In a previous post in our Community Cat Awareness series, we talked about maintaining feeding stations for community cats. Today we're discussing how you can build a feeding station.
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DIY Feeding Station
When doing research for this post I came across many different ideas for building feeding stations, ranging from very simple to somewhat complex. This DIY design from Alley Cat Allies is a simple way to make a great feeding station, and it's one of my favorites.
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Supplies You Will Need:
A large plastic tub that is approximately 30 gallons
Two pressure treated 2x4s a few inches taller than the tub (approximately 18 inches)Step by Step Instructions:
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| Photo: Alley Cat Allies |
Alley Cat Allies also has a great video showing you how to put it together. (You can also download a PDF with the instructions here.)
Here's an example of what it will look like:
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These are two more samples, from Neighborhood Cats, of feeding stations you can make with plastic totes.
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If you're very handy, you can make this feeding station with the instructions from Alley Cat Allies.
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In our previous post, I discussed the fact that sometimes feeding stations need to be away from the public eye. Below are a couple of samples of DIY feeding stations that are camouflaged and placed safely away from people.
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| Feeding station made with an artificial rock. Photo by Ashot K via Flickr. |
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| Photo by Ashot K via Flickr. |
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| Photo by Ashot K via Flickr. |
For even more great DIY ideas, check out this album on Flickr by Ashot K.
Pre-Built Feeding Stations
There are also pre-built feeding stations that you can purchase. Feral Villa is a great company that sells supplies for colony caretakers.
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The small feeding station pictured above is $39.95, with discounts available for orders of multiple stations. There is also a larger one which retails for $84.95, with discounts for multiple orders.
Etsy has some wonderful feeding stations, too. Undercover Pet Houses sells this feeding station,
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as well as others. They are also available on Amazon.
If you're feeding cats in your private backyard, the Rockever Outdoor Cat Shelter, which is available on Amazon for $135.00, is adorable.
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These are just a few samples of feeding stations. The type you will have depends on many factors such as climate, location, community involvement, local ordinances, etc. Unfortunately, not all communities are community cat friendly, so please choose the type and location that will be the safest for the cats you feed. Even if it's not possible for you to have a feeding station, a community cat appreciates your kindness and attention in any way you feed them.
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This rounds out our Community Cat Awareness posts for 2021. We'll be back in 2022 with more posts in this series. If you've missed any of our Community Cat Awareness posts, you can catch up on them here.
Do you have a feeding station for cats? We'd love to hear about it in the comments. We'd also like to know if there are any topics you'd like us to write about next year.
Dawn
Additional Posts in This Series:
About the Author:
Dawn White is an award-winning writer/blogger and the author of Lola: Diary of a Rescued Cat. Dawn has been writing in the pet industry for over seven years and has been a contributing writer for the Jackson Galaxy Project’s Cat Pawsitive Pro Program, BlogPaws, and Chewy.com.
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These are great instructions!
ReplyDeleteThese ARE great instructions...and it's good to see what they look like as well when finished. I only wish that cats were spayed and neutered, as do the rest of us...to avoid these circumstances.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing these easy-to-follow instructions! We are grateful for all of those kind humans who look out for the community cats.
ReplyDeleteThose are all good ones. We have 2 feeding stations for our feral family. Our feeding stations are deck boxes with the lid removed and turned on the side. We drill quite a few holes in the new bottom to allow any water to drain out.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post. My heart goes out to all kitties outdoors especially this time of year. XO
ReplyDeleteThese are such wonderful ideas!
ReplyDeleteThose are all great ideas and the community cats are sure to appreciate them.
ReplyDeleteNice tutorial from Alley Cat Allies! Thank you for sharing these.
ReplyDeleteGreat info about building a feeding station-so wonderful that many people help feed kitties!
ReplyDelete