Hi Kar
I wouldn’t want to use citrus spray, or the like, with hogs around. They rely heavily on their sense of smell so could potentially find it very unpleasant.
I had the same problem with a wooden feed box. The cat managed to lift the lid. So I now just put more bricks on top. I also found that quite a large cat managed to get in, despite it having to double back on itself twice. I solved the problem by putting bricks inside the feeder ‘corridors’ to make it shallower in those places. My logic was that if the cat could make itself thin one way it needed space the other way, so making it shallower might work. It did, but not until there were 2 and half bricks (in a row) along the double back ‘corridor’. At that time it was vitally important for the hog to have access to food – it was winter and he didn’t hibernate. He managed to negotiate perfectly easily and the cat was no longer a problem.
Lewisdad’s solution sounds a good idea too and has the advantage that you would be able to see the hogs more easily. If I was starting from scratch again, I might do something similar and you could use bricks instead of posts, with bricks on top to prevent possibility of lifting. That could easily be put to one side during the day.
Good luck. Let us know how you get on.
