Purrmore Tip: Deterring Ants With A Moat

As the temperatures rise, ants come out looking for food. If you leave food out for your cat, ants may be attracted to the food. If you can’t avoid leaving food but want to keep ants away, you can deter the ants by creating a “moat” around your cat’s food dish.

Use a slightly larger shallow dish with water. You don’t need a lot of water; about 1/4 of an inch will be enough. Place your cat’s food dish at the center of the “moat” dish, and make sure there is no direct contact between the cat’s dish and the edges of the “moat”. Since ants don’t swim, they will come to the moat, get confused, and turn back and leave. There are no chemicals involved, and there is no risk that ants or your cat will be harmed.

Some cleaning and changing of the water in the “moat” will be needed, especially if your cat is a messy eater.

A "moat" works with both dry and wet food.