How do I keep their water from freezing?

A heated water bowl isn't an option. The only outlet outside is on the side of the trailer totally exposed to the elements, it's literally right under his hose hookup, totally exposed, not under a carport or anything. Neither Paul nor I trust the outlet(or the wiring) and don't feel like risking the place burning to the ground. So far I have been trying to fill the bowls everyday but they are usually frozen solid when I wake up and feed them and they usually attack the water when I bring it out like they haven't drank for days. Mitzi, our neighbor, says she has seen a few drinking out of her pond but ht pond is prolly gross not to mention she has dogs and if she lets them out when they are in there they have to run for it. They only like doing that on their terms, I think some of them like the rush(and her male WOULD eat one of them if he could catch them.)

Is there anyway to keep their water from freezing without a heated water bowl because that is seriously not an option.

Taryn

Before I owned a heated water bowl, we simply used to change the water 2-3 times a day. We always used stainless steel water bowls because you often had to bang on them to get the frozen water out of them.

Our outdoor outlet would short out for the heated water bowl, so we built a shelter against the wall near that outlet so that rain/snow can't drip down the side of the house and get into the outlet. But if you are afraid of bad wiring, that won't even work for you, unless you get an electrician out to fix the wiring.

The only other option you have is to put something that is heated into the water to keep it from freezing a little bit longer. I'm thinking of something like the marble slabs that you heat in your oven to use in a basket for a bread warmer. Rocks might work, as long as they aren't something that disintegrates in water easily. But I suspect this would only buy you about 30 minutes extra non-freeze time.

There are some ideas in this thread:

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...ing+water+bowl

I did try a heated dish, but they are only good to maybe 0°F and they cannot be exposed to the elements or they freeze solid at around 20°F. Mine learned to come to the call "Cats, cats, water" and now they don't even need called, they just come running when they see me messing with the horses' water tubs, and they chase the horses out until they had their drink. They get watered twice a day and love hot water...tank up really good twice a day, and all are healthy and playful (horses too).

I've used heated bowls before, the problem I had was that one place I need a heated bowl is not near an outlet. My K&H heated water bowl begins to freeze over a layer on the top once it gets below 0F. I did buy a bird bath heater element to use where I did not have an outlet nearby - 3 months later it's still working great! I did have to run an extension cord to use it, however some bird bath heaters are OK to use with an extension cord.

Not using an outlet, I changed water often & ensure the kitties know I am changing water/show up to drink. I also offered more wet food to help them get the moisture they need.

I like the heated bowl idea.

Yeah I only change it when all 6 are there. I have a small waterer thing and I have one of those 2 dish plastic bowls so I fill the waterer and the 2 plastic bowls. They all drink their fill I just worry about it freezing and them being thirsty. It's just so cold at times here I could change the water 10 times a day and still find it frozen solid. They do drink when the water isn't frozen so I know they are getting water.

Right now it's 29 with a wind chill of 23 so it's not freezing solid, I was able to break up the top layer of ice but that is a very short term solution. I did it before I left to put Bobby to bed then came back and had to do it again(about an hour later.) Really it's the best that I can do. The bowl would have to directly exposed to the elements out in the open so it doesn't sound like it would even be a feasible idea since it drop below 20 enough that it would be a waste. In this weather it's ok because I can just break up the thin layer of ice. I go out at least twice a day to feed them and then to take up their food at night so the raccoon doesn't eat it, and I forgot to do that tonight, stupid thing(and i don't mean that in a bad way, he knows where he might find food, and he eating it and I don't blame him, I'd do the same if I was him) ate all the food left.

Also, when my son has school I also have to leave to go pick him up so I could also try and remember to check the water to see if it's frozen. I always check water levels at that time but I sometimes forget to make sure it isn't frozen.

I will say that at night they are usually curled up in their cat house or sleeping wherever it is they sleep at night(we got a small doghouse and I see 3 to 4 of them coming and going so I know 3-4 sleep there and that is all the black ones. I have no clue where Mama sleeps, I have never seen her sleep here and I know Blue(Gray Kitty has been around long enough that he needs a name and since he's a beautiful Russian Blue I decided his name is Blue) either sleeps under our shed or possibly somewhere else. So overnight isn't much of an issue since they are all curled up either in the cat house or wherever it is they sleep. I also know most, if not all of them go off and do whatever it is that they do during the day. Like I said they have the neighbor's pond which is always unfrozen if they were desperate for water but they receive and drink enough water that they don't have to do that unless they want to.

