🐱 HOW To KEEP Cat FOOD SAFE From ANTS [Simple Methods]

“Oh, yes! I have a cat, and I need to feed it, but I need to keep the “feeding” to the cats, not ants!”

Sounds familiar? We know it does…

Cats are adorable little beings and make good partners when it comes to keeping you company. With their tiny paws and glimmering eyes, cats are known to be adorable and notorious. They say that dogs are your best friends, but cats are no less than great partners.

Ants can have you stressed as they can seriously affect your cat’s ability to eat. You can use simple methods to keep ants away from your feline’s food bowl. Using ant-proof or spill-free bowls, applying essential oils, as well as cleaning the feeding area can significantly help in this regard.

That gives you more of a reason to look after your cats just as much as you would look after your babies.

Why are ants attracted to my cat’s food, and what should I do?

It is common for ants to devour any leftover food and crumbs. These little insects may be attracted to your furry friend’s food because you have forgotten to put the leftover cat food away, and they will never lose an opportunity to invade food sitting in plain view.

Sugar, sweetness, wheat, barley, meat, and anything that has even the slightest relation with food acts as a magnet for ants.

Therefore, the first thing you would want to do is to figure out what’s attracting the ants and where they are coming from.

As ants are proven to be a source of protein and healthy nutrients for felines, one of the reasons why your lovely fur ball is eating them quite frequently could be the lack of food rich in protein and nutrients. The new cat food you have just bought for your cat may not be fulfilling his dietary requirements.

Simple & Proven Methods to Keep Ants Away from your pet’s Food

Okay, so you need to feed your cat, and you have an ant problem that does not seem to be solving itself and have you worried sick.

Keep in mind that these methods work for both Indoor & Outdoor cat bowls!

Here are some of the simplest methods you can apply to solve the issue.

1. Use Ant-proof Feeding Bowls

Ant-proof feeding utensils are a thing now, and you can get them from any pet store in your area. They are designed in such a way that ants can’t get in direct contact with the food.

There are many designs available in the market for you to choose from and select based on what you need.

For example, there are water and waterless ant-proof cat bowls which use water to keep the ants away. This might be an effective technique to keep these pesky insects at bay that love to invade and spoil your cat’s food every other day.

All in all, it is up to you to evaluate your situation and decide which ant bowl design suits you the best.

2. Use airtight feeding bowls

Ants should never be taken lightly, and they will not go away on their own. Therefore, it is better to start looking for solutions from the moment you first notice this problem.

Another great method to preserve pet food is by using an airtight container. These containers keep the scent of your cat’s food away from ants. Since the ants cannot sense any food item, they are not attracted to your pet’s feeding bowl, and the problem is solved.

3. Keeping it Clean

Food spillage is a contributing factor to why ants are attracted to your pet’s feeding area. Simply wiping that area and keeping it clean may solve your ant problem.

Although this method does not always work once the ants are habitual, this should be your first step if they have just started appearing in your pet’s food bowl.

4. Using Essential Oils

Some natural and synthetic oils act as repellents for cats; some of them are even lethal to ants if they come in direct contact with them.

Therefore, these oils can be a lot of help in dealing with ants that are constantly spoiling your pet’s food. Namely,

• Clove Oil
• Orange Citrus
• Lemon Oil
• Cinnamon
• Peppermint

You can apply these oils on the base of your cat’s feeding bowl or rub them all over to create a layer. They can be your last line of defense against ants.

How Do I Keep Ants Out of My Cat’s Food Bowl?

Ants sticking to your cat’s food is a serious problem; most of the time, it spoils the food. At the same time, eating too many ants is not a good diet for your cat.

Therefore, eliminating ants from the equation is the only viable option for cat owners.

Keep in mind that these methods work for both Indoor & Outdoor cat bowls!

Here’s how you can keep the ants out of your fur ball’s eating bowls:

1. Create a Moat

Creating a moat is the number one method to stop ants from spoiling your cat’s meal. This means creating a pool of water around all sides of the bowl.

You can always do this by placing the actual food bowl inside a bowl with a larger diameter and filling the larger bowl with some water.

Since ants avoid swimming because they value their life, you can rest assured that your cat will not be bothered by them.

2. Kill the Ants at their Source

Remember the start of this article? Where did we tell you to figure out where the ants are coming from?

Well, now you need to go there and kill some ants – not some, but many!

You can always use a homemade anti-ant spray or a commercially available powder to do the job. Just spray/sprinkle directly at the ants, and they will be disabled at once.

Another tip is to pour steaming hot water right onto their nests if you have successfully located them. This can permanently eliminate ants invading your cat’s food bowls for a long time.

How To Make A Home-Made Ant Repellent Sprays?

Let us show you a quick tip on how to make ant-repellent sprays at home.

