How to keep Cats away from bird feeders
While common backyard pests like squirrels or raccoon's can be a nuisance on bird feeders, let's not forget our pets can be a pain when it comes to bird feeders.
How to keep bird feeders safe from cats is making sure any kind of bird feeder is well out of reach. If that means changing the bird feeder style currently in ownership, then so be it. Likely cause of nuisance cats is the bird food, thus its worth removing bird food for now until the cat problem has gone away.
Whether its your own cat or a neighbors, the likelihood of cats disturbing a bird feeder setup is rare, as the bird food isn't something that usually interests a cat.
With that in mind what you may be using is kitchen scraps in which a cat can be attracted to. You'd then have no choice but to replace scraps with proper wild bird food to at least deter cats away from bird feeder food for now.
How to really keep cats out of bird feeders is by making sure they are well out of reach.
Bird feeders that hang must be used or else it can be impossible to utilize this strategy, whereby a bird feeder on the ground is open to all.
To keep cats away from bird feeders would be to locate bird feeders in the open. Cats will therefore be seen so you can scare them off - while cats can be more timid if they know you can see them - so they may not stick around long enough.
Hang bird feeders up to 6 feet off the ground as its beyond a cats jumping range, with an option to use long thin steel wire to hang bird feeders off a tree branch.
Feeders within a tree can be made accessible by cats from all directions; with use of wire at least we can stop cats descending on feeders as wire can hurt them.
Hang in clearing so cats are seen
Cats can be seen to leave bird feeders well alone as there's little food available in a bird feeder a cat wants to eat - but they can be more playful rather than wanting to eat.
What that means for you is to keep bird feeders out in the open, to provide enough clearing so you can keep an eye on your own cat or a neighbors kitty arriving in your yard to investigate any kind of bird feeder.
How to keep bird feeder safe is to make sure feeders can be hung at first, as this out of reach bird feeder can give you more time to scare off cats before they access it.
Clearing can be a centralized area on your lawn which is where a bird feeder pole is commonly located.
What you are looking for is allowing cats to see you, and know your are there. In which a cat won't settle long enough around bird feeders if they know you can come out of the house anytime.
Make sure you can see cats at bird feeders in a clearing while making it known to cats you can see them - even if it means making noise to get their attention.
Feeders must hang 6ft. up
To keep your nuisance cat out of bird feeders you'd need to hang them off a bird feeder pole, or on a bracket up to 6 feet off the ground.
Cats can jump up to 5 feet directly off the ground while they can quickly scale a vertical wall to provide leverage for them to climb higher; you've probably seen cats jump up your fence this way so you can imagine a bird feeder would be easily reached.
What you must do then is hang any bird feeder up to 6 feet off the ground if possible.
Lower than this you shouldn't be surprised to find out bird feeders are still within reach of cats - and so you can't keep it like this.
Rely on a bird feeding station or Shepherd's hook pole as cats will have no leverage to climb up a pole like a squirrel can.
And if cats can be seen to jump to reach a hanging style bird feeder, the likely outcome is that cats would have no choice than to instantly drop back to the ground.
Hang bird feeders to not only keep bird feeders out of reach of cats; its that a hanging bird feeder can be hard for cats to balance on if they do succeed in jumping on it.
Out of reach of cats
While I recommend you always go for a bird feeder pole to hang bird feeders off at up to 6 feet off the ground, the name of the game is to keep bird feeders out of reach of cats if you utilize other bird feeders.
With that in mind, if you have a cat problem it won't go away if you continue to use any open top bird feeder.
Cats on occasion may be able to hold onto a hanging bird feeder - such as a tube or wire bird feeder - yet will achieve nothing in their efforts. While any open dish filled with bird feed will give cats a platform to stand on.
For now you'd need to pack-away platform bird feeders only 3 feet off the ground, or a wire dish that is mounted to the bird feeder pole.
Revert to hanging bird feeders off a pole with an option to hang bird feeders in a tree.
Cats can spend time in a tree to relax or hunt for wild birds. What you must do then is be sure a bird feeder hung off a tree branch is still out of reach of cats - as they would normally use an adjacent branch to reach bird feeders.
If there's a risk of cats descending on bird feeders from an above point, then hang the bird feeders off a 1 to 2 feet length of thin stainless steel wire - as cats claw would never get around a thin wire - while at the same time would cause discomfort if cats tries.
To summarize
How unfortunate that a cat is playing up around your bird feeder because for most of us, cats are often seen to leave bird feeders alone.
With that a cat may be interested in what you are offering wild birds, thus a change in bird food may be all that's needed.
Keep bird feeders safe from cats by using hanging bird feeders only, that way you can keep them well out of reach of a cats jumping range.
In the meantime you'd want to locate any kind of bird feeder in a clearing so you can keep an eye on a cats comings and goings. With that you'd also want to let cats know you are there by making noise - to let a cat know you can see them.
Cats would then unlikely to play up around with bird feeders if you can see them, just as a cat won't poop if seen by people.
Hang bird feeders up to 6 feet off the ground while any ground platform bird feeders or a platform bird feeder on a pole - only 3 feet off the ground - must be packed away.
Cats can be tempted to certain wild bird food yet can be attracted to a source of food that uses scraps out of your kitchen. Its vital then you miss out people food while putting birds on a strict diet of seeds - up until cats leave the bird feeders alone.
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