vegangirl.com

Just over a year ago, I wrote about using a cat food moat to foil an ant invasion. That worked well for a short while, but it got old real quick. For one thing, my cats and dog were always pushing the bowl close enough to the edge of the tupperware that the ants could still get in. For another, the cats are such messy eaters that the cat food was always getting into the water, creating the most disgusting slimey mess. Very gross.

One year later and my ants are gone for good. It was a 2-part solution, one part of which was pretty obvious. Plug the holes into the house.

I caulked the path into the house that ants were using. They almost immediately found another one. I caulked that too. And repeat. Many many times, repeat. It helps to let the little ants stay alive and well in the house because they will help you find more holes as they try to find their way back out of the house.

The second part of the solution is cinnamon. Ants will absolutely not cross it. If you have an area that you cannot seal, such as a doorway, create a thin but continuous barracade of cinnamon. Seal it if you can though, because too much cinnamon everywhere just ends up being a big mess as well.

Totally non-toxic, safe for pets, natural.

After the mysterious disappearance and reappearance of my cat, Gregory, and the less mysterious phone call from my cat hating neighbor who may or may not have dumped poor Gregory out in Weaverville, my cats have been confined to the indoors. They are adjusting remarkably well.

Actually, I found that Simon doesn’t like to go outside very much if Gregory isn’t with him, and if I do let him outside, he won’t leave the porch. I’m not sure if they were always this attached to each other or if this is a result of Gregory’s 6 day adventure. They are awfully chummy now.

It feels like a dream. But here he is, purring on my lap – skinny, exhausted, but otherwise doing fine. He was 17 miles away in the town of Weaverville. Luckily my number was on his collar and he is so friendly that he eventually wandered up to someone who thought he might be lost. I cannot begin to describe how relieved, happy, grateful I am right now.

Tomorrow I am going to talk to my neighbors and see if I can figure out how he got all the way out there. It’s not that I care so much, I just would like to not have to think that I have a twisted cat-hating neighbor who would do such a thing on purpose.

In the fall of 1995, Gregory appeared in my life one day as an apartment stray. Last Sunday, over 13 years later, he disappeared. I don’t know where he is or what happened to him.

If someone had found him, surely they would have called me. I have signs all over the neighborhood, ads in the papers and online, lost cat reports at the shelter and emergency clinic, and my number is on his collar if he hasn’t lost it. It’s been terribly cold the last few nights. If he’s trapped outside I don’t know that he’d survive. If he’s trapped inside he’d be awfully thirsty by now.

Gregory, my old friend, I’m sorry I couldn’t save you this time. If I could throw a blanket over the whole world, to keep you warm and protected, until someone found you and brought you home to me, I would.

Gregory was last seen in West Asheville near Olney Rd. and Vermont Ave. He is grey and white, 10 pounds, male, neutered.

Call me a sentimental vegan if you like, but I can’t bear to hurt nature’s miraculous little robots – the ants. Even before I ever considered going vegetarian, I flicked one off a wooden foot bridge and into the creek below. The guilt of that moment haunted me for quite some time. Maybe it even still does a little.

About a week ago, ants discovered my cat food bowls. For several days in a row, I’d wake up in the morning to find ants swarming the uneaten food leftover from the cats’ dinner the previous evening. Maybe it’s the summer heat, but the cats have taken to slowly eating their food in a few phases, rather than wolfing it all down at once, thereby preventing me from cleaning their bowls thoroughly before I go to bed.

But no matter, I discovered a solution. The cat food moat! Simply find a tupperwear bowl or other shallow container that is slightly bigger than the food bowl, fill it with an inch or less of water, and center the food bowl in the middle. Make sure the food bowl is at least a half-inch away from all sides of the tupperware or the ants may still be able to make their way across without going near the water.

My kitchen is now completely ant-free! No harm came to any ants and I didn’t need to poison my home with chemicals.

Yes, your cats and dogs can be healthy on a vegan diet. My cats and dogs were vegan for years with no problems. But don’t be stupid about it. Especially with the cats, make sure they are eating enough food and urinating properly. Get regular check-ups to make sure they are getting what they need. Don’t try to switch your animal’s diet overnight. Don’t get the Vegetarian PetGuard for dogs – they just don’t like it.

• Vegan Essentials – They took over operations for vegancats.com, which was the very first company to sell commercial vegan catfood online.
• Down Bound – They are a great company, with great ethics. Among other things they have a good selection of vegan pet food.
• Obligate Carnivore – A great book about the vegan diet for cats. A must read for anyone struggling with the decision to put their cats on a vegan diet.