The warmer months of the year are usually more humid as well and this can make a prime situation for maggots to invade your cat’s food and your home also.
Maggots look like worms and they are actually fly larvae before they turn into actual flies of all types. You don’t want these pests in your home and certainly not in your cat food either.
When a fly lays an egg it will hatch and turn into larvae and be a maggot. Maggots love to feast on spoiled food, rotting flesh, and foods in your pantry that contain grains, such as dry cat food, flour, and rice.
Controlling the fly population in the summer months can help to alleviate maggots in cat food both inside and outside of your home.
When it’s hot and you leave moist or wet food outside for your cat to eat in the day, it will start to decay very quickly as soon as the moisture evaporates and it will be a prime breeding ground for maggots.
Following several tips and tricks can prevent this from happening and also prevent serious diseases if your cat would happen to eat maggots as well.
Most cats won’t eat a maggot because they are pretty finicky eaters, but your cat can be hungry. and not notice the odd thing in its dish.
What Causes Maggots In Cat Food?
All it takes is a fly laying an egg in cat food for it to emerge into a maggot, but since the food needs to be starting to spoil for the flies to lay eggs in it, this can be prevented in both wet, moist, and dry cat food.
Flies also like to lay eggs in an indoor cat’s litter box and then they can develop into maggots.
Cleaning your litter box on a daily basis by scooping it out and add fresh litter and then washing it thoroughly in hot soapy water once a week will keep the litter box from being a breeding ground for maggots.
The worm-like maggots can travel from one area to another inside of your home too. So, if they start in the litter box they may end up invading your pantry, your food, and any dry cat food stored in there as well.
They will usually only be found in open packages of any sort unless you have an infestation in which they can actually eat through bags and boxes as well.
Maggots will be born more quickly if you feed your cat outside and it is all or part moist or wet food.
These types of food spoil very quickly and even though it starts to spoil outside, your cat may actually still eat it–though most won’t and then he can get very sick from ingesting maggots.
How To Stop Maggots Getting Into Cat Food!
If you feed your cat wet or moist food either inside or outside, you should only leave it in the bowl for one to four hours and then pick up any leftovers to dispose of. After this point is when maggots may start to appear, especially outside in the hot summer heat.
If your cat doesn’t eat all of its food that you put down, try only feeding it a smaller portion and storing the rest in the refrigerator so it can be used for another meal instead of being wasted.
This is also a solution if you work away from home and won’t be there within four hours to remove the uneaten food.
Every day before you feed your cat its wet or moist food, wash the cat food dish in hot soapy water, rinse it well and dry it off to keep bacteria from forming in the bowl to attract flies.
If your cat eats indoors, it’s best not to put his food dish close to a window or door, because this is how the flies get inside your home in the first place to lay their eggs.
Make sure you have sturdy screens on all your doors and windows as well to keep out unwanted pests in your home.
How To Stop Maggots From Getting Into Cat Food!
If you purchase dry cat food, as soon as you open a new bag, pour the entire bag of food into a container with an airtight lid because if a fly can’t get to the food to lay eggs, you won’t have maggots.
If you’ve already seen these creepy crawlies in your pantry, check all of your grains, rice, flour, and cereal boxes that are open as well, and toss the entire contents of each one if you see a maggot.
Put anything with maggots in it into your outdoor trash can and make certain the lid seals tightly so that the bugs can’t escape.
They will likely dry up and die in the hot outside garbage can within a day or so, but they may continue to thrive on other garbage in the can if it’s a few days before your garbage company picks it up.
You can instead buy smaller bags of cat food and put the entire bag in an airtight container if your want to, but this is a more expensive way to keep the maggots out, because larger bags are cheaper by the pound.
Never feed your cat food with maggots in it as they can get myiasis as a bacterial parasite, bacterial toxicity, or severe allergies that need immediate veterinary attention. These types of diseases caused by maggot ingestion can be fatal too.
Conclusion
Storing your cat’s food correctly and keeping flies out of your home can eliminate all maggots in cat food. Also, throwing out uneaten food and cleaning the cat’s dish for each meal can help you to wage war on the maggots in cat food to keep your kitty healthy and safe. If you believe your cat to have eaten food with maggots in it, you should schedule a veterinary visit right away for advice.
