The wet cat food lasts a maximum of four hours when left outside. After this time through out the old food and wash the kitty’s bowl with soap before refilling with the next meal.
A cat’s eating habit is quite different from other pets you could ever think of. Many cat owners with the sight of a half-finished bowl of food will definitely see missing bites. And this certainly implies that the cat has had enough but could often return to the food later in the day for another round of helping.
However, the cat doesn’t eat a full serving of their canned food at one sitting. Sometimes, they might have forgotten to pick up the uneaten portion. But how long do you think it’s cool to leave wet cat food out?
Well, that’s why you’ve landed on this platform to understand everything about your cat and its food.
In this article, we will walk you through how long can you leave wet cat food out? Aside from this fact, we have compiled some of the factors that spoil wet food. That’s not all, but you’ll also understand the precautions to take to prevent spoilage and how to feed your pet with wet cat food. Read further!
In case you are dealing with the watery cat stool, then you might also like to read best cat food for firm stool, these are the foods that are formulated to keep your cat’s bowl regular and get the firm stool.
How Long Can You Leave Wet Cat Food Out?
It should be noted that wet cat foods are available in two options; the sachets and the cans. With that being said, you might get the wet cat food spoiled or damaged if it’s opened. That’s why; it’s safe to administer to a cat till the expiry date if left opened. So, is it reasonable to leave the wet food out?
Well, the moment the wet cat food is open, the food becomes exposed to the air and its bacteria. Of course, if it’s warm, the rates at which the food goes off might speed up in the long run.
In fact, if the food isn’t contaminated with virulent bacteria, dangerous germs living in the home will spoil the meal.
This same method is what you use to judge the homemade food prepared for your cat. As a cat owner preparing food, lacking any preservative method could bring up microbes to develop. To avoid this problem, you need to leave the wet cat meal out when you’re ready to serve your cat in minutes.
Furthermore, if your cat doesn’t eat the whole meal in the bowl, always know that you can’t leave it out for more than four hours. And this is when the room temperature is above 50°F. Otherwise, the bowl should be emptied, and you might need to wash it appropriately with water and soap before you refill it.
Nonetheless, if you own a sick kitten, or an elderly cat, the best thing is to be attentive. More so, you may need to be careful not to err with wet food storage. This way, we recommend you to serve the only fresh meals to cats that are unhealthy.
Top 5 Factors That Spoil Wet Food
When it comes to cat food, they all have their expiry dates, either in a can or sachet. However, if you can spot the spoiled food easily and not take it, the way your cat may respond to it is quite different.
As we’ve said earlier, wet meal has a shorter life span than dry meal, and certain factors can speed up its spoilage. With that being said, let’s quickly walk you through the 5 factors that can spoil wet food.
1. Weather Condition/Temperature
If you’ve been wondering what could have been spoiling your food, worry less. Temperature is one thing that affects the lifespan of any food. And of course, the higher the room temperature, the quicker the meal spoils.
Moreover, it that goes off in only 15 minutes in a warm climate can stay longer if the weather is cold.
2. Air Factor
This is another thing to put into consideration as a cat owner. Always understand the fact that an open can of wet cuisine that gets in contact with air could be exposed to bacteria.
Therefore, when these bacteria are mixed with the canned stuff, they can change the composition of the food in the long run and dry it out. To avoid this problem, ensure you cover the open can if you’re leaving it for an extended period.
3. Moisture in the Room
The moisture in the room is another factor that could cause wet cat food spoilage. This means, the higher the humidity of the air in the room, the faster it goes off. This way, if you’ve checked the humidity level in your house and it’s above 75 percent, it would be better to leave the open can out in no longer than 15 minutes.
On the flip side, you can leave it for up to 30 minutes in rooms with a significantly lower humidity level of around 30 percent. With this in place, you’ve prevented your wet meal from getting spoiled and contaminated.
4. Type/Amount of Bacteria
Bacteria is among the top five factors that can spoil it. And this is because; some bacteria are more likely to cause disease than others.
So, if these bacteria are present in the meal, the risk of cat infection and sickness may increase. Given the right conditions, salmonella and listeria are probably the most dangerous bacteria.
5. Be Aware of Expiration Date
Sometimes it’s crucial to know and check the expiry date before a real purchase. Even if your cat cuisine appears to be fine when you open, the expiration can cause the chance of spoilage to be on the increase.
So, if you discover that your cat isn’t interested, you should understand that the food is spoiled.
4 Ways to Prevent Wet Food Spoilage
There are many working methods to prevent the spoilage of canned cat meal in today’s world. Nevertheless, we recommend you to use the three ways listed in this article. Meanwhile, the way you’ve stored unopened wet can food plays a crucial role in a cat’s health. Without further ado, below are the ways to prevent it.
1. Serve in Right Portion
One of the basic rules of serving a cat’s wet meal is to dish it in a small portion. If you want to detect how much food your cat needs, you need to make some observations while serving the meal daily.
In fact, add and remove food to find the right portion; afterward, stick to it, and you’ll always find your cat bowl emptied.
2. Refrigerate an Open Can
If you’re not ready to serve an open wet food, the best way to keep it healthy is to refrigerate it. By doing so, it will stay fresh for up to four days, and it will also be healthy. On the flip side, you should always remember to warm the canned meal when feeding your pet since the cat doesn’t eat cold.
If possible, cover it with plastic wrap and put it into a microwave on a low setting for a short period of time. In addition to this fact, ensure you avoid overheating the food not to burn your little pet’s tongue.
3. Use a Disposable Ziploc Bag
Using a disposable Ziploc bag is another thing to put into consideration. If you store the food in your fridge, it may dry off quickly, becoming inedible for your pet. Instead, place the leftover meal into a Ziploc bag and squeeze it anywhere in your fridge.
This won’t take up much space, and you’ll be able to preserve your cat’s canned meal. Also, you can either put it in the sink or let warm water run over it.
4. Keep Expiration Date in Mind
All food types (wet or dry), including cats, have an expiry date. The first thing you should consider after buying the meal is to check the expiry date. Some manufacturers may not provide a specific date but write on year.
In this case, you’ll have to calculate the expiration date yourself. But in all cases, you, as a cat parent, ought to stick to expiry dates and never give your pet food that has expired.
Advantages of Administering Wet Food
- Feeding a cat with wet food primarily provide the animal with the necessary hydration needed
- Great source of protein, and it helps the cat to maintain the necessary muscle mass
- Feeding your cat with wet meal also provides protein in their natural state
- Has a low energy density, and that’s why it’s a better option
- It has as a delicious strong scent, which makes the it very attractive to cats
- Feeding cat with canned meal isn’t painful because it is soft and easily chewed
- It has fewer preservatives compared to dry food that usually has many preservatives to keep it fresh in the bag
- They tend to be lower in carbohydrates and prevent weight gain and even promote weight loss
For furkid parent’s education, we recently added a new resource on how long can dry cat food sit out? It will help you understand how much time you can leave the cat food outside so you can save the food from being spoiled, and ensure that your furkid gets fresh food every time.
How much dry food should a cat eat? It helps you calculate the right amount of food according to the age and weight of your feline. In the section on making wet cat food, we share three new recipes to cook at home.
I love to play cat games, and recently I figured out how to get cat food in battle cats; these ten ways might help you keep your cat healthy in the game.
Bottom Line
Getting a lovely diet for your cat is quite essential to keep them healthy. Of course, you should both try wet and dry food, but dry might appear more expensive. So, what you should be careful about is the freshness of the food.
Nonetheless, avoid feeding your pet with expired food since it might lead to health issues.