitivity to certain hues, making it more likely that they will spot the cat.
Prefer watching videos? Here you go;
Conclusion
We hope this 4 Cat Proof Bird Feeder Designs has helped you in some way. We hope you are inspired to build something that can help others.
We have listed our favorite bird feeders and bird feeder designs. It’s also important that you make it easy for birds to enter and exit the feeder so that they are less likely to become trapped inside.
source https://catshint.com/cat-proof-bird-feeder/
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