Challenge -Paul verses the Raccoon! | Life and Linda

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Challenge -Paul verses the Raccoon!


 Hi there, this is Paul, Linda's husband writing this post. The journey begins with helping our neighbors while they are out of town to feed a stray cat they adopted.  To make the task easier I convinced them to buy an automated feeder. It can be programmed to dispense a feeding portion at a specific time.  The feeder can also record your voice to announce it is feeding time.  It was important to dispense the food in daylight hours as we have raccoons in the area and if they discover food they will forage for it at night.


Unfortunately the raccoons did discover the feeder and tore it apart and they did consume all the cat food.  Two cinder blocks were added to hold and protect the feeder.  This simple approach didn't work as they were able with their little hands to pull the feeder out and dismantle the feeder and consume all the food.

Being an engineer I took the challenge and it was game on.  A cinder block across the top and a smaller one for the lid would do the trick.  After all these are just little raccoons. Keep in mind, this car feeder is sitting on a TABLE ON A COVERED PORCH.


Nope.  They pulled the feeder out and threw it to the ground.  The feeding tray on the left is not securely attached to the base and the small block did not deter these pesky animals.


Pipe strapping was added to the bottom feeding tray and as you can see it did hold the tray to the feeder tank but they still managed to pull the whole unit out from between the cinder blocks.


To prevent them from pulling the whole feeder unit out between the two cinder blocks I added a block of wood which had a metal strap to hold the tank in and a 2nd strap in the back to hold the cinder block on top.  I didn't think they would be strong enough to pull the cinder block off the top.  I was wrong!


The fight continues! 



Okay they were strong enough to pull the feeder out from the top cinder block.  Next step was to secure the feeder not just to the top cinder block but strap it to the two side cinder blocks.  And just in case that wasn't enough I added two more cinder blocks on the side for added weight. They would have to be able to pull against 5 cinder blocks (top and 2 on each side)


After all of that work, the raccoons still managed to get to the food. They weren't strong enough to pull the feeder unit out of it's fortress but they did manage to get the top cinder block off. Their little hands are strong.

The top cinder block was not enough so a better solution was needed.  I drilled two metal dowels in the side cinder which then went through a top cap board with two wing nuts. The solution needed to be strong but you still needed to easily get to the feeder to refill it.

This was successful except they still managed to dislodge the small feeder cap.  I had to make a larger sheet metal cap to go over the top to make getting the top off impossible,  Also, since I was worried that this whole fortress could be pulled forward and topple,  I added to out riggers for forward stability.
It looks like a fortress with lots of cinder blocks, straps, chains, screw, metal and more.  In retrospect I should have just built a sealed enclosed box secured up high and a feeding tube down to a feeding tray. 
 

Congratulations! You win said the racoon.


About Linda @ Life and Linda

Hello, welcome to LifeandLinda. I am from Northern California. I enjoy blogging, Designing Blogs, Decorating, cooking, entertaining, gardening and clogging. I hope you enjoy your visit.

19 comments:

  1. HAHAHAHA! My brother was an engineer and he would have loved this project! Good job but could you make it look a little prettier?hahahaha. Diana

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    1. Since it was a work in progress and my first go at it, I worked on functionality over aesthetics.

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  2. Ha Ha Ha this is too funny. Those raccoons are pretty ingenious when they want to be.

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    1. and a lot stronger than I thought

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  3. Paul..Im married to an engineer:) I so get this:)

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    1. Congratulations on being married to an engineer :-) We often don't get recognized and the US needs more of them.

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  4. Wow, talk about the Battle of the Century, LOL! It's unbelievable the lengths you had to go to in order to racoon-proof that feeder! But the final victory must have been sweet indeed!

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    1. It's a victory but the raccoons were only trying to eat themselves but I guess it's better like other wild animals to not let them become dependent on humans.

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  5. Oh my! I'm impressed. You are a genius and your friends (and Linda) are lucky to have you! I only fear they returned home the next day, after all all your hard work! I hope the cat had a few days of solitude on that front! The question that really has me though, isn't how the raccoons demolished the feeder (tough and smart little ones, aren't they?) but why are they in the house in the first place? I see the cat door but might not a collection of litterboxes inside and taping up the cat door be a solution that would prevent a multitude of problems that only begin with a cat feeder? The pictures look like it is inside the house, or maybe a garage? Trust me -- as one who has had those raccoons get in the house, you don't want that!

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    1. No the cat feeder is outside the house in a breeze way and the cat does not come into the house while they are gone. If they left and had a cat door to enter the house I'm sure the raccoons would find that and not telling the damage they would cause.

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  6. This is really amazing!! I admire your determination to win the raccoon war!!
    Jenna

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  7. This is so funny/not funny!!! Poor Paul. He must have been so frustrated! Those pesky devils!

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  8. Boy!!! I hope the kitty appreciates all the trouble you went to...Thanks for making sure it was fed...Wild animals are hard to defeat when it comes to their tummies..Good job..

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  9. Oh my goodness!! What a challenge of wills! I am so impressed by your ingenuity. I would've given up, but I have my own determined engineering DIY guy who'd be right there with you trying to defeat those raccoons.

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  10. Determination!!! Love this tale!

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  11. Omg! Kudos to Paul. I think k I would've sat there with a gun, lol. Paul is one determined (and successful!) engineer.

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  12. You sure gave it the college try but let's face it those little devils are pretty smart. One just sat on the edge of our 150 pound garden fountain and knocked the whole thing to the ground..

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  13. Wow! The raccoon is very determined to get at the food. That is so scary and I can't believe how strong they are. I am so happy that you won the raccoon challenge Paul. I know your neighbor appreciated all the work you did so that the cat could eat the food.

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  14. I had no idea how strong they were! I can't get over the fortress you had to build to keep them out! Great job at finally succeeding!

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