Question about rehydrating freeze-dried food

[Dodahm]

Hi, I recently started making a switch to freeze-dried food from 80% canned food + 20% dried food. She was on a prescription diet for suspected ibd without apparent symptoms. Now that the swelling in her intestines is gone, I would like to put her on a healthier diet as I didn't like the ingredients of the prescription can. However, she pretty much refuses all types of wet food, except for tuna-based ones and her original prescription can, so I am trying freeze-dried instead.

I have a question about rehydrating freeze-dried food. It seems like it takes 30+ minutes to fully rehydrate them, rather than 10 minuted as written on the package of most products. My cat is quite a picky eater and she won't finish or even touch her rehydrated food if there's some water left in the plate. She rarely drinks water from her water bowl so I need to make sure that it's well-hydrated.

So I was wondering if it's okay to rehydrate one day's worth of food in the refrigerator to make sure that they are fully rehydrated over a long time before I microwave a serving to a warm temperature and serve it to her. Is this going to allow bacteria to grow since it will be sitting in the wet form for a while even if it's refrigerated? Would appreciate some advice!

 

[lisahe]

Yes, it's fine to rehydrate the food and keep it in the refrigerator. I can't answer the question about microwaving the food (we don't have a microwave oven!) but I can say that when I used to feed raw food I spread it out on the plate, which brings it to room temperature pretty quickly.

 

[ailish]

If you add water and microwave it will rehydrate much quicker. The only thing to watch for is it's pretty hot and must cool down a bit.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Are you rehydrating it with warm to hot water? That's what I use and it rehydrates pretty quickly. I don't think it's ever taken even 10 minutes, but I guess it might depend on what brand you are using. I've done it with Stella and Chewy, Primal, Feline Natural and Fresh Is Best. But I will say that I have not ever actually measured the water to food ratio. I just eyeball it. And I break up the food into smaller chunks so it absorbs more of the water, but I do not completely crush it as my raw eater doesn't like "pate".

If you microwave the refrigerated food later, be sure not to do it on high. I think most people warm up raw food by setting it in a bowl of warm water (with the food being in a ittle baggy or something similar) vs the microwave. If I EVER warm their food in the microwaive, I do it on the defrost cycle for just a couple of seconds, stir it, test it, and repeat if necessary.