How long can food sit in the fridge?

We've switched to mostly wet food now. She loves it. There's more pee now and less poop, and I get to sneak water in with her wet meals, too (she's not too picky so she gobbles down some water that I pour into her bowl along with her canned food).

However, I bought two trays of 12oz cans of Soulistic and Wellness. We only have one cat and she eats about 5 oz a day. Am I being stupid, or will I be able to use up the food before it roots? How long can an open can sit in the fridge? I have no problem keeping the contents of a can in an airtight container, instead of an opened can, etc. If I don't alternate between flavours before a can is all eaten up, I guess I'd be through a can within about three days. Is there room for variety at all? Should we just stick to one can until it's gone?

Aaaaaa. So much to think about and soooo much to learn.

I thought I posted a thread on this before, but can't find it. Wellness somewhere on their website said 3 days IIRC.

What you can do to make things easy on yourself, is to find an airtight enclosure that is just slightly bigger than the can. That way you just plop the whole thing in there, and don't have to constantly clean it or worry about scraping out every last bit out of the can AND the container you put it in.

Also, I bought trays of Wellness 12oz and my kitties got flavor burnout no it. For freshness though, I would try finishing a whole can before switching flavors, but definitely switch after each can IMO.

After the recent Wellness recall, I also recommend getting cans from different manufacturers, that way if there is a deficiency in one product, its only a part of your kitties diet.

With four cats, I don't often run into an issue where freshness in opened cans of food is concerned. But, since one of my kitties eats a prescription diet and does eat wet food, I do have some experience and advice to offer.

First off, I would never leave an open can in the refrigerator. I typically use the can covers and buy the ones that I've tested and know fit very well on top of the can. If the can is not airtight, I wouldn't use it past a couple of hours let alone a day or more. My roommate buys airtight containers and puts the food right into the container rather than having the can itself in the refrigerator. And, as far as I know, this seems to work well for her. I just don't like to do dishes and would rather wash a can cover than an entire container . My Finnegan finishes his can of cat food in 24-36 hours. So, it's not as long a period as what you're looking at. But, as long as the can is covered, I see no issue with it being in the refrigerator for 3 days. I've contacted a number of manufacturers and they've all said that three days is really the limit. But, considering your kitty would go through one can in that amount of time, it seems as though that wouldn't be an issue for you.

As far as maintaining variety, there is no problem in switching up flavors and brands (manufacturers) every time a new can is needed. I, however, would try not to have two open cans at once as that will limit the time each can is fresh. A flavor change every 3 days seems reasonable to me (I sometimes eat things for three days straight -- it's only day 4 that I start to whine and moan about it). If your kitty does seem to get bored with the food within that 3 day period of time, I would suggest spicing his or her food up by adding some dried tuna or bonito flakes to the top of the dish when feeding. Changing the consistency may also help. Try adding some warm water one of the days. Or, since you already offer some additional moisture with the wet food, mix it up a bit and allow the food to be a thicker consistency every so often. I've even mixed in some plain chicken baby food (without garlic, onion, or any other potential dangerous ingredients) or pumpkin if the occasion called for it. But, truthfully, as long as your kitty will be getting a flavor or brand change every 3 days or so, I think it will be okay.

I know it's a daunting task when trying to figure out how all this works. But, as picky as some cats can be, as long as they have fresh food, fresh water, a clean litter pan, and love...well, they usually seem content. I know my cats are.

Thanks, both of you!

I stuffed the rest of the can this morning into a glass Pyrex (haaaaate plastic dishes) and hopefully it'll last long enough for her to finish it.

However, and of course it was bound to happen once I end up with a whole tray of cans :roll: , my not-at-all-picky-eater is not even remotely thrilled with her Soulistic duck and chicken meal.

If I spoke cat, I would have heard a ton of swear words, I think, when I put that food in her bowl. She ate some, because she is greedy and can't just ignore a meal, but she kind of hated it.

Can covers are really convenient! They look like this: http://petcarelive.com/img/Pet_Suppl...can-covers.jpg and I think can be found at most pet stores. They fit snugly over the can and save you the trouble of having to scoop the leftover food into a separate dish.

And yup, I rotate varieties as well. I feed mostly raw (3 different flavors) with occasional canned, and the canned consists of 3 different brands in a few different flavors. Unlike on kibble, cats seem to handle canned food transitions with greater ease, and giving them that variety is great for the reasons other posters mentioned above.

What I do with food and canned pumpkin is, fill ice trays with them, and once they are frozen I dump the cubes into a freezer ziplock bag - that keeps the food good and fresh for a LONG time. Just make sure the ziplock bags are the freezer type, avoiding freezer burn. My cats will not eat from a can if it is not from the same day - i.e. open in the morning, keep the other half in the freezer for the night meal. Anything more than that they will flat out refuse it.
When it is frozen though, they can't even notice it.
I just defrost it on the microwave. For the pumpkin, I just get the ration for the day on the night before and put in the fridge in an airtight container.

