Maggots in my cats food… please help

[Catmom957]

Hello guys, I feed my cat wet food, she normally leaves some in her bowl and I will leave it there for her to eat later, she’s an indoor cat and my room literally NEVER has flies… usually if she doesn’t eat the bit she’s left by the end of the day I give her her second feed, she’s very picky but usually eats it eventually, so today I went to clean out her bowl, and while I was cleaning it I saw a maggot.. I then looked in the bin at the bit of food I threw out and I saw another maggot, I don’t know how many there was but they looked like they’d had a feast on the food I’m so upset and scared that she may have eaten them… will she be okay? This cat is literally my baby and this has never ever happened before, I feel sick to my stomach.. I’m so worried, she’s acting fine and after I cleaned her bowl I put fresh food in there and she has picked at that, but now I’m scared to leave it out for her so she can pick at it through the day… please help

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Odds are she will be OK, but you need to find the source of the maggots and get rid of them. It is possible that the can itself contained maggots. So, at this point, keep and eye out on her for signs of an issue and make sure you check each can you open before feeding her any of them.

Is there any chance she has some form of worms and what you are seeing in her food is that instead? If you can, you might want to take a pic of the maggots and send it to your vet to see if they can identify if it could be some sort of worm that she has rather than them coming from the food. Also, check her stool for worms too.

Leaving canned food out for more than about 8 hours is ill-advised, but not so much from it forming maggots as it gathering bacteria.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Here's a similar thread. Maggots In Cats Food - Help!!

If she did eat one (or some) her stomach acid should kill them right away. If you really don't have flies, then either they weren't really maggots, or somehow they were already in the food, which would seem odd due to the manufacturing process. As far as I know, they cannot live in a sealed can of cat food.

Cats don't need to have food available 24/7. Many people feed only two or three scheduled meals per day. It's just a matter of training your cat. Here is an article on how to do that: Transitioning Free-fed Kibble Kitties To Timed Meals – TheCatSite Articles