I am an animal lover, all animals. I put bowls of dry cat food on our porches for strays. Although I feed the birds at several different feeders, the birds are always eating the cat food. This results in droppings on our porches and railings. I conducted an experiment; I put a bowl of bird food next to a bowl of cat food, and then I watched. The birds devoured the cat food and paid almost no attention to the bird food. (I bring the bowls in at night.)
By EMMY from Mogantown, WV
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As far as I know there is no way to stop birds from doing this. The jays have cleaned out a large bowl at my house in just a morning. I just feed my cat and bring the bowl in and out, in and out.
Jays are meat eaters. If they can, they even steal squirrel babies as well as bird babies. Jays do not like to crawl inside anything. You may see what the cats can tolerate in the way of going inside some type of cover that the jays will not enter.
I have a stray that loves are patio which only a 3 season.
Feed the cat dry and wet food also water everyday.
In the warmer weather I see a Blue
Jay always in there eating the kibble.
He flies in and out couple times a day.
They took over my closed in porch .(I keep the door ajared so they can get out and not trapped.)
Dont mind love watching them .
Beleive it or not they feel safe. Amazing.
Yes, jays & crows like cat food. During mating/spring especially. They need the extra meat protein for their own chicks, which is why they steal babies from other birds. After watching 3 nests of songbirds destroyed, I started putting cat food in our driveway (away from small birds nests) to satisfy the meat need & save some nestlings.
Try setting out the food only at night. Cats are nocturnal, your problem birds are not. I put out two big bowls of cat food for the feral kitties in our neighborhood every night, and by morning the food is gone. I have never had a problem with any birds eating the food. I have had 2 opossums, but I love opossums, so it's all good. I have a neighbor who puts out food in the morning before she leaves for work, takes any leftover food inside, then feeds the kitties again in the evening when she gets home.
Possums do not get rabies because they are marsupials not mammals. We have a raccoon raiding our feral cats food. Our feral cat is neutered and got one rabies shot.
Opossums are mammals. Animals with fur are mammals.
Opossums are both mammals and marsupials. Family: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
The little brown birds come as a flock if I put the dry cat food out before dark. My thought was and my vet confirmed it last night, the dry cat food goes straight to the birds gizzards and is not digested.
Dry cat food is digested by birds. Look at the birds droppings and see for yourself. Baby birds can be fed soaked puppy or kitten kibble and they thrive on it. I have saved MANY wild species this way, enough so they are released to live their lives.
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