Originally Posted by Carolina

I just defrost it on the microwave. For the pumpkin, I just get the ration for the day on the night before and put in the fridge in an airtight container.

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For pumpkin its ok, but microwave ovens destroy taurine in the cat food. Never tested it, but thats what I have read at least.

Both my cats HATED the Soulistic duck & chicken as well. They refused to eat a single bite (and they had not eaten in several hours so they had to have been hungry). They ate the Soulistic chicken & lamb though.

edit: oops, they ate the Holistic Select chicken & lamb and hated the Holistic Select duck & chicken.

She's gonna have to learn to love duckies and chickens. Almost 12 full cans to go and I refuse to just feed them to the raccoons.

Would the store allow you to return them and refund you?

I just thought I'd stop by and let you know how senile I am.

I don't have Soulistic duck and chicken. It's Holistic Select. Soulistic are pouches that I bought, with chicken in some pumpkin soup.

I am officially dumb.

Originally Posted by Ducman69

For pumpkin its ok, but microwave ovens destroy taurine in the cat food. Never tested it, but thats what I have read at least.

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not talking about cooking _ just getting to room temperature, 15 secs or so. I doubt that will affect the taurine in it...

Maybe I am bad then! I got the can covers and I've used a can for 4-5 days, especially when Parker is being picky and doesn't want to eat a lot. He's never gotten sick or anything from it, in the 3 years I've been doing it. Although, if after 5 days, there is any in the can (rare), I do toss it out.

Originally Posted by Carolina

not talking about cooking _ just getting to room temperature, 15 secs or so. I doubt that will affect the taurine in it...

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That's cooking with how a microwave works...

Originally Posted by furryfriends50

That's cooking with how a microwave works...

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Care to explain? I think I have a pretty good idea of how it works, but I want to hear what you know that I don't....

Also: it is said that heat destroys taurine in raw meat. We are also talking about cooking.
Note I am only talking about bringing up canned food, not raw, to room temperature - not boiling not cooking - those foods are, already cooked with Taurine added.

Originally Posted by Kittica

Thanks, both of you!

I stuffed the rest of the can this morning into a glass Pyrex (haaaaate plastic dishes) and hopefully it'll last long enough for her to finish it.

However, and of course it was bound to happen once I end up with a whole tray of cans :roll: , my not-at-all-picky-eater is not even remotely thrilled with her Soulistic duck and chicken meal.

If I spoke cat, I would have heard a ton of swear words, I think, when I put that food in her bowl. She ate some, because she is greedy and can't just ignore a meal, but she kind of hated it.

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Well, here is a 3rd opinion I don't have that problem here because of my 4 felines. I feed an entire can at a time, splitting it between the 4 of them. No more than 3 days in the fridge. Can lids are great to use but I don't like them at all but that's just me. You can buy those disposable containers at the supermarket. I've not used them for cat food but I would if I needed to. I'd transfer the cat food to the container before refrigerating it. The container last quite awhile and can be washed in the top shelf of the dishwasher.

I have a bunch of glass containers I can use, all air-tight. And I don't mind washing them, of course, and reusing for my own food as well.

Speaking of that Holistic Select ducks and chickens... off to Petco they go. She refuses to eat them and I checked with the store today - they'll take my online order and let me either get my money back, or exchange the remaining 11 cans for something Kittica actually cares for.

I'll give Holistic another try with a random can of lamb, but otherwise I'll just play safe and get her Wellness and Merrick.

I am really surprised she didn't want it, as that cat normally eats anything.

Originally Posted by Carolina

Care to explain? I think I have a pretty good idea of how it works, but I want to hear what you know that I don't....

Also: it is said that heat destroys taurine in raw meat. We are also talking about cooking.
Note I am only talking about bringing up canned food, not raw, to room temperature - not boiling not cooking - those foods are, already cooked with Taurine added.

Click to expand...

All the microwave is doing is exciting the water molecules, but I honestly have no idea how it affects amino acids. I do know its delicate though, as even just finely chopping/griding meat can significantly reduce taurine levels just by oxidation.

I've just heard it repeated so often when it comes to folic acid or taurine and the like that they are delicate enough its better to add warmed water or surround it by warmed water rather than a low-power spin in the microwave that its a cause for concern.

The only thing I can guess is that uneven penetration of the microwave beam may be causing hot spots which could damage the taurine even while overall only becoming slightly warm in temperature. *shrugs*

I can keep mine in there 1-2 days, I don't always feed canned but you may want to get one of those pet food lids to cover it up to prevent it from getting moldy.