[Elean0r]

We've got a cat, so have lots of people around us and there are feral cats too, but we still feed birds.

We put our bird table in the middle of the lawn, with absolutely no cover anywhere near it, so nothing could creep up to it without birds noticing. We also put it on top of a very tall post so the table part was about 5ft 6 above the ground. The tables you buy as kits are so low that any feeders hanging from them are an open invitation to any mammal that happens to pass by.

We put a tree guard round the post, one of the vertical ones rather than the spiral type, so nothing can climb up it.

We fixed a plant tray onto the table, and put loose seed in that, and only ever put sunflower seeds, peanuts or sometimes fat balls, into hanging feeders. This means less stuff lands on the ground.

Then we bought a motion activated hose, at the time it was about £15, and angled it towards the base of the bird table. Our own cat soon got the message and, to be honest, we rarely see any other cats in the garden during the day now, so maybe they decided it wasn't worth a drenching.

But, we do get sparrowhawks sometimes. They probably get more luck because the birds have further to fly to hide, so we can't win really. But at least we know that any birds that are taken are eaten out of necessity.