How to keep raccoons away from food for ferals

I am posting a question for a friend. She TNR a mother and three kittens she noticed on property adjacent to hers. She's been feeding them regularly and she hasn't seen them for a few days. Friday she saw a raccoon eating the food. A neighbor told her that there are two raccoons that frequent the feeding dish.

Any suggestions for keeping the raccoons away from the cats?

Only two words- Good Luck! She will find she is feeding raccoons, possums, skunks and squirrels. That's a given when you feed outside. And yes, it gets expensive to feed the wildlife-

Ive been seeing several squirrels enjoying my ferals food lately!

If anyone know's how I would love to know. I posted a picture in the cat lounge of one of the 8 visitors I had the other night. We've tried everything to keep them away and nothing works. We don't leave cat food out after dark but then they just try to get it a different (more messy) way. They even managed to get an entire bag of food out of a cabinet that was about 5ft of the ground with nothing nearby to climb on. They go in one our neighbors house through her doogy door to eat.

Though not fool proof, what works for me is to keep the cats on a consistent daily feeding schedule. They are fed at specific times twice per day. I don't leave food out all day, but I do leave fresh water. The cats are hungry and waiting and eat immediately when I come to feed. I leave them re-freshed water, and pick up the plates and any food scraps.

Once, a raccoon caught on to the night time schedule. I backed it up so I was feeding during daylight hours instead of after dark. Didn't see the raccoon again.

I would only leave the food out during the daytime. You could put it out early in the morning, then bring in what's left before sunset. If you leave any food out after dark, the raccoons will have a feast.