What can i do about ANTS?

i free feed my kittens and there are lots of ants around the food bowls.

how can i safely get rid of the ants without hurting the cats?

thanks

don't free feed the kittens for a while move them away from the ant area and treat it. feed the kittens in a small room away from the ants until they are gone.

Put the bowl of dry food inside a slightly bigger dish filled with water. The ants won't be able to swim across and the food will be free of ants!

Put a bounce under the bowl, the dryer sheets repel ants

Keep the area around it superclean, and use a mat that can be picked up and rinsed off. Pick up wet food as soon as they are done.

Also, try and figure out where the ants are coming from, like a window or a doorway from the outside. Then treat the outside area, away from where the cats can get to. I use either a gel or a spray. This way they are attracted to the poison outside, and it stops them before they come in.

Also you can buy "ant hotels" and put them places that the cats can't get to. I shoved some way under the fridge, put one on top of the AC on the outside, and way behind the cupboards. Again, MAKE SURE the cats can't get to them.

I have had a similar ant problem. I live in a basement apartment so ants are quite common. There is a powder that you can buy at Canadian Tire in the seasonal section where all of the bug sprays are called Insectigone Ant Killer.
This says on it that it is non toxic and can be used safely around pets. All I did was put it around the base boards of my house and there has not been a single ant since. The only downfall is that it is a bit messy but it ensures that you cover all spots.

thank you so much for all your answers. i've decided to go with Hell603's water idea.

this is how i'm doing it. i bought 3 chip & dip bowls from the dollar store. they look kinda like this one:

http://www.nextag.com/GODINGER-Sienn...56/prices-html

and i put a little water where the chips go and the food where the dips goes. no ants in the food so far!

the good thing about this kind of bowl is that even if the cats accidently knock some of the food out of the holder, it'll only go into the water, where the ants cant reach it anyways. its also serves as a reminder for the kitties to drink some water.

i'll also look into getting some kinda bait for the ants to completely wipe them out. most likely the kind they take back to their queen ant and spread to all the workers. i'll make sure it done safely.

thanks guys