Keeping Ants Out of Cat Food

Every summer, especially after a rain, the ants invade my home looking for anything to eat and quite often discover the easiest meal is in my cat food bowls.  We have had a difficult time keeping ants out of cat food.

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We have found a couple tricks to keeping ants out of cat food.

With multiple cats, I need to keep food available so they all get an opportunity to eat. So I went in search of a solution that didn’t involve chemicals or sprays.  I discovered that ants don’t like cinnamon.  Like if you sprinkle cinnamon on them, they do this crazy dance that reminds me of a guy walking on hot coals.  It doesn’t kill them.  They simply don’t like it.  If I find the spot where they are coming into the house, I’ll sprinkle cinnamon there.  I do not sprinkle cinnamon in the cat food.  Actually, my cats won’t touch cat food that has fallen into the cinnamon.  They don’t like it which is good.  According to the ASPCA, cinnamon is non-toxic to cats.  However, why take chances with our furry family members?

I simply take an aluminum pan that is larger than the food bowl (a cat food mat would work well, too)  and sprinkle the cinnamon in a light dusting.  I gently tilt and shake the pan to make sure all the edges are coated.  I place the cat food bowl on top of the cinnamon.  That’s it!  Really any large platter, plate, or even aluminum foil folded with the edges up will work.

Good Housekeeping also offers this solution (click here) using petroleum jelly around the bottom of the outside of the bowl.