We got cats a few months ago, which is overall very nice. Julia set them up with automatic dispensers for food and water which reduces how often we need to get things for them, and keeps them from begging. Except recently:
One cat (Nyx) has figured out how to knock over the food dispenser and gorge.
One child (Nora) has figured out how to unscrew the water dispenser and flood.
Julia asked if I could fix this, and I screwed the food dispenser to the wall:
There’s a small block of scrap wood in between to give a bit of an offset and to clear the baseboard molding:
I considered doing the same thing to the water dispenser, but that would leak. Instead we decided to put it up out of reach of the kids, and cut a wooden base so it’s less likely to tip.
I made it by tracing the outline of the base, and then cutting around it with a jigsaw set to an angle:
Here’s the bit I cut out of the middle:
I accidentally cut it a bit wider than I intended, but after raising it up slightly on plywood strips it cradles the dispenser nicely.
I thought this was good, but the cats ended up being able to tip the whole thing over. Whoops!
I noticed that there is some space above the water line, and added some screws to the front:
And one to the back, being careful about placement so it wouldn’t get in the way of screwing in the top:
Now it feels quite secure! But perhaps the cats will still prove me wrong…
I don’t know if you’ve seen this, but I feel it’d be right up your alley. It’s the story of a war between a human who knows how to weld and a cat who wants to thwart their automatic feeder.
https://blondihacks.com/furiosas-cat-feeder/
That is very impressive!
Probably just as well, because cats prefer their food clearly separate from their water, even if that preference is not obvious until you test it, given cats’ usual covert preferences & states. (Although I would be a little concerned that if you put the water up high, you are otherwise discouraging them from drinking, and cats don’t drink enough water as it is.)
One downside to the way you’ve set up the water with it screwed in is that it’ll be harder to clean.
I have a similar water dish for them and it doesn’t just need to the jug refilled, but for the basin to be cleaned regularly. It gets dirty, I suspect both from mold that attempts to grow in the water and from cat saliva and bits of food that fall in. Also sometimes cats deliberately put food in water before eating it.
Good point! Yes, we will need to clean it in place.
On the first picture of the feeder, if you screw through a small piece of wood on the inside, it’ll act as a washer and make it much harder for the screw to pull through the plastic if a cat gets kinetic with it.
I think it is okay as is, but if they do manage to break it I will redo it with something to spread the force out.