Hey Pet Parents & Pet Lovers,
You may already know that we recently switched Beau & Walker onto a full wet diet because of their struggles with UTIs and Beau’s most recent Double Cystomy and PU Surgery. Since we had no problems with kibble before, we never really supplemented feeding either of them wet food, especially because Beau didn’t particularly like it. Every can we tried he would turn his nose up to even though we tried so many different flavours and brands.
Wet food is definitely a less convenient method of feeding, especially for pet parents who aren’t home frequently or in my case: when you have a cat who doesn’t like to eat more than a quarter of a can at a time. It’s true! For some reason, Beau will eat a quarter cup of kibble in one sitting, but he won’t eat more than a quarter of a can (if even that) in one sitting. So there’s a lot of walking the food back to the fridge for us.
Short Answer:
It’s commonly recommended that wet food is put into a sealed container (or you can use a can lid like we do) within 20-30 minutes of it being out.
What’s the worry of leaving wet food out?
Well simply put, bacteria. Basically, when wet food is open it begins to oxidize as contact to air promotes the growth of bacteria. Because Beau averages about 1/4 of a can in one sitting we grabbed an awesome can lid to make sure that the food was kept safe while we store it in the fridge. We got a silicone lid because they’re much easier to clean and dishwasher safe. We also noticed that the majority of plastic ones only cover 2 sizes of cans, however, the silicone ones usually manage three. We’ve had good experiences with both, so don’t worry too much about making “the right choice.” On a more surface level, wet food dries out fairly quickly. I know we’ve left wet food out by mistake and even after an hour or so it begins to solidify and become… well… quite gross to clean. I’m sure your kitty isn’t going to be much of a fan as soon as it changes to that texture…
I know it’s off point Johnny, but is it okay to leave dry food out?
Well, to be completely honest… not really. I mean, this is up for debate. It’s not that dry food will expire or make your little ones sick if left out for too long, it’s the fact that oxidization will also make the food lose nutrients. It isn’t as big of a concern as wet food, but you’d still want to grab yourself an airtight container if your food bag doesn’t have a zip-sealed top.
I’m always worried that my little one won’t eat the food after it’s been in the fridge since it’s so cold… what do I do?
Good question! It’s your call based on how your kitty likes their food. You can throw it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to warm it up and get that food smelling nice and stinky for your little one. However, we’re not superfans of microwaves in this household. Instead, we put a bit of hot water into Beau’s meals. This gives him extra water to drink (to make sure he’s fully hydrated) and we take extra precautions to make sure the water is not too hot and won’t burn him or his cute little tongue.
Burt Silver says
May 25, 2018 at 12:11 pmIt’s really great to know that you can’t leave wet cat food out due to oxidation and bacteria growth. I’ll have to watch out for that when I am feeding my cat wet food because I wouldn’t want him to be getting sick. Hopefully, I can figure out a convenient method of feeding him without his food going bad by using these tips that you shared.
Alex John says
April 8, 2018 at 11:04 pmThat is an amazing idea to add hot water to warm the food, I m try to do this.
Johnny Salib says
April 9, 2018 at 12:12 pmDefinitely, try it out and let me know how it goes!
mommakatandherbearcat says
February 20, 2018 at 5:12 pmHuh. I never even thought about the dry food. After the initial chow down, Bear grazes on his wet food treat overnight. We’ve never had problems … but we might just be lucky so far! Ellie finds dried up pieces of wet food and eats them. YUCK.
Johnny Salib says
February 21, 2018 at 10:48 amI’m glad nothing has happened to them so far! Things will always be different between cats, and some things may show up longterm. But that’s the thing… it’s always so different between cats, sometimes we like to be safer just in case. My sister knew of a cat that ate chocolate pretty frequently and nothing bad happened to them, which is so odd because I hear of so many horror stories of cats who have ingested even small amounts of chocolate.
da tabbies o trout towne says
February 20, 2018 at 12:24 pmguyz…..R wet setz out half an hour… give ore take sum minitz coz we R knot good
at tellin time; but it setz out bee for itz served…..eye like my pate “mushed” N if de
food servizz gurl triez ta “mush” it while itz still cold; it can fly off de plate ~~~~~~~~~~
🙂 ♥♥
tuna
Johnny Salib says
February 21, 2018 at 10:48 amSo glad you’ve got a hold of your numnums!
Margie says
February 20, 2018 at 6:59 amI add warm water to the canned food and my cats eat it much better. Great post. Thanks.
Johnny Salib says
February 20, 2018 at 10:40 amNo problem Margie, thanks for checking it out! And yes warm water does WONDERS!
Becky W. says
February 19, 2018 at 8:00 pmTo help our girl get more liquid, we freeze unsalted chicken stock in ice trays. We give her two or three cubes each day for treats and she loves them!
Johnny Salib says
February 19, 2018 at 8:04 pmThat’s a great choice! We used to use Fruitables Beef Broth with Beau! 🙂
Ellen Pilch says
February 19, 2018 at 7:44 pmThat is a good idea to add hot water to warm the food instead of the microwave. I am going to do that,
Johnny Salib says
February 19, 2018 at 8:04 pmDo it up and tell me how it goes with your kitties <3
Crystal and Daisy Mae says
February 19, 2018 at 4:12 pmWe feed Daisy Mae both dry food which is 3 different kinds of Meow Mix and around noon we give her Fancy Feast canned food. She only gets 1/4 of a can a day and we warm it up by letting it get room temperature after being in the refrigerator. If her food by the end of Supper it gets tossed.
Johnny Salib says
February 19, 2018 at 8:06 pmI’m glad you’ve gotten a hang of it with Daisy Mae 😀
Eastside Cats says
February 19, 2018 at 2:54 pmHuh! I never really thought about oxidization of wet OR dry food! And we have those crappy plastic lids; now, I’ll go in search of silicone ones. Manny and CB eat up every morsel of food in minutes, but Angel tends to graze, and we leave the food out for longer than what you’ve mentioned. Hmm, think I’ll read your post to The Hubby tonight!
Johnny Salib says
February 19, 2018 at 3:28 pmYeah, I’m really not a huge fan on the plastic ones… yes they are cheaper, but might as well invest because I never lose them and the silicone ones haven’t ripped or been damaged.
The Swiss Cats says
February 19, 2018 at 2:07 pmGreat post ! We wouldn’t recommend the microwave, though : a food portion from the fridge comes quickly to room temperature. Adding warm water is a good idea to be quick. Purrs
Johnny Salib says
February 19, 2018 at 3:28 pmAbsolutely! Yeah, so many vets have recommended we microwave, but I’m still pretty sketched out by it.