I just worry that they'll be thirsty and not be able to drink their water.

I was just hoping there was another solution that didn't involve electricity. I already do change out frozen water when ever I notice it if I can't just break a thin layer of ice. They do know they get water when they get fed and I know they all drink so I'm assuming they'll be fine with what I'm doing. In summer I went nuts trying to keep all the bowls filled and I know I will again this summer. Why can't I live in a nice warm place like Hawaii where I don't have to worry about freezing water bowls.

I just want to thank ya'll for your help, it makes me feel better that I'm not the only one with this issue and for the suggestions on how to deal with it. I think I just worry too much, I know I'm doing the best I can and if a heated bowl was feasible I'd do it but like I said it would be totally exposed to the elements and be mostly useless due to the temps here.

Taryn

I actually have a camera in my shed, with it hooked up to a webpage.

I keep an eye on it, so that when i see one of my two cats go in the shed I bring canned cat food and water out for them. I have one that usually comes by around 5pm and the female comes by around 9-10pm. I have hard cat food for them at all times. I found that if i put a cut up apple or pear, the raccoons and possums will eat the fruit and leave the cat food alone.

I have to say that i find it more entertaining watching my the inside of my shed then most tv programs. Can't wait to see who stops by next.

Only thing I can think of doing is putting the bowl on a piece of wood, then get one of those warming pads that you microwave and put it under the bowl, not sure if it would work, havent tried that yet, I just run an extension cord out to a heated doggie bowl , try it let me know if it works

Originally Posted by Taryn

A heated water bowl isn't an option. The only outlet outside is on the side of the trailer totally exposed to the elements, it's literally right under his hose hookup, totally exposed, not under a carport or anything. Neither Paul nor I trust the outlet(or the wiring) and don't feel like risking the place burning to the ground. So far I have been trying to fill the bowls everyday but they are usually frozen solid when I wake up and feed them and they usually attack the water when I bring it out like they haven't drank for days. Mitzi, our neighbor, says she has seen a few drinking out of her pond but ht pond is prolly gross not to mention she has dogs and if she lets them out when they are in there they have to run for it. They only like doing that on their terms, I think some of them like the rush(and her male WOULD eat one of them if he could catch them.)

Is there anyway to keep their water from freezing without a heated water bowl because that is seriously not an option.

Taryn

Click to expand...

you could also cover the outlet with a freezer ziplock and tape around it, should be ok, I run cords that stay in the snow and rain all year with just a zip lock bag around them taped up

Hello,
Has anyone tried one of the Solar Sippers below?
http://www.solarsippers.com/main.html
Or, do you know of any other low profile solar/battery products?

I have found links to a battery product they used to make, but it looks like they no longer offer it..

I have a big flat feeding station in my front yard.
We get Racoons, feral cats, stray dogs, crows, and I suspect a coyote (saw one on the road in front of our house one evening). We also get unleashed neighbor dogs, and indoor outdoor neighbor cats.

I have been lectured often that there is no need to feed my critters, but it ain't gonna stop me

The water bowl is a heavy ceramic dog bowl. The crows can perch on it and not flip it. We are in Seattle so freezing isn't usually a huge concern. But it has been cold this week and the water keeps freezing. You can see that the last rainwater has frozen solid in the feeder.

I have tried adding a little sugar to depress the freezing point. I am filling it with hot water at night. In the morning I am finding it turned over on it's side, empty, or frozen. I suspect my early morning critters are finding the top frozen and are trying to break the ice.

There isn't electricity that would be easy to access. It is the front yard so a big old tire, etc. is out of the question. It currently looks like a bird bath, and the bowl is not visible from the road. I want to keep a low profile so some narrow minded, ignorant, busy body, (was that my out loud voice?) doesn't turn us in for creating a public nuisance.

I found the Solar Sipper product above, but don't want to spring for it if it doesn't work. The site doesn't list any details or specs, so it is hard to tell if it is just a bowl with a little donut cover. Likewise, I don't want to buy a dozen different other things that don't work.

