WET FOOD needed that can be left in dish for several days

frostyplan · Nov 21, 2005

I'm looking for a brand of WET FOOD that I can leave in my cat's dish for several days. We travel often and recently we took kitty completely off of dry food due to "mega colon syndrome". She's adjusted well, but I'm having to feed her 2 or 3 times a day with wet food.

Now if we need to leave for a few days, I'd like to leave enough WET FOOD in her dish (WITH OUT IT SPOILING). Does anyone out there have ANY IDEAS?

THANKS!

coaster · Nov 21, 2005

Hmmmm....haven't ever heard of any such.....so I'm curious to.....subscribing to see if someone has an answer.

pokey318 · Nov 21, 2005

Do you not have a neighbor that can come in a feed her once or twice a day? I get a neighborhood kid to come over and feed and clean the litter box.

I can't imagine there is canned food that could sit out that long without spoiling.

squirtle · Nov 21, 2005

I really don't think there is such a thing....
Could you check around and hire a reliable pet sitter? Or ask a neighbor?

silverbook · Nov 21, 2005

I have never heard of any food like that. It would probably be best to get friend or trusted neighbor to come and feed the cat. Or board at a place that you trust.

ckatz · Nov 21, 2005

There are automatic pet feeders you can try, they have ice packs to keep the food fresh. But I wouldn't use them for longer than 2 days.

Cynthia

sharky · Nov 21, 2005

Originally Posted by frostyplan

I'm looking for a brand of WET FOOD that I can leave in my cat's dish for several days. We travel often and recently we took kitty completely off of dry food due to "mega colon syndrome". She's adjusted well, but I'm having to feed her 2 or 3 times a day with wet food.

Now if we need to leave for a few days, I'd like to leave enough WET FOOD in her dish (WITH OUT IT SPOILING). Does anyone out there have ANY IDEAS?

THANKS!

The ingrediants are well disgusting but have you looked at semi moist??

pokey318 · Nov 21, 2005

If you leave the semi moist out it will turn to kibble! It becomes hard and dry.

hell603 · Nov 21, 2005

Think about it would you really give your kits moist food that goes without spoiling for several days - imagine the amount of perservatives and chemical that would have to be in it - YUCK!! The only suggestions I have was already presented namely, friend, neighbor, pet sitter and the automatic feeder with the ice packs underneath wich works well actually.

pat · Nov 21, 2005

There is no such food...all canned cat food that actually has protein in it, will spoil - and begin doing so within an hour.

There are auto timer feeding dishes with refrigerated compartments that I think could handle 2 days worth of food. Let me see what I can find.

brb.

pat · Nov 21, 2005

Here is one model...note they do not suggest using for wet food for more than 1-2 days.
click here

zoggy · Nov 21, 2005

If I open one can of cat food and leave it open, how long can it go without spoiling?

pat · Nov 21, 2005

Originally Posted by Zoggy

If I open one can of cat food and leave it open, how long can it go without spoiling?

I think you are asking for trouble within an hour. Let me see if I can find an article or link to support that.

coaster · Nov 21, 2005

Bacteria starts growing in it as soon as it's opened. The rate of growth is dependent on the temperature of the medium (the food) and the nutrient source (the food). On the flip side, growth is inhibited by preservatives. So, there's no clear-cut answer as to how long before it spoils, because the only answer is "it depends." And at what point will it make your cat sick? You don't know. That too, depends. On the size of the cat, the health of its immune system, etc.

As a general rule of thumb, most recommendations are to not leave wet food out more than 30 minutes. Do some people do it and get away with it? Yes. Maybe they're just lucky. I don't know. Some people who leave wet food out say that it dries out and after that happens their cats won't eat it anyway. But since I don't know, I wouldn't want to experiment on my cats to find out how long I can leave wet food out before it makes them sick.

edit->sorry, composing while Pat posted. I'll defer to the references she cites.

pat · Nov 21, 2005

Originally Posted by coaster

Bacteria starts growing in it as soon as it's opened. The rate of growth is dependent on the temperature of the medium (the food) and the nutrient source (the food). On the flip side, growth is inhibited by preservatives. So, there's no clear-cut answer as to how long before it spoils, because the only answer is "it depends." And at what point will it make your cat sick? You don't know. That too, depends. On the size of the cat, the health of its immune system, etc.

As a general rule of thumb, most recommendations are to not leave wet food out more than 30 minutes. Do some people do it and get away with it? Yes. Maybe they're just lucky. I don't know. Some people who leave wet food out say that it dries out and after that happens their cats won't eat it anyway. But since I don't know, I wouldn't want to experiment on my cats to find out how long I can leave wet food out before it makes them sick.

edit->sorry, composing while Pat posted. I'll defer to the references she cites.

Thank you! I didn't find anything definitive, except mentions that 2-3 feedings per day is best, not able to leave wet food out all day, refrigerating unused portions..nothing to back up what I felt, which is I wouldn't leave my meat-based food out for hours and still eat it ;-)

coaster · Nov 21, 2005

You're welcome!! I'm certainly no nutrition expert. I've read or heard half an hour here and there, and I'm just passing that on. But I can't for the life of me remember where I picked it up. So I don't have any definitive references, either.

horatio · Nov 21, 2005

Originally Posted by frostyplan

I'm looking for a brand of WET FOOD that I can leave in my cat's dish for several days. We travel often and recently we took kitty completely off of dry food due to "mega colon syndrome". She's adjusted well, but I'm having to feed her 2 or 3 times a day with wet food.

Now if we need to leave for a few days, I'd like to leave enough WET FOOD in her dish (WITH OUT IT SPOILING). Does anyone out there have ANY IDEAS?

THANKS!

i dun think there is any wet food that wud even last at the end of the day!! y not putting dry kibbles instead...

semiferal · Nov 22, 2005

Canned food is meat, and it gets gross within 12 hours or less.

It is very risky to leave your cat for 2-3 days without anyone checking in on him. Medical problems can crop up unexpectedly and possibly be fatal without quick treatment. Arrange for a friend or neighbor or petsitter to stop by once or twice a day when you are gone. One thing to try is to find out if any of the techs or assistants at your vet's office do petsitting on the side. Many do.

hissy · Nov 22, 2005

Wet food should not be left out even an hour, let alone a day or two. The wet draws in bacteria from the air, being on the ground, brings low lying bacteria to the food. Your cat could be seriously ill if you left this food out a long period of time, and no way should it be left out 1 hour, 4 hours, 8 hours, 12 hours or all day. Maximum time would be 20 minutes tops. Hire a petsitter- that is what they get paid for

zoggy · Nov 22, 2005

I keep it on the shelf but with the aluminum lid on, only a crack is exposed.
Is there some way I can preserve it? In the fridge? My kittens wont eat the whole can. They usually eat 2/3 of it. So what do I do with the rest? Refrigerate and then when I need to use again microwave and add water?

WET FOOD needed that can be left in dish for several days

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