Ant Bites

[dcam]

1. Ants got into my cats dry food bowl and my cats got ant bites inside their mouth. One of my cats developed a fever and ulcers on his tongue. The pain from the ulcers makes him unable to eat. He has now been at the vet clinic for 4 days and still has a fever & not eating enough to come home. They have given him injections of antibiotics, and meds for pain & inflamation. The vet has explored other possibilities for his symptoms and everything is normal. Two of my other cats were also bitten but I was able to bring them home after a 1 day stay at the vet, they are doing fine. Has anyone else ever experienced anything like this? I am so worried about him.
   
   
   

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to TCS. So sorry though for the circumstances that brought you here. I've heard of ants getting into a cat's food dishes, but never biting the inside of the cat's mouth.

Hopefully some other members will reply who'd dealt with a similar situation. Meanwhile sending healing vibes for your gorgeous kitty. Hope he starts to improve soon.

Also, here's a TCS article that might be helpful:
How To Keep Ants Out Of Cat Food

 

[rubysmama]

How's your boy doing today?

 

[dcam]

Thank you rubysmama for your message and sweet sentiment. I brought Batman home yesterday because his temperature was back to normal. Sadly, I had to take him back to the vet today because he still can't eat. My poor baby wants his food & treats so bad but it hurts him to eat. They did blood work & IV fluids today. I hope he will be able to come home soon. Thanks for including the article about keeping ants out of cat food. I have used some of the ideas for my outside feral rescues but have not had problems with food bowls inside the house until now. I will definitely give the suggestions a try.

Hello and welcome to TCS. So sorry though for the circumstances that brought you here. I've heard of ants getting into a cat's food dishes, but never biting the inside of the cat's mouth.

Hopefully some other members will reply who'd dealt with a similar situation. Meanwhile sending healing vibes for your gorgeous kitty. Hope he starts to improve soon.

Also, here's a TCS article that might be helpful:
How To Keep Ants Out Of Cat Food

 

[rubysmama]

Oh, poor Batman. Sorry he's back at the vet, but I'm glad he's under their care. I hope his mouth will heal soon, so he can come back home.

 

[neely]

I brought Batman home yesterday because his temperature was back to normal. Sadly, I had to take him back to the vet today because he still can't eat.

We had this problem one year when the food and water bowls were on the kitchen floor near the sink area. Fortunately our cat did not get bitten but I think that was due in part to the type of ants. Do you know what type of ants bit Batman? I noticed you live in Alabama, i.e. a warm climate so I'm guessing you could possibly have that problem all year long. I assume by now you have moved the food/water bowls because that was my first thought. The Article rubysmama posted has some great tips which I hope will help. Please keep us posted on Batman and if you find a solution that works for you we'd love to hear about it. Thinking of you.

 

[Kieka]

Has your vet given them an allergy treatment? Insect bites trigger a histamine reaction so allergy pills really can help with bug bites of all types. When I've had bad allergy reactions (gives over my whole body, not fun) I was told to take Benadryl constantly for seven days and stay indoors/out of sunlight. Maybe a take home allergy treatment for a few days will help while his body finishes processing out the venom from the ant bites. Worth asking the vet about at least.

I've had my boy bitten by ants on his body but never in the mouth. Someone thinks ants are really fun to roll in and pounce on for some odd reason. Luckily my area doesn't have any really large or dangerous ants. Good luck!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Poor Batman! Thankfully, I've never dealt with this, even with my ferals. The minute I see ants, I sweep the area vigorously with a broom dipped in vinegar. Doesn't kill the ants, but it does destroy their scent trails, so they don't find their way back for a few days. Although it won't help him now, here's a link to a recipe for a pet-safe homemade spray that gets rid of both roaches and ants!

How To Get Rid Of Roaches

Get rid of roaches and other bugs with this easy and cheap diy bug spray recipe. Use this to kill outdoor bugs in your garden or patio without the toxic fumes that can damage your health. #diy #bugspray #homemade

www.hometalk.com

I'm going to be purchasing a spray bottle to make this up for the feral's feeding station as soon as I get back to the store!

 

[dcam]

Thank you all for the well wishes and tips.(I will definately make the pet friendly DIY bug spray). Yes, I immediately moved the cat bowls to another area and purchased a moat tray that I fill with water and dawn dishwashing liquid. The ants in Alabama have been worse this year because it has been so hot and dry. I have ant proof feeders for my ouside ferals but I had never had a problem with ants getting in the dry food bowl inside the house. I am assuming that the ants were fire ants because the small black ones usually don't bite. The vet gave Batman anti inflamatory & pain meds along with antibiotics. Because he was not eating and drinking, he became dehydrated. They had to shave his front and back legs to find a vein to administer the IV fluids. After 2 days of fluids he improved and was able to come home and is back to normal, even though he now looks like a poodle. I am so happy & releaved that he and my other two boys (Joker & Boo) are now doing great! Thanks again!

 

[rubysmama]

Oh, I'm so happy to hear that Batman's doing ok. Thanks for the update.

 

[Sugar Plum]

I'm not sure what to do for your cat, but for ants, try the following.
-Moat the food bowls. I put mine inside of a pie plate filled with water. The ants can't get to it.
-Clean any trails and the general area with vinegar. This destroys their scent trails.

Sorry that this happened. Thief ants try to steal my cat's food. Since the kitten's appearance (I can't yet moat her dishes), they're at an all time high. *Sigh*.

 

[Sidewinder]

Ants are a problem here in Arizona as well, I've even had some of those pesky little black ants in my house, dunno if they ride in on the cats or what but they're definitely a nuisance. This is why I keep my dry cat food bowls and saucers atop the dining room table, along with the water bowls. Thankfully, I haven't seen any ants in my kitchen, I feed the cats their wet food on plates or saucers on the floor, then pick up whatever's left, scrape it together on a fresh saucer and put that on the table as well so the kittehs can eventually finish it. The vinyl floor in the kitchen is easier to wipe clean if the kittehs drop any wet food on the floor, that's why I feed them there, but it's always a short-lived thing, only a matter of minutes, whereas the dry food bowls stay on the table 24/7 and the ants haven't figured out how to reach them (yet... knock on wood, LOL).

Pesky ants should be winding down their activity with winter round the corner, but they've been bad here in Arizona this year... I don't like using chemicals if I can avoid doing so, but there are times when these ants (red & black) just come boiling out of some new hole in the ground, and I have no choice but to pour poison directly down the holes. I don't do this anywhere near the fruit trees I planted, of course, last thing I want is some fruit chockablock with pesticide. Vinegar does work well for eradicating scent trails, you can buy "cleaning vinegar" by the gallon for fairly cheap, and at least it's not toxic to cats. They may not like the smell, but it's better than using poison... ugh. I guess my best advice here would be to find a place to feed your cats that is less accessible to the pesky ants, off the floor and harder to reach.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

OH, thank goodness he's doing well now!

Best of luck with those little biting devils!