Warming up the canned food?

It seems like Brady only enjoys the first bite out of a can or tray of wet and after that he has to "think about it" when it comes to eating it. He usually gets a heaping tablespoon of canned along with his dry in the evening. After a new can or tray is opened, it goes into the fridge until the next day. I was thinking maybe he doesn't like eating cold food? Like if he enjoys killing something and eating it, it would be warm and not cold the way it comes out of the refrigerator. Either that or somehow the canned picks up some kind of refrigerator taste after only one day? Has anyone tried letting the canned warm up to room temperature before feeding it and does it make your cat more likely to eat it?

Since my Bella is "dieting" I only give her a little bit of wet in the morning and evening (plus she has 1/2 cup dry food per day). I also keep her opened cans i the fridge. I warm up her portion after that--not much, just a little warmer than room temp. and she seems to like this. Can't cold food upset their stomachs? I always thought so, but am not sure

I have two who aren't big on canned food at all. I find that mixing the refrigerated food with a couple of tablespoons of very warm water gets them to eat a little. They would both rather stick to dry.

My one who eats only canned food isn't bothered by the temperature of the refrigerated stuff. He'll eat anything, though.

My kitties are picky too. I find that if I sprinkle a few pieces of their dry food on top of the wet they dig in and lick the bowl clean. If I forget the dry, the don't touch it! Go figure!

Tessie HATES cold wet food. I use to use the 5.5oz cans and give her half and put the rest in the fridge. The next day I just add warm water to it to make it room temperature. She kind of ate it. Then I tried taking the extra out of the can and put it into another container (glass) in the fridge. She had no hesitation to eat it when I did that.
So I would try taking the extra wet food out of the can and put it in another container in the fridge. Then the next day warm it up with warm water.

I mix in water to boost the H2O in the food ( yeah a little much in a food 3/4 water already )...

I add Lukewarm to warm it up

My cat definitely likes his wet food warm after it has been refrigerated. He will not eat it unless it's warm; so I microwave the leftover.

I tried adding warm water (instead of microwaving), but he does not like his wet food too wet (especially the pate one). This is all from trial and error.

If I have time, I'll sit the cat food from the fridge on the counter for 15-30 mins (or when we finish eating). If not, then I just simply add some hot water to the mix and stir it up good to warm it up - then serve.

I never microwave the food.

Cats use their sense of smell immensely when it comes to eating. Cold food does not smell, so heating it in the microwave for a few seconds (4-10 sec see below) releases the smell. Be sure to stir well anc check for hotspots! Warming foods is especially important for cats with colds or who are otherwise not eating well - CRF cats, etc.

Even so, we have a cat where I work who will ONLY eat a freshly opened can each day, go figure... she's the boss....

It is interesting to note that cheap foods, i.e. Fancy Feast and Friskie's require less time to warm up then the expensive ones, i.e. Wellness and Natural Balance.

Personally I would not add water because it will dilute the taste.

Not really dilute the taste at all, and its another method of making sure your cat is getting extra water too

Attitude and Nuts won't eat it if I add water. It ends up going to the outside cats who I swear would eat anything if I put it on a paper plate. They don't complain about it being watered down I think they eat it too quickly(there are 5-7 of them and one or 2 3 oz cans of cat food so they got to be fast if they want some) to even notice.

Taryn

It is amazing how some can be so picky and others not care either way. My Chester is one who doesn't care if it is fresh from the can or cold from the fridge. As long as it is chunks with sauce he is a happy camper. Trying to warm it up before they eat just a smidgen might be worth a try.

Good luck!

I warm every meal my cats are fed. Even Mazy's c/d kibble is warmed up.

I use glass dishes. I run hot water over the dishes, then put the food in the dish and stir it around until the food absorbs the heat. Jennie's is easy as she gets 1/4 cup of warm water added to her food.

Tolly will not eat food with water added.

Mazy's kibble absorbs the heat from the hot glass dish just as easily as Tolly's wet.

When I was feeding my cat 1/2 can of fancy feast in the morning I had to save the other half in the fridge and had no problems as long as I nuked it in the microwave for 10 seconds. My cat Count Pouncula would never eat cold food but he hated it really hot to. There's a fine line in food temp for some cats and for my cat that line is very thin.

I let the cold can sit in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes. This seems to do the trick for my guys.

I've tried running hot water over the can, and adding a little bit of warm water. Its hit or miss whether they'll eat it. Cindy is fussy, but even Swanie who will eat pretty much anything often just licks at it a bit.