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For some reason, the idea of helping wildlife in the city has gotten pretty skewed. Many assume that helping means feeding wild animals, building their theory that animals have come near humans because they "couldn't find food."

This is not true at all, and feeding wild animals is actually harmful in the long run - young animals get used to looking for the "easy food", they get used to coming near humans and not being wary, and very often the food that a concerned human provides is not just inappropriate, but downright harmful to animals of their species in the long run and damages their bodies slowly but surely.

I would not advise you to feed wild animals. The results of this are not visible to you, but they are quite visible to us, who receive reports of injured animals and reports from citizens who insist that animals should be moved for one reason or another.

Surely, though, you would be doing the animals in the city a favour if you left fresh water, because there are few sources of drinking water in the city and it is definitely quite a serious danger to the animals, especially on these hot days.

Shallow ceramic bowls are a good option because the animals won't tip them over by stepping on the rim. Deep pots and cut out plastic water tubes are not a good option because they are not as accessible to animals with short legs, and birds and small rodents sometimes fall into them and can't get out by getting wet if the water level is much lower than the rim of the pot. Plastic bowls are easily turned over.

Daily washing and disinfecting of these bowls is very important because as a common collection point for multiple species, they become an easy way for disease to be transmitted between them.

Lyubomila