If the visiting cat is your neighbor's precious Fluffy, you may want to suggest that they tie a bell around the cat's neck to alert the birds when the cat is nearby.

If it is a stray cat causing trouble, you may want to try live trapping. Check with your local Humane Society or Wildlife Management first. In some states it is illegal to relocate animals that have been live trapped.

Here are a few simple and effective suggestions for keeping the squirrels and raccoons off your feeder:

1. When hanging your feeder from a tree branch, try and locate it at least twelve feet from any tree trunk or limb and at least four feet up from the ground. This will prevent squirrels from either jumping from the tree or up from the ground onto the feeder.
2. When hanging the feeder off a line, make sure the feeder is suspended at least four feet above the ground or snow. You should also use a very thin wire whenever you hang your feeder.
3. If you choose to pole mount your feeder, make sure the pole is at least 5 1/2 feet in length. This will allow you to place the pole approximately one foot into the ground and still keep the bottom of the feeder four feet off the ground.
4. You may also want to add a squirrel baffler. We recommend one that is at least 16" in diameter.
5. Raccoons do not jump but they do climb. Try placing a 6" diameter stove pipe, at least 2 feet long, around the mounting pole.

To discourage House Finches, remove the perches from your feeders. For Blue Jays and large aggressive birds, use bird feeders with a wire mesh surrounding the seed reservoir. This prohibits larger birds from flying through the mesh openings and eating the seed. Blackbirds and Sparrows love cracked corn, refrain from offering this in your feeder.

Raccoon and squirrel repellents will not harm wild birds. These repellents typically feature capsaicin as their main ingredient. The hot pepper extract deters raccoons and squirrels from eating the seed, however, birds cannot taste or smell it.

Loose seed can attract rodents. By keeping the area around the feeder as clean as possible, you can prevent mice and rats from coming around. We recommend using a seed catcher to help keep loose seeds from collecting around the base of the feeders. Also, you should keep bags of unused seed sealed in cans or containers with tight lids.

If you begin to have trouble with mice or rats, we suggest you visit our sister site, victorpest.com, for tips, traps, and other rodent control methods.

The key is to make your windows more visible to birds. A few ideas would be to shut the blinds, pull the shade down, hang a mobile or colored ribbon outside the window, or place stickers or decals on the window. If these suggestions do not work, you may want to relocate the feeder to another place in your yard.

The best thing to do is to stop feeding the birds temporarily. Remove the feeders and throw out all of the seeds. Thoroughly clean your feeders and remove all debris from under the feeder area. Do not touch the sick birds. Refill all of your feeders and resume feeding once you no longer see signs of sick birds.

Birdscaping is a term used to describe creating the ideal environment to entice and support birds in your yard. Several key elements are as follows:

• Trees, shrubs, and flowers provide perching areas, shelter, and food.
• Water is a necessary element that is attractive to all birds. Providing a bird bath could be as simple as turning over the clean lid to a trash can and filling it with water.
• Feeders that provide easy access to nectar or seed and keep pests away are ideal for attracting birds.
• Certain flowers’ nectars are also an attractant for hummingbirds.

Visit our detailed guide to learn more about birdscaping your yard.

Hummingbirds have color vision that surpasses humans and even extends into the UV range. They see all colors well. Much of nature is green, due to vegetation. The color that contrasts most with green is red, so it's no coincidence that hummingbirds are drawn to it. Many hummingbird-pollinated flowers are red or orange; they are the easiest to see and attract hummingbirds the fastest. For the same reason, many hummingbird feeders are red as well.

However, hummingbirds are very curious creatures that are constantly exploring their environment for food sources that satisfy their high-energy needs. Thus, they often "stumble upon" non-red flowers that have good nectar loads and will return to those flowers as long as nectar is available. If you have an established location where hummingbirds are known to feed, your feeder does not have to feature red. Because of their curiosity, hummingbirds will track down a food source, regardless of color.