Silly Cats

As long as I live, I will never understand cats. Dave and I feed and care for a managed colony of feral cats. Long before we got the new shed, we used to feed them on a little slab of concrete, probably part of an old driveway or patio at one time in the house's past. We'd give them two trays, which we filled with dry food twice a day, and several bowls, where I'd divide four cans of moist food once per day. The canned food is just a treat, as we cannot afford for it to be their main source of nutrition. Along with all this food, we had three bowls for water, which we provided daily from the hose. This feeding plan was a great idea when the weather was warm and dry, but not so much if it rained. I can't even begin to calculate the amount of soggy dry food I threw away during that period of time. Maybe it's best if I don't even try. I also spent a huge amount of time, moving the food containers off the new ant beds that seemed to sprout up over night. It wasn't the most ideal situation.
Now, the old shed had already begun to leak, and when we could no longer put it off, we went shopping for a new shed. Dave had been wanting a bigger shed for a long time, and now was the opportunity. He wanted me to go with him to be involved in the decision. I couldn't imagine why. I mean, it's a shed, for goodness sakes. How many choices could there possibly be? How little I knew. They had big sheds, small sheds, sheds with lofts, sheds without lofts, windows, no windows, Several door sizes...It was amazing. These sheds could be custom made to any specifications. We looked around for a little while, and then I saw it....A shed with a deck. I immediately thought of my cat feeding dilemma. What could be more perfect than an off the ground porch area, with a covering to keep the dry food safe from the elements, complete with a nice dry shed to store it in. Dave even had them wall in half of the porch area to be absolutely sure it stayed dry. Perfect.
So now, everyday, the cats get two trays of dry food twice, and the moist food treat once everyday, whether it rains or not. They still have three water bowls, and an endless supply of fresh water from the hose. What I don't understand is why, after all our efforts, do the cats seem to prefer the nasty water the collects in the bottom of my planters after a rain, and love to eat the leftover table scraps my neighbor throws out her back door onto the ground...