The easiest and most inexpensive feeding station can be made from a plastic tote. See instructions below.
| Items Needed: |
|---|
| Plastic Tote with Lid |
| Sharpie Marker |
| Box Cutter |
| Blow Dryer |
| Sandpaper or Duct Tape |
| 2 pieces of Pressure Treated Wood |
| Electric Drill |
| Screws |
| Brick or Large Rock |
| 2 Bowls |
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Outline the entrance of the plastic tote with a Sharpie marker.
- Using the blow dryer soften the plastic outline, this will make cutting easier.
- Use the box cutter to cut out the entrance. If plastic is too hard, heat again using the blow dryer?
- Once the entrance is cut out smooth the edges with sandpaper, you can also cover them with duct tape.
- Place tote on top of the two pieces of pressure treated wood, and mark four holes for screws—two on each side.
- Drill pilot holes in tote and then with the electric drill insert the screws.
- After you put the tote in the desired location, put a brick or large rock on top to prevent it from blowing away. A tarp can also be put around it to keep it safe from the elements and to camouflage it.
- Then put in two bowls, one for food and one for water. Heavy plastic or metal bowls are the best type to use. Just make sure to select bowl colors that will blend in with the area where you’re feeding.
- Most feral cats cannot survive on their own, they depend on people feeding them to survive. So feed them the best food you can comfortably afford.
- Try to feed at the same time every day. Daybreak and dusk are the two best times to feed, as cats are up and active then.
This is a wooden feeding station covered with a tarp to protect it from the elements. 
This is another feeding station version utilizing the cover as a makeshift roof.
PROPER PLACEMENT OF STATIONS:
Unless you are feeding in your own backyard you need to give serious consideration to where to place your feeding stations. Here are some guidelines:
- They should be out of site from the general public. If someone wants to harm the cats, it’s a lot harder for them to do that if they don’t know where you are feeding.
- They should blend in with the current surroundings, no bright colors. This way they draw as little attention as possible to where the cats are getting fed.
- They should not be in high traffic areas. Cats do not want to go to a high trafficked area to eat as they won’t feel safe.
IF YOU FEED THEM MAKE SURE YOU FIX THEM! –TNR SAVES LIVES
Providing food, water and shelter for outdoor cats is admirable, but if you’re feeding, you’ve got to be fixing them too. Spaying and neutering the cats will not only stop the cycle but it will eliminate problematic behaviors; such as spraying, howling and fighting.
