We got cats a few months ago, which is overall very nice. Julia set them up with automatic dispensers for food and water which reduces how often we need to get things for them, and keeps them from begging. Except recently:

• One cat (Nyx) has figured out how to knock over the food dispenser and gorge.

• One child (Nora) has figured out how to unscrew the water dispenser and flood.

Julia asked if I could fix this, and I screwed the food dispenser to the wall:

There's a small block of scrap wood in between to give a bit of an offset and to clear the baseboard molding:

I considered doing the same thing to the water dispenser, but that would leak. Instead we decided to put it up out of reach of the kids, and cut a wooden base so it's less likely to tip.

I made it by tracing the outline of the base, and then cutting around it with a jigsaw set to an angle:

Here's the bit I cut out of the middle:

I accidentally cut it a bit wider than I intended, but after raising it up slightly on plywood strips it cradles the dispenser nicely.

I thought this was good, but the cats ended up being able to tip the whole thing over. Whoops!

I noticed that there is some space above the water line, and added some screws to the front:

And one to the back, being careful about placement so it wouldn't get in the way of screwing in the top:

Now it feels quite secure! But perhaps the cats will still prove me wrong...