Pulling my hair out!!!!
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I posted last week about my neighbour having three cats that were eating the hedgehog food I put out. At that time I haven’t had any hedgehogs but have been putting a bit of food out just in case last night I had hedgehogs in the front garden, and a hedgehog in the back garden, absolutely delighted. Put food out tonight in the front garden I just put it on the ground next to the bowl of water and a hedgehog came and was eating but by the time I looked out again the hedgehog had gone and next door‘s bloody cats were there again, I honestly give up; I will keep the feeding station which is the upturned plastic box at the back garden, I will try the bricks method when I can get hold of some bricks to keep the bloody things out of there but I don’t know what I’m going to do at the front,I will put a pile of rotting wood at the front I also have a frog toad house in my back garden and that has rotting wood around it and I will also water the garden in this hot weather. I might put some fruit out I believe they will eat strawberries? It’s late and I’m tired and I’m so cross but any help gratefully received…😩😕
I guess it depends what you’re feeding. I use Ark Wildlife muesli and Hedgehog Food. My cats won’t touch either and the stray that visits will only eat the Hedgehog Food during the cold weather just before or after the hogs hibernate.
These cats next door even go up on my bird table and eat the suet pellets!! I did buy some expensive hedgehog food yesterday £6.99 for 500 g and it’s by JACOBI JAYNE, I haven’t opened it yet but that feels more like a Museli but like I say these cats seem to eat anything and they are well fed!!
Hi- I can imagine that is very annoying. It sounds like you have a lovely natural area which is the best thing for the hogs.
We have 2 feeding stations.
1. Plastic storage box with 10cm diameter pipe pushed through the cut out hole in box. It was already a small length size from screwfix so I didn’t need to cut it.
2. Brick built- We can’t see what is going on but the other half built it so the entrance is only big enough for a hedgehog who then would need to turn instantly to the right and walk down to the food.Have had cats and foxes sniff at both and then walk off.
Good luck!
I too had cat problems for a while. Put down a storage box with two holes cut for two entrances/exits. This worked for a while until the cat realised it could squeeze through the holes and get to the feed, even though the holes were barely big enough for some of my larger spikey visitors. I then took a couple of ridge tiles (Semi circular) and put these in front of the holes. Problem solved. The cat can’t/won’t go down the ‘tunnels’ but the hedgehogs are fine after they realise there is food at the other end.
Cats will always eat the food if it’s not in a feeding station, especially when they’ve had it before, they make it part of their nightly route once they know where it is. Either try the brick method of blocking the entrance a little or put an entrance tunnel in and I’m sure it will stop them. I’ve got entrance tunnels on both of mine which stops the cats but I would also point out it sometimes takes a bit of investigating for hogs to work out how to get in. Our resident is now totally used to it and the other station out the front has also been used but I have seen some hogs sniff around for a bit because they can obviously smell the food then wander off because they can’t work it out.
I got some pipe which is 125 mm wide and pretty much perfect for the job here:
https://www.toolstation.com/125-round-pipe/p89189It’s 350 mm long so you could shorten it a bit if you want
It’s not so much the cats that come to eat in my garden, but seagulls! One is waiting on the street lamp just above the feeding station. It patiently sits there until I come out, no way I can chase it off. If found a way to get the dish out of one of the boxes… so I added stones. Found a way around it… now I arrange sticks in different ways to stop it from being able to find its way in. I’ve succeeded for a couple of days now!
Hi BobsMum
Seagulls is a new one! But are they around all night – does the steet lighting keep them up?
Good to hear you’ve managed to foil it’s antics so far.
Hello shinamae ,
I really recommend ‘ I love hedgehog ‘ food because our hedgies love it and our cats hate it. We have about 16 cats living in our close of 30 houses and not one of them likes it so maybe your neighbours cat wouldn’t eat that but I mean there’s always a chance they might
hope you find a solution , good luck – prickles preservation society
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