Anti-ant sprays are relatively easy to produce. There is no rocket science involved, and you only need a couple of household items to make it. Make sure you have the following things before you begin,

1. Empty Spray Bottle =1 bottle
2. Grain Alcohol or Vodka =2-3 drops
3. Clove Bud Oil =15-17 drops
4. Orange Oil =15-17 drops
5. Lemon Oil =15-18 drops

Mix these well and spray directly on the ants. Lemon, clove, and orange oils are highly fatal for ants, making them a good solution for your ant problem.

You can also use a Boric Acid solution to kill ants. Just take a quarter cup of water, put a half cup of sugar, and 1-2 tablespoons of boric acid to make another effective anti-ant spray.

How to remove ants from Cat Food?

If you were not able to save your cat’s food and ants have already invaded the eating bowl in masses, you might be wondering if you can remove the ants and still save the food.

The answer is YES; you can still save the cat food even after millions of ants are sticking to it.

Dry Cat Foods

Follow these tips to save your cat food after an ANT INVASION!

1. Place it in the Sun

Sunlight is the solution for many insects, including ants. If ants are sticking to dry cat food and you want a quick solution without doing anything, simply spread the food on a clean sheet in direct sunlight.

Note: Make sure that the cat food is not sensitive to sunlight conditions. Additionally, this method is not applicable to wet cat foods.

2. Use Baking powder

Again, if ants are sticking to dry food by the masses and you need a quick solution, apply some baking soda to the cat food and use a sieve shaker to shake the ants out of the cat food.

While this method will not remove all the ants, it will remove most of the ants. After speaking with a vet, we have ensured that eating a few ants will not pose a health issue for your cats.

Wet Cat Foods

Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do to save your wet cat food. The best thing, however, would be to use a hairdryer or a blower to blow away most of the ants.

If done properly, this method can remove most of the ants and not cause any serious threat to your cat, even if it eats the remaining ants along with its food.

However, if you notice that a large number of ants remain stuck to the food, you should dump it.

FAQ’s:

These are some of the most applicable questions you may have in your mind,

1. Is it safe for cats to eat their food with Ants? – Vet’s Advice

Noticing your fluff-ball consuming ants, even when you feed him thrice a day, could be a really unpleasant sight. Especially when you’re concerned about consuming ants having a bad side effect on your cat’s health.

To ease your worries, it is normal and healthy for your cat to eat ants. Ants are a good source of protein, zinc, calcium, and iron, except for the red ones. Ants also contain alpha-linolenic acid, proven to soften a cat’s fur. They also excrete oleic and folic acid when stepped on, which are known to have a calming effect on cats.

So, eating ants does seem a bit weird, but it is not harmful if kept to small amounts.

According to the latest observations and clinical tests, if cats eat some ants along with their food, it is no problem. However, this should not be made into a habit, as eating ants in large amounts may potentially damage your cat’s digestive system.

Can Cats Get Sick From Ants?

When bitten by fire ants, your feline could possibly have a major allergic reaction, as fire ants are known to attack in great numbers if they are toyed with. Their bites could trigger swelling, difficulty in breathing, and weakness in your cats. If you notice your cat showing these symptoms all of a sudden, you must contact and consult your vet immediately.

Aside from fire ants, if your furry friend consumes ants that are killed by insecticides, harmful chemical may also enter their system. If you notice any change in your cat’s behavior, you should contact your local vet as soon as possible.

3. My cat doesn’t want to eat food because of ants?

Your cat is doing exactly what you would do; not eat ants. While some cats may think of it as a no-deal-breaker, some cats may not eat the food out of curiosity. Usually, cats do not have any problem when they see wriggling insects in their food since they have predatory instincts, but if your feline somehow refuses to consume food with ants in it, it is best to dispose of the food.

4. My cat licks or eats ants in my house

This is nothing to be alarmed of as cats have a natural predatory instinct that is responsible for this kind of behavior, especially with ants. The cats are notorious for toying with any moving thing that catches their eyes.

Even if your cat is catching, chasing, and eating ants, it is not a big deal as the feline is only following its primitive instincts.

5. Will my cat eat food with ants?

Cats usually have no problems eating food with ants sticking to it unless you plan to give ants as a buffet.

But it is highly dependent on your cat’s perception. If it considers the ants as its prey, it will eat them. However, kittens usually get more curious about ants and may or may not eat them.

Conclusion

Ants can be quite invasive sometimes… The only thing we can do to avoid them eating cat food is to use any of the methods mentioned above. If they, for some reason, don’t work well enough, you can always apply something different.

However, if you are not sure you can do it yourself, call in the experts and let them handle it!

After reading all of the above-mentioned solutions and remedies, here’s a brief synopsis of what this was all about.

Our Quick Overview. Pin & Share!

Happy Cat Keeping!

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