Dry Food Going Bad?

[ArtNJ]

I'm really trying to puzzle out what is going on with my cats. I bought a 16 pound bag of cat food maybe 6 months or so ago. My two share a 5.5 oz can daily with the remainder of their hunger satisfied by dry, and neither are particularly food motivated, so the 16 pounds lasts a long while. Dont recall brand exactly, but likely either Friskies, 9 Lives or Purina. Anyway, they are rejecting the last 1/3 of a pound hard. I have a sealable plastic container that I empty the bag into once opened -- I think it is pretty air tight or certainly very close. I wash the container out when its empty and towel dry it, so there is no truly ancient dry food left or anything like that.

The obvious answer is just to throw the food out, and I'm going to do that, but just puzzled because I've been doing exactly this for many years and never had this happen before. I guess I might want to buy a smaller bag next time too.

 

[susanm9006]

Humidity can be high in summer months and every time you open the bag a bit gets in. Try throwing some chips in a plastic container, opening it once a day and if you check it in a few weeks my bet is they will no longer be crisp. I just buy a small bag of dry but I can tell from the cats reactions when it is no longer fresh.

 

[amethyst]

In general for pet food I don't open more then one month worth at a time that I will be opening daily. So if you get a big bag that will last you several months it's best to divide it up into several containers, one month worth per container. I know you said you have been just dumping it all in one container for years, but I know many companies are now trying to move away from having so many chemicals in their foods. That means it's better/safer for cats but also means it may not stay good for as long as it use to since less or different preservatives are used.

 

[DeesCats]

I had the same problem with a 14 lb bag of dry cat food I only feed to the outdoor feral and stray cats. I ended up using 2 gallon Ziplok freezer bags to divvy up the original bag and keep them in the large dog food plastic storage container. It's working great and I can notice the 'new' smell when I open the Ziplok bags and the cats find it much more appealing.

 

[heatherwillard0614]

I have 1 kitty and I buy a 13 lb bag when I open it I split it up by 2 pounds. I then vacuum seal each bag. The bags are then placed in an air tight container. I just cut one bag open at a time and leave it in the container sitting upright with the rest of the bags laying flat next to it which works great holding the one bag straight up. This has worked very well for us.

D DeesCats I haven't tried ziplock bags. I was worried that it would still leak air a little.. I do the same thing you do but with vacuum sealed bags.. how soon do you go through a bag of food?

 

[ArtNJ]

Huh, I posted but didn't really expect such good insight and advice! Thanks all, we'll figure out how to split the bag up.

 

[heatherwillard0614]

Huh, I posted but didn't really expect such good insight and advice! Thanks all, we'll figure out how to split the bag up.

Of course... We're one big community. We gotta try to help each other any way possible. I think what D DeesCats said about the ziplock bags and then store them in an airtight container would work. Even if the bags leak a tiny bit of air they have the container as well. I'm actually going to do it that way from now on because vacuum seal bags are a little pricey..

 

[Tobermory]

I use dry food for treats only, so even a small bag lasts a long time. At the recommendation of my vet, I put the bag in the freezer for three days to kill food mites, then divide it into small containers and keep it in the fridge. Otherwise, it goes rancid before I can use it all. This way, even the last bit in the bag smells fresh!

 

[DeesCats]

heatherwillard0614 , I'm not sure but I think the bag lasts about 6 months at least during the warm months. I don't use the regular Ziplok bags but the ones meant for freezer use since they are more heavy duty.

I also wash the bags before reusing them with warm water and Dawn dishwashing soap, let them air dry thoroughly and then reuse them.

I also freeze store bought bread, muffins and packaged meat as well as aquarium fish food that I buy in bulk and it's worked well for years. Just express as much air out of the freezer bags as you can and check the bags before reusing to be sure they still seal well and there are no pinholes in the bags.

 

[heatherwillard0614]

heatherwillard0614 , I'm not sure but I think the bag lasts about 6 months at least during the warm months. I don't use the regular Ziplok bags but the ones meant for freezer use since they are more heavy duty.

I also wash the bags before reusing them with warm water and Dawn dishwashing soap, let them air dry thoroughly and then reuse them.

I also freeze store bought bread, muffins and packaged meat as well as aquarium fish food that I buy in bulk and it's worked well for years. Just express as much air out of the freezer bags as you can and check the bags before reusing to be sure they still seal well and there are no pinholes in the bags.

Yea we get the freezer ones all the time because they are better quality in my opinion. Thank you I'll give it a try. She doesn't go through it in 6 months but it should still be fine. It's closer to 9-10 months which shouldn't be much of a difference being in the bags in an airtight container as well. Thank you for the info.