Hanging Metal Fat Ball Feeders (Set of Four)
Solar Fountain for Your Bird Bath
Shepherd Hook Feeder Pole
Standing & Pedestal Baths
A standing bath puts water at a height cats cannot reach in a single move, and it gives the garden a still point to look at. Shallow is safer than deep — birds want to stand, not swim.
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Are pedestal bird baths better than ground baths?
For gardens with cats, yes. A pedestal or stake bath lifts the water out of reach of a single pounce and gives birds a clear view while they drink. British Bird Feeders stocks standing baths and garden stakes in copper, cast iron and verdigris metal, all with the shallow bowl small birds need.
- Height puts a bathing bird out of reach of a cat's first move.
- A shallow bowl matters more than the height — two to five centimetres of water.
- Stake baths sit among planting, which shy birds like dunnocks prefer.
- Copper and cast iron weather into a garden rather than sitting on top of it.
- Site in the open, with cover a short flight away for preening.
Common questions
Questions about standing & pedestal baths
Between 60cm and one metre suits most gardens. That is high enough to spoil a cat's first pounce and comfortable to top up without stooping, while still low enough that birds can see the ground around it. Anything much taller starts to feel exposed to the smaller species you most want to attract.
A wide, weighted base rarely does. Stake-mounted bowls are more vulnerable, so push the stake in to at least a third of its length and site it out of a wind funnel between buildings. If a bath does move about, part-filling it and setting a flat stone in the bowl adds useful ballast.
No more than any other bath, but they show it sooner because the bowl is at eye level. Change the water every two or three days and scrub weekly with hot water and a stiff brush. Never use detergent or algaecide — both are harmful to the birds you are trying to look after.