Oddly enough, my most popular feeder is only 15' away from the back of the house but the birds love it because it's suspended from an arch (well, more a sort of wood henge) and there is no way the cats can get to it except from above. The birds have plenty of high perches that the cats can't reach and they dangle quite happily off the feeder - although watching a robin trying to do it was hysterical and I wish I'd been able to capture the moment on film... at 4 times the weight of a blue tit, the robin just tipped the feeder over!

LTS