# Wet food freezes outside



## meggie (Mar 13, 2014)

I have a feral colony that I feed in a busy shopping plaza. I've TNR all of them and have been feeding them canned food and providing clean water. They always have dry food available but they really like their wet food. It's been getting very cold and their water bowls and canned food freezes quickly.

I've tried adding a little bit of very hot water to the food to make it warm and soupy. They love it, but it starts freezing in about 20 mins. The cats have a pecking order so the dominant ones eat first followed by the younger, smaller ones. By the time the underlings get to the food its pretty cold. 

With their water freezing I want to at least get their wet food into them. 

What do you all feed your ferals during the very cold months?

(I am still learning. This is my first TNR/colony. Thanks for any advice)


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## LakotaWolf (Aug 10, 2012)

Not sure how much you want to spend on your colony, but you could consider something like these:

Pet Supplies : K&H Manufacturing Thermal-Bowl Blue 96 Oz. 25 Watts : Pet Bowls : Amazon.com


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## meggie (Mar 13, 2014)

Thanks for the links but unfortunately, I don't have access to electricity. They are living behind a busy shopping center. I would love to be able to provide them with heated bowls/houses but the best I've been able to do is hide a few insulated totes behind the bushes and feed them at night.


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## Greenport ferals (Oct 30, 2010)

Yes, it's a problem in winter. Some people use these discs that heat up in a microwave. You can put the bowl of wet food on top of them. 

I would try to find a sunny spot against a wall. That helps a lot, but not on a cloudy day. It's a good place for a water dish too. 

Plastic will not freeze water as fast as a metal bowl. Some people use those thick rubberized bowls that they sell at feed stores. 

In the coldest temperatures, I just fed dry food to my colony. I did the best I could to give them water, but sometimes it was so cold - zero to 5 degrees - that water froze as I poured it out of the bottle.


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## meggie (Mar 13, 2014)

The food started freezing within 10 mins tonight. I think maybe it's best to put down only dry food while it's this cold. 
I would like to feed during the daylight hours when it's warmer but the car traffic is much heavier then.


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