I have considered the things you put in the microwave to put under the bowl, but I am not sure the setup would work because the Raccoons are so curious. The floating ball idea is out for the same reason.
Redcat57

I'm lucky enough to have an outlet nearby, so we use the heated bowl. but before that I tried the Snuggle safe disc (you heat it in the microwave for about 3 mintue about every 4-6 hours in bitter bold and place under the dish.I had moderate luck. I ha a little bit better luck combining the snuggle safe disc with putting the water dish on it, and then under a slightly dripping water spicot. The running water does freeze slightly more slowly, and added to the slight heat from the snuggle disc, it generally did the trick. I still had to break up a thin layer of ice periodically, but I work from home so I can monitor.

A pinch of sugar stops water from freezing as quickly, and provides an added energy boost. 

A couple of other tips I've read about - but haven't tired: 

• The Pet Solar Sipper  (Model No. 10011) from the Happy Bird Corporation uses solar energy to keep water from freezing and works at 18 degrees F. and above.  Available for $29.95 plus $10.00 shipping & handling.  Also take a look at their cordless immersion heaters  which run on D batteries. Sounds like it might be worth a try  since it's battery, not outlet dependent.
   
• Place the water bowl inside a styrofoam cooler  - one of the cheap white ones used for soda and the like. Cut a hole for the cats to enter on one end of the cooler and put the bowl at the other end. The styrofoam's insulation will slow down the freezing process a litle. Maybe combined with either the solar sipper, immersion heater or snuggle safe disc and you just might have ice-free water!
   
• The type of bowl  you use in general can make a difference.  Use one made of thick plastic, like a Tupperware container - it's amazing how long it takes for water to freeze in one of them.   Until I got our electric heated bowl, I used the super thick plastic dog bowls - they're  deep, and insulated.Black or dark colored bowls will absorb solar radiation better.  Position the bowl so it's protected from the wind and, if possible, exposed to the sun.Or use one that's double insulated - - they have an insulated air layer between the surface the water touches and the surface against the ground; 
• If the cats come to eat right away while you're there, put a little extra water in their wet food.  Also, you can put some in the dry food if you know they'll eat it soon. (but it's got to be soon - or the food will freeze, undoing all the good you did by getting some extra non-frozen water in them!)
   
• Here's a wacky one - but farmers knew how to make do with what they had!  Get an old tire (off its rim) and stuff it with rocks. Wedge a large bucket or similar-sized container in the hole in the tire and pour the water into the bucket. The black tire will absorb the light from the sun during the day and heat the rocks stuffed inside the tire and the rocks will radiate enough warmth to keep the water from freezing.  This is a trick invented by horse owners trying to keep water out in their fields from freezing. 

The big freeze is over for now and my DH said he would rig me an extension cord for next time.
My interim solution was to take a shallow dish pan and put a block of close cell foam under the bowl and a block on 4 sides of the bowl.
It seems to keep the water longer.
My critters are still emptying the bowl, and I have to reassemble it some mornings, but works ok.
We inherited a cat at our office when the lady next door passed away.
We feed several traveling cats, but Mondo is now a permanent fixture.
The second day of the freeze, I noticed she went for the water before the food.
Her bowl is close to the building so it doesn't freeze as fast, and she comes in the daytime so she can get food and water when we put it out.
I did set up a similar water station in the yard there for other local critters.

Defnitely try the small amount (like a half a teaspoon - depending on size of bowl) - of sugar. It really does help!

Yeah for you for keeping the water open for them. Such a hard thing for them to find this time of year - and so critical!

Yes, I do add the sugar, and a pinch of salt as well.
I am familiar with the freezing point depression and boiling point elevation properties.
Someone said oil, and I imagine it would work, but it seemed like an added mess to deal with.
And I doubt the birds would like it.

Between the crows perching, and some of the raccoons, the bowl can need washed twice a day as it is.
Some of my coons are food washers, some aren't. Some of the crows are dippers.

We usually don't see the feral cat(s), they are pretty canny.
We had Vissi, a black and white feral/semi feral for several years. Vissi would actually come in the cat door for food.
But s/he would bolt if s/he even saw us looking out the window.
Our cats then were indoor/outdoor and if anything they were a little bemused that Vissi came in.

All are indoor only now. The seniors were having reduced mobility when I saw the coyote at the bottom of the driveway.
That settled the issue for them, and when we adopted Lily we kept it that way.