I guess what I wrote before sounds a little stupid. Of course when I wrote "is dog food just for dogs?" I wasn't asking if I should buy dog food for a cat. I was asking if I put the dog food I already have out for cats, if they will eat it. I'll probably pickup a bag of cat food later.

Cats are finicky. (spelling?) They like to purrsue other delicacies.

I'm not a cat person Justx. But I've heard that they are pernickety. I don't know about cats, but people will eat each other if there was no other food.

I use to wonder why old poor people who had to chose between their medicine and food ate dog food instead of pork n beans and other stuff that cost the same until I realized that dog food is complete nutrition having all the vitamins and fiber and it better for you than some food that is passed off for human consumption.

Well, you can all disregard my blog. I just went outside when I heard barking and a cat screaching. I hope the cat is okay - probably up in a tree hiding. There was a large golden retriever outside barking & growling and it looked very mean. I'm a dog lover and this was a gorgeous animals, but I know better. I shooed him away. Definitely not stray. I forgot that some people let their dogs roam (although it's illegal) and maybe the smell attracted him. Could be a coincidence. I never saw that dog before. Anyway, I waited and took the dish inside and all of a sudden my hands & arms started to burn. A zillion ants were crawling everywhere.   I took care of the ones inside last month with Terro, but I'm not sure what kind these were...very small. It's not my property and there are so many hundreds of ant hills I can't begin to count them.

So I guess that was a bad idea.

Ants are phinicky too...they make mountains out of mole hills.

Just my opinion, but it's not a good idea to feed animals outside of your home. It sounds warm and cozy but it upsets the balance of nature. That's why rodents (mice, rats, squirrels, raccoons), insects ( roaches, etc.) and pigeons are flourishing beyond what they normally would be without human intervention.

Put a bowl of food in a dish of water - ants will stay away or drown.

Thanks all for posting. Rick, I completely agree that we've really upset Mother Nature, but it's not the homeless animal's fault that stupid humans don't neuter their pets so they have babies under trees or behind dumpsters and those that live often get very sick or starve to death. I know you have cats and if I had pets, I would definitely keep them inside if not all, most of the time. I also agree that we shouldn't feed wildlife. (except for the 2 legged kind) It's illegal and punishable here. Some people actually feed alligators. (really dumb)   I admit I tried giving some fresh greens to a turtle in my yard, but that sucker hissed at me! He probably didn't like a big monster picking him up (heavy as heck) but the cars go really fast and they don't.   I also think that we've overbuilt so much that the rodents have nowhere to hide since it's become a battle for living space. Everytime we cut down a tree we probably destroy an animal's home (birds, squirrels) and the home to lots of insects too. I rarely see a snake any more and snakes are very important for our ecosystem because they eat rodents. Believe me, I am not crazy about the feral cat population. Cats are predatory and I am mainly a bird lover and dog lover, but I can't handle seeing anything go hungry. We've been having a problem with huge iguanas, but when I read what people are doing to them, I started to cry. The imbalance begins with a human doing something irresponsible. The iguanas didn't hop on a jet and fly here from South America.

Emily, I will give that idea about water a try. The ants were also under the dish - mainly on the back since it was very wet from the milk. That's why I didn't see them until the began crawling on me. But that's a good idea. I'll wear gloves & long sleeves next time! I can put a smaller bowl into a larger one filled with water. A cat will be smart enough to figure it out. My backyard is so full of sticky burrs (that are those nasty things called) that I stopped going back there where some of the cats hide which is why this plate was next to my door. After last time when I must have tracked a bunch of burrs in, I've been screeching every time I step on one. I am wearing slippers now. LOL Sometimes my socks and pants are so covered in them that it's painful. Rick does have a point since I have no idea what is eating the food I put out, but I've also seen some black kitties eating it when I look out the window. Maybe it's better to put food out in the morning. Raccoons usually stay out of sight during daylight.

Don't worry, there are plenty of snakes and other wildlife where I live. They are all doing just fine.   I'm glad people here in my town are firm believers in keeping trees up. I have had a lot of cats. Some are picky eaters, others will eat anything. Kittens will eat anything if hungry enough unless they think there is a chance they will get human food.

Hello justxploring. I'm also from florida. Try some sevin - dust outside to control the ants and fleas. It works great and does not seem to bother dogs and cats. I've known people who rub it on their outside dogs to kill fleas. you can find it at any ace hardware and its cheap compaired to other ant and flea products. Also I find that my cats don't care much for dog food but my dog would rather have cat food.

Late comment, I hardly ever remember to read blogs.

I agree with Spy153, some cats will eat anything, others won't. I have one of each. I had a coupon for a free premium brand of food (regularly $14 per 4 lb bag), so I tried feeding it to the finicky one. She went 3 days without eating a thing. I finally had to run back to the store and buy her usual brand before she starved herself to death.

My neighbor across the street asked me to feed her cats over Thanksgiving. She had cans of cat food mixed with cans of dog food out for me. They don't have a dog, so I assume at least one of her cats will eat dog food.