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Do your ferals eat less in the summer?

post #1 of 12
6/22/10 at 5:08pm
Thread Starter 
The food I put out this morning was hardly touched. I guess it makes sense that they would eat less in the heat.
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post #2 of 12
6/22/10 at 5:16pm
I've noticed the same thing with the food I leave for the ferals in my colony. Same thing last summer.
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post #3 of 12
6/22/10 at 5:28pm
My ferals disappear in the summer. I hadn't seen any of them for a week and I was fearing the worst (some food was still being eaten, though). Then I saw all of them in the same day, LOL. I guess they just wanted me to know they were still around. But definitely less food is eaten in the summer. Whether this is because they don't want to eat when it's hot, or because they hunt, or because they go somewhere else, I don't know.
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post #4 of 12
6/22/10 at 5:29pm
I have a couple of outdoor cats and in the past have cared for some ferals. The key to getting them to eat is avoiding the heat. So you have to be out there before sunup.

I feed my current outdoor kitties right before sunset. They usually each get half a can of wet food and around half a cup -2/3rd of dry food in their bowls (no exacts, and DH dumps more than that down). They finish their wet and nibble on their dry usually leaving a tiny bit.

It's really not that much different to what I was putting out in the winter and they're still eating about the same. Though now they're skinnier than they were in the winter because they run around the backyard more. During the winter Boo seemed to only leave his little cat house to pee and poop - I had to put his food at the door of his house because he didn't like coming out.

Are these free roaming ferals - no fence/enclosure? I wonder if it's possible that you had other animals helping them eat the food during the winter, too. In winter here the starlings will plow through dry cat food despite the risks of cats being nearby.
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post #5 of 12
6/22/10 at 6:20pm
Our ferals definitely eat less - it's also because they come around less. But we live in an RV Park, and now that summer's here, I expect there others putting food out (though we're the only ones trapping).

But when it started getting warm and they were still coming around, they definitely ate less. They don't burn up so much energy just staying warm.
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post #6 of 12
6/22/10 at 8:47pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by strange_wings View Post


Are these free roaming ferals - no fence/enclosure? I wonder if it's possible that you had other animals helping them eat the food during the winter, too. In winter here the starlings will plow through dry cat food despite the risks of cats being nearby.
I feed them twice a day. Around ten in the morning and ten in the evening. They are usually around though, laying on the porches that are in the shade or around the sides of the apartments. There aren't many wild animals, I'm in town, but I have seen a raccoon, but never closer then the parking lot.
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post #7 of 12
6/22/10 at 8:55pm
Could you get out earlier? I don't know how hot it is there by 10 am, but here it can already be in the 90s and I'm not that much further south than you are. They might eat a bit more when it's still cool in the morning.

The only wild animal I've really ever had hang around before have been opossums and even they're not as big of cat food thieves as the birds are. I forgot that the grackles and blue jays can be pretty sneaky, too.
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post #8 of 12
6/23/10 at 7:53am
Thread Starter 
I should have my DH do before work! But he's always rushing around without that extra chore. But yes, I can do it earlier.
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post #9 of 12
6/23/10 at 11:21am
Mine would grumble about that, too.

This won't guarantee that they eat too much more, just that they'll be out there longer to be able to munch. Sort of think of it as how hungry you would be out in the heat.
You watch yourself out in the heat. It's a little cooler there but it looks like your heat index hits 100F too. Make sure there's plenty of water for everyone (cat and human alike).
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post #10 of 12
6/23/10 at 11:40am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by strange_wings View Post
Mine would grumble about that, too.

This won't guarantee that they eat too much more, just that they'll be out there longer to be able to munch. Sort of think of it as how hungry you would be out in the heat.
You watch yourself out in the heat. It's a little cooler there but it looks like your heat index hits 100F too. Make sure there's plenty of water for everyone (cat and human alike).
Yes, it's so hot! I feel so bad for the kitties! I wish I could do something. But they do have water!
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post #11 of 12
6/23/10 at 11:48am
Yes, definitely. Sweet Pea doubled his food intake in winter compared to summer. They need a ton more calories in winter to cope with the cold.
Marina
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post #12 of 12
6/24/10 at 8:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by strange_wings View Post
Are these free roaming ferals - no fence/enclosure? I wonder if it's possible that you had other animals helping them eat the food during the winter, too. In winter here the starlings will plow through dry cat food despite the risks of cats being nearby.
Yes, those starlings are rotten. They'll go through as much food as I can put out, even in the summer. I have to put the food out at night. Even if possums come, they don't eat nearly as much as the starlings. I have the majority of the food in an uninsulated cat house, and the starlings will actually go inside of it to steal the food!
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