Wet Food out Overnight

My little guy has a tendency of begging for food, and when I give him a can (or half, it doesn't matter how much I give him) he eats some and then eaves the rest for later. I'm worried the wet food has been sitting out too long and that it may make him sick. Any advice?

Personally, I've left wet food out overnight and out during the day while I'm at work - I just add some extra water to it so it doesn't get dried up & crusty....

Never had any issues with doing that - as long as it stays moist (the extra waters) my guys will eat it, even if they don't eat it all in one sitting.  

It's fine to leave canned food out for a couple of hours It won't spoil since it's a cooked product. It may get dry which is why some people add extra water to keep the food moist or freeze it into portion sizes and then let the frozen food slowly defrost in a bowl or timed feeder.

Hi ashesmomma i feed my kittens wet food and they usually eat it all up straight away however i read up on this there are many p.o.v. but i have tended to pick up their bowls 15 mins after serving because of the risk of bacteria, this obviously will vary according to temp of the room and your tolerance of the risk. There's a similar thread here:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/185439/how-long-can-wet-cat-food-stay-out

We also feed our kittens wet food for lunch whilst away at work in a timed covered feeder with ice pack, not sure and i've often wondered whether this really minimises the risk of bacteria, should do.

Hope this helps

alic23 said:

Hi ashesmomma i feed my kittens wet food and they usually eat it all up straight away however i read up on this there are many p.o.v. but i have tended to pick up their bowls 15 mins after serving because of the risk of bacteria, this obviously will vary according to temp of the room and your tolerance of the risk. There's a similar thread here:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/185439/how-long-can-wet-cat-food-stay-out

We also feed our kittens wet food for lunch whilst away at work in a timed covered feeder with ice pack, not sure and i've often wondered whether this really minimises the risk of bacteria, should do.

Hope this helps

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We leave the canned food out overnight. Which is when Mook generally eats. Our floors are pretty cold in the winter and we AC in the summer. If you are using some form of raw or the Stella and Chewy FD I wouldn't leave it out for more than an hour.  We occasionally use foam bowls but I prefer stainless. Keeping what holds the food sterile is just as important.

I don't have this issue right now, but in the past I've left canned food out overnight or all day after an evening or morning feeding respectively.  I draw the line at about 12 hours, but I've seen other reports that suggest this is fine.  Some canned foods tolerate it better than others in terms of consistency after a few hours.  Some types of food won't really dry and get crusty the way others will.  For most healthy cats this should not make them sick.

The alternative is to try to get your cat used to eating a meal at the mealtime rather than grazing.  In this case what you do is put the food down, and then pick any remainder up after an hour.  After getting conditioned to this and you NOT GIVING IN to pleas for more food later, he should eventually eat more at each mealtime to the point where he's getting his whole portion within the hour.  You could maybe start out with a longer period of time (2 or 3 hours) and gradually work it shorter.  

I save old plastic lids. My cats are quite capable of flipping them off the bowls. I have to put them back obviously. It just wouldn't be catitude to put something back.

I have left wet food out overnight many times.  Sawyer isn't one to eat all of it right away unless he REALLY likes it.  So often he will eat some and then pick at it later and sometimes it isn't until morning until it is gone.  He doesn't get his breakfast until the food from the night before is gone!  If he doesn't eat it within 12 hours I throw it out.  Usually that doesn't happen and if it does it is a tiny bit.