Michelle,
I love Best Friends! I think what they are doing is
fantastic. They are VERY well connected too. I am
sad today because I had to cancel our reservations to
visit and volunteer in the cat sanctuary at Best
Friends early next month. My husband took a new job
and we cannot take off. We will eventually make it
there though! Angel Canyon is supposed to be
beautiful!
:)
Wendy
--- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Forwarding for those of you who feed ferals... and
> because I found her
> answer on slugs to be very amusing. It's from the
> Best Friends No More Homeless
> Pets forum, which I recommend by the way and can be
> joined via their website.
>
> Michelle
>
>
> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> From: "NMHPForum" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2006 08:58:24 -0700
> Subject: [NMHP] Silly bugs, kibble is for cats!
>
> Question from Louise:
> It's almost summer and with summer come bugs! How
> do I keep them away from the cats' food? Do you
> have any other feeding advice?
>
> Response from Meredith Weiss:
> Typical bugs attracted to cat food are ants, flies
> and slugs. Ants can be kept out of the food by
> building a small moat. Take a plastic tray or
> Tupperware container -- something flat and fairly
> wide with raised sides -- and fill it with a quarter
> to a half inch of water. Then put the food in a
> separate bowl and place that in the middle of the
> tray with the water. The water will prevent the ants
> from reaching the food, while the cats can easily
> lean over and eat.
>
> Slugs - well, strange as it sounds the way I solved
> this problem was to feed the slugs separately! Just
> take a little bit of dry or wet food and put it on
> the ground near the slugs, at least several inches
> away from the cat food bowls -- they'll be happy to
> not have to climb into the bowls.
>
> Flies become a problem when the food is left out
> uneaten in warm weather. They are more of a problem
> with canned food than with dry. If your colony
> isn't trained to eat at a scheduled time, don't
> leave out wet food on hot days. Feed in the evening
> or at night instead. Or leave out dry food only.
>
> In the case of a sudden rainstorm, it's recommended
> to have a covered feeding station for your colony.
> If this isn't possible and you have to put food out
> unprotected from the elements, you can try this
> method to keep it dry: Again, take a Tupperware
> container, or a typical styrofoam take-out container
> from a restaurant, usually about nine inches wide.
> Fill it with dry food. Place the matching lid on
> the container upside down so it is covering the food
> but not snapped on. Put a few pieces of food on top
> of the turned-over lid. Even in this position, the
> lid will keep the rain out. When the rains stops
> and the cats come out they'll smell the food and
> flip the lid off to get it.
>
> Both pigeons and raccoons love cat food! Hopefully
> in your area you only have one or the other -- not
> both! If you have pigeons, feed after dark when the
> pigeons are sleeping. With raccoons, just the
> opposite; usually they rarely venture out during
> daylight hours. And if you do have both in your
> neighborhood -- good luck! Leave out plenty of
> food. Raccoons and cats can get along and eat
> together if there's enough for everybody.
>
> What to feed. Feed the best quality food you can
> comfortably afford. If you have a colony of three
> you may be able to feed a higher quality (more
> expensive) food than if you have a large colony.
> You may find that if you switch from a low quality
> to a higher one you'll soon be feeding a smaller
> quantity, so when you average out the cost, it may
> not be much greater after all. And if you do
> switch, do it gradually, mixing in the old with the
> new.
>
> Generally, canned food is more nutritious than dry,
> but almost all feral cats will have to be given dry
> food at least some times for a variety of reasons.
> Check the ingredients on the label. If the first one
> is some kind of grain, or byproducts, it's not the
> best food as it contains mostly that ingredient.
> Remember, cats are carnivores and actually require
> no carbohydrates at all.
>
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