Frozen cat door

[Jack Harrison]

I foolishly went outside but when I returned, my cat flap had frozen.  It was minus 7C.

I used my initiative and tapped on Jack and Stella’s bedroom window (luckily we live in bungalow) and they let me in.

 

How can I stop my cat flap freezing up again?

 

Fluffy

[Richard Dixon]

Clearly a niche in the market for catflap antifreeze.

[George in Edinburgh]

Hello Fluff it's Mick here from Swanston. Tell your staff that they could try this

'if it gets very cold I put a cardboard box with end removed around mine which stops it freezing - I spread the flaps out and weight them down with stones to stop it blowing away'

One of my staff here, the one who keeps weather records, tells me the grass minimum was -12.5C this morning. You won't catch me going out in that.

www.swanstonweather.co.uk

[Len Wood]

This is all too silly.
Cats are discouraged in my garden.

My blue tits always eat all the peanuts in the feeder by midday.
They keep coming back for more even though the feeder is empty.
Was hoping they would be more sensible now the weather has turned milder,
but  they appear not to be weather savvy.

Any solutions?

Len
Wembury, SW Devon

[Brian Wakem]

More peanuts, more feeders.  Are you sure the squirrels aren't eating them? 

What would you expect a 'sensible' blue tit to do differently?

-- 

Brian Wakem

Lower Bourne, Farnham, Surrey

http://www.brianwakem.co.uk/weather

Live obs @ 17:18:09 : -0.1C, DP -0.4C, RH 98%, 0.0 mm

[Len Wood]

No squirrels in my garden thankfully.

But I can count at least 6 blue tits at any one time.
Clearly blue tits have bird brains and do not remember that the feeder is empty and has been for some time
when they return time after time.

Perhaps they are just hopeful that the kind gentleman peering at them from his lounge window has replenished the feeder.

I am not made of money and have a few other responsibilities.
They do not seem to have grasped this.

Len
Wembury
 

[Jack Harrison]

I work on the 'food chain' principle.

Bird food is not all that expensive so I boost bird numbers above natural levels.  The excess feeds the cats far more cheaply than Kit-e-Kat, Whiskas, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzF8UCyBQOA&feature=youtu.be

 

Note the daytime frost - that just about keeps me 'on-topic'

Jack

[Trevor Harley]

At the risk of being OT the trouble is that cats have no predators. Why don't people put bells on their necks?

More on topic one of the joys of prolonged cold weather here is that brambling appear on the peanut feeders.