One of my cats is a food monitor. He lets me know whenever the food in their bowls gets below a certain acceptable level, or if the food has been out too long and has gone stale. When this happens, he’ll mew pitifully (which is so cute because he’s 18 lbs and has a kitten meow) at me until I get up from whatever I’m doing and take care of his food. Half the time, he checks my work and walks away. Other times, he actually digs in. Yesterday he was reminding me to feed them again but when I checked their bowls they were still full – but something looked kind of funny. I looked closer and there ants swarming their food bowls! It was absolutely horrific, especially considering they’re indoor cats.
I followed the long ant trail to a crack where my wall meets the floor and got out my all-natural pest and insect repellant and applied it – liberally. Cleaned everything up, moved the bowls to a different place (with all new food, of course), and proceeded to go about my business, checking every couple hours to make sure the ants were gone. So far, so good.
Later in the evening, after dark, I had to go to the grocery, so I checked for ants (none!) and headed to the store. When I got back, the ants were back too. Boy, I was frosted! Not only were they back, but I found them in my bathroom, too! What the hay!? Again, I cleaned up, used my repellant liberally, but while doing so it occurred to me – these ants were busting booty to get my attention. Great – I meet an animal totem and it’s the ant. Ant and I go way back so I completely understand this message.
Ant is telling me that it’s time to calm down and quit being in such a hurry. Now is a time in my life where I need to work hard, be patient for my rewards, and not give up or do anything radical. Ants are AMAZING at doing this and can even strip a forest clean in a year. That’s pretty dang industrious! And they’re right – I’ve been stressing out unnecessarily, beating myself up, and chomping at the bit to get things done.
I’m happy to report that I’m feeling calmer, I’ve been reassured of my efforts. I’m going to take things day by day and trust that what I need will come into my life at the right time and in the right way. I’m also happy to say that the ants are gone and they haven’t come back, and if I’ve done my homework right, it should stay that way.
