What's the best way to keep my cat's food from having ants on it while I'm not h

1. 68

   DeviousOneposted 13 years ago

   What's the best way to keep my cat's food from having ants on it while I'm not home during the day?
   
   After the ants have gone in to it, she doesn't want to eat the food, and I wouldn't expect her to. I tried spraying the area near by to keep the ants away but I can't keep doing  this all the time. I've also tried putting the food on a table but that only works sometimes.
   
   

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2. 74

   Meisjunkposted 13 years ago

   Is this an outside only cat? I'd switch to dry food. Or a porch. Or only feeding her at certain times so that she eats the majority of the food right then.
   
   But honestly, your best bet is dry food. If that's already dry food...I've no clue. What's on the plate that could be attracting the ants so much?

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3. 68

   DeviousOneposted 13 years ago

   Thanks for your response Meisjunk
   
   That was just a pic to describe the situation. I use a silver bowl and generally mix the canned food with the dry cat food.
   
   I think dry food may help and limit the number of ants but it still doesn't stop the ants. Yesterday evening after I topped up her bowl, I noticed a small black ant carrying a whole piece of dry cat food while was next to the bowl.

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4. 73

   santos88posted 13 years ago

   I wouldn't stop feeding the canned. Canned is healthier than dry so that would be a bad idea to stop that. Maybe feed just the canned part first and then feed the dry last. That way she still gets her wet food but it doesn't hang around to attract the ants.
   
   To totally stop the ants I would try to schedule feed. Leave it out for twenty minutes and pick it up right after that. After a while he/she will learn to eat at one time.

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5. 71

   catgypsyposted 13 years ago

   I have two ways. Put the plate with the food on it onto another bigger plate that has water in it. Or sprinkle the bigger plate with regular table salt. Both of these methods have worked for  me for food left out for outdoor cats.

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6. 66

   peanutroasterposted 13 years ago

   Put the cat's food in a smaller dish.  Place it in the middle of a larger dish and fill the larger dish with water so that the food becomes and island.
   
   Note: dry is better for cleaning teeth.

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7. 78

   jacqui2011posted 13 years ago

   Have you tried using an automatic cat feeder that opens at certain times during the day to feed the cat. You could set it to open if you knew when the cat would be around. If you check out http://www.moorepet.com/Pet-Feeders-s/242.htm       they supply Ant Free cat bowls.

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8. 0

   Sarra Garrettposted 13 years ago

   I have had this problem in the past.  As others have said, place the food bowl in a larger container like a pie plate and put water in the pie plate.  Make sure you have at least 2-3 inches of clearing between the bowls as ants are smart and will build a 'bridge' with each other in order to get the food.  You can also put out the small cans of ant bait near the food, your cat can't get into the ant traps or access the bait.  This should eliminate a lot of you ants.
   
   Also, follow the ants to where their nest is - you will see a long line of ants.  Pour boiling hot water down their hole.  They will come back, but it will take a couple of days.

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9. 61

   Slava Rybalkaposted 13 years ago

   1. don't leave the food on the plate while you are not at home.
   2. get rid of the ants.

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10. 69

    HappyHerperposted 13 years ago

    You can also sprinkle diatomaceous earth around/ under the bowl. This is "pet safe" and is used in things like make-up, toothpaste, etc. It is basically ground up diatom fossils. It is like shards of glass to insects. Many people use it as a holistic method of killing fleas on pets and many people sprinkle it around the perimeter of their house to keep insects out.
    
    Or you could slather the whole outside of the bowl in Vaseline haha.

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11. 61

    DubstepMakerposted 12 years ago

    don't leave cat food out. only feed your cat when it is time to eat. they will get used to eating at this specific time each day and then you can pick up the plate off the ground and wash it quickly. your cat doesn't need to have food out all day. infact it's bad if they can snack all day.

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