Need advice on my feral cat colony please?

Hello Everyone,  I have a feral cat colony of 6 cats.  I have a little barn/garage, but I cannot give them access to the barn because I would be collecting all kinds of unwanted critters in there.  There's a lean-to behind the barn, it's just a little taller than me, I'm 5 ft. on a good day heh.  I have applied a good thick wooden floor down on the cement floor that was there.... and placed 4 winter shelters inside, the lean-to is open at both ends.  The cats are using the shelters during the really cold spell and will most likely use them more with the onset of Winter coming in now, but  my question is... where should I feed the cats?  I live out of the city limits and it isn't unusual to have a skunk or raccoon come by... is it ok to place the food in the lean-to or should I make a feeding station away from the lean-to and on its own?  Thank you so much for all your help.

Jeepers... 24 views and no one has anything to say on this *sigh*  ...nice. 

I would build a separate feeding area as you do not want to attract other wild life to their safe shelters.  I have my feeding stations about 12 feet away.  They have roofs over them to keep the food dry.  Also you never want to leave food outside over night.  All of the critters will find it and they are very difficult to get them to leave once they have found a food source.

Thank you very much for your suggestions ShadowRescue.  I'll get on that right away.... I have laid down four skids in a square, just to get it off the ground.... got the electric water bowls.... gunna figure the roof  next....    Thanks for the tip on taking the food up at night... I had been leaving some dry kibble down cuz I'm such a worry wart... thinkin' these babies would starve... I know I'm being stupid... courting disaster is what I'm doing... so as of tonight, I'll pull it up.  Again, thank you.

If you do an internet image search on feral cat feeding stations, you should see lots of ideas.  I started out using a simple rubbermaid container, but quickly found that when there were high winds, it would blow away.  My DH then built one.  I now have 3.

I too used to keep food out, but found that it was just not worth it.  The raccoons are relentless.  I now have all food picked up between 8-9 pm.  

How awesome that you have a heated water bowl.  Are you using straw for the shelters or are you using electric heat pads?  

Thank you for caring for the feral cats.  They have such a hard life and really need all the help they can find.

Did you do TNR on them too?

Here is a picture from a few years ago of my feeding stations

I have lots of shredded paper .... clean paper, not newsprint, in each shelter.  They seem to be quite comfortable with it.  All shelters have an inner shell, with a lining of styrofoam between it and the outer shell... ... one of these double shells is inside a big plastic/rubber dog house too.... all other shells are inside rubbermaid totes with stryrofoam between shell and tote walls.... one shelter has that silver superduper insulation in the interior of a the styrofoam shell...it's in a rubbermaid tote as well.... all are in the lean-to.  

Mama and her 5 kittens have all been TNR with all vaccinations and rabies shots.  The kittens are all 10 months old now.

You've made nice feeding shelters!

Thank you.

They were all dewormed and deloused as well.  Mama was pregnant again when I trapped her, the kittens were aborted.

... the styrofoam lining between the shells covers the walls, floor and ceilings... there's not edit option lol

I even managed to TNR one of the Toms!  But I haven't seen him since I released him back here.... I figured if he's someone's pet, he's goin' home with a li'l less baggage and a whole bunch of free perks from the vet! 

How awesome you were able to TNR so many!!!  The tom is an added plus.  I did that once; TNR on a stray who ended up having a home.  He went home with a snipped ear and no balls!!  

Your shelters sound nice and warm.  When I first did TNR I did the double insulated rubbermaids stuffed with straw.  Yet this feral hated the straw.  I think he might have had an allergy to it as he would sneeze whenever going near it.  I ended up trying many different shelters before settling on something.  Each new one that comes along has a different preference.  Right now I am in the process of acclimating another.  He has already been neutered and vaccinated, but the others are not appreciating his company at all.  They do not want him in their shelter.  I had to set up another for him further away.  Yet it is no where near as warm.  I am doing what I can for him.  Our weather took a nose dive yesterday and dropped over 30 degrees.  It is very windy too.  My cats are not happy.

I think you're in Ohio?  I'm in Southern Ontario Canada... no one is happy lol  this cold one day, not the next is playing on eveyone.. . and the cats are no exception.  It's freezing here today... and really windy.  I'm used to a more gradual change... not this switch going back and forth.  Thank you for all your time, I really do appreciate that.  

Today has been brutal with the clouds, cold and wind.  It will stick around for another few days.  I have 2 of my 4 kitties that seem settled and just hang out in their shelters.  Yet the other two are not happy with the wind.  One keeps leaving to hide under the deck and the other just keeps moving around.  It usually takes them quite a few days to settle down once the cold starts.  We have had a few chilly nights, but nothing like this.  I too prefer the gradual change instead of this abrupt mess.

Taking care of the feral kitties is always such a worry.  One year for Christmas my DH bought be wireless outdoor ip cameras so I can watch the cats from my ipad.  I have also used a trail camera.  Yet I would do anything to be sure they are safe.

I would build a Rubbermaid feeding station and position it nearby (maybe even put a VERY small bowl of food very near the new station so that they're kind of "led" to the new station. We just cut a large hole in a smaller Rubbermaid (a clear one so we could watch them eat!!), covered edges with all-purpose tape. We put in a food bowl, push it to the far end, and snap lid back on top. We put ours up in a few stacks of bricks. And then also use a few bricks on top to keep the wind from blowing it over!

Kitties all love it!

Hi Kittychick.  Thank you for your comment/response.  With 6 feral cats that are all true family members, they all eat together off the same dish, so a rubber maid feeding box is just way too small.  I've got a wooden platform about 15 feet away from their lean-to and the electric water dish stays there, and I feed them on this platform as it is exactly where I have always fed them, but in Winter, standing on wood is much warmer than frozen ground.  I have not put a covering over this wooden deck, these cats have recently been trapped and it has taken them time to readjust to even being in the lean-to and their shelters. . . . so when the weather is messy with rain, snow, sleet, and hail.... I place their food dish just inside the entrance of the lean-to.  When I go out to feed them again in the late afternoon, if weather permits, I put the food dish back on the deck.  If it's still raining, I leave it in the lean-to until I pick it up at 8pm.  Since posting here, what I'm doing has been working.  Thank you very much for taking the time to help me, to help these kitties.