How long do you leave your wet food out?

[Thaiger & Katie]

I read an article today and panicked when it said that Fancy Feast says to pick up wet food after 30 minutes.



Thaiger eats SO slowly that she will barely get through a 3 oz can in 8 hours on a GOOD DAY. She doesn't get enough food as it is lately so I hate to think of having to fed her in a shortened time span and cannot really do so when i'm at work all day and class at night.

SO - how long do you guys leave your wet food out and have you had any bad experiences doing so? I find she eats the most food over night so i'll have cans out for 24 hours that he nibbles at through the night. Is this a no, no? A timed feeder won't do much for me because she randomly wanders up to her food at different times and is not consistent at all.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Many here leave it out 12 hours with no reported problems.

 

[Critter Mom]

At night I set out 4-6 timed feeds (wet food) for Saoirse, to be dispensed at 2-hourly intervals. Up until recently it helped to make available small portions at regular intervals to keep her numbers in the normal range. (She has just come out of remission.)

You could try splitting up Thaiger's food into portions and set timed feeders to make it available at regular intervals. You might try:

1. Put down dish of food from the can at normal temperature (assuming that you don't live in the tropics - not sure how very hot climates might affect things...).

2. Set up one timed feeder compartment with some refrigerated food to open, say 2-3 hours after previous feed. (NB in summer I use my timed feeders with the ice packs.)

3. Set up another compartment with refrigerated food with some ice cubes on top - maybe set for 2-3 hours later.

4. Set up another compartment with some frozen food and maybe some water to keep it moist when it thaws. Again set the interval for 2-3 hours after previous feed. (Maybe you could make the frozen portion a bit larger than the rest so that Thaiger will still have plenty available to eat until you're able to get on't run out of food

Just some ideas. Something like that might help keep the food more fresh and moist until Thaiger is ready to eat it. Thaiger could graze away during the day without running out of food.

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

A timed feeder won't do much for me because she randomly wanders up to her food at different times and is not consistent at all.

Yeah, my cats are inconsistent too!!!

I free-feed my lot.
When I get up in the morning I clear away everything that hasn't been eaten overnight and chuck it out.
I then put out fresh food, and top it up during the day as necessary (or indeed, chuck it out as necessary and replace it with other food if the cats say, "Nope....") If you're not home to do this then a timed feeder (or frozen pucks of food) may help to even out the food distribution.
At night I put out fresh bowls with fresh food....again...

Kitties with specific dietary requirements get specific foods/treats/ supplements at some time throughout the day.

Aine (Critter Mom) raises a very valid point about temperature. Our system works fine for us except in very hot weather. In hot weather the food deteriorates fast and (if you have windows/doors open) you may also get flies on the food... In hot weather I would remove/replace food as necessary during the day if possible (night-time is usually OK as the temperature is cooler and the flies are tucked up in their beds...bless 'em....)

Edited to add.... Some of my kitties find the food especially appealing at the point when I think it's getting 'past it' and needs chucking out...... Wierd.....

 

[Meya14]

About 8 hours sometimes if the cats are being funny. They usually eat it right away. The park of me that is a former cook cringes every time it's out longer for 4 hours though, like I come home from work and they are still eating it. I can't shake the thought of listeria. Not sure if it's an issue in cats.

In the wild, cats are eating whole muscle and it may sit out a while and be fine. The pate or ground up food has a lot more surface area for bacteria to grow.

Someone should invent a double walled bowl filled with water or liquid that you can freeze the night before. Oh here: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/435793701411864887/

 

[BJM]

I leave out for up to 12 hours; none of our cats has had a problem with that.

 

[manxcat419]

I also leave the food out for 12 hours at a time...in fact if I didn't take it away, the little horrors here would still be eating it the next day - I know because any time I've missed picking up a bowl of food, I'll come back to find one or more of them eating it!

 

[stacia]

I leave canned food out for about 9 hours at a time. I feed them in their bowls around 7:30 am (or pm), then split up a couple of additional feedings into the automatic feeder, which is not cooled at all, going off around 12 and 4. We haven't had any problems. If there's food left in the feeder (kitty sleeps through a feeding because they're upstairs, etc), we feed that in the bowl so maximum of 12 hours out.

 

[racn1320]

IS it ok to leave some food out,what if they finish it like 2 hrs after its out and then her peak insulin time is 6-8 hrs,is it ok for them not to eat 6-8 hrs peak time?

 

[Dusty Bones]

I feed Fancy Feast and for they times I leave out food 8-12 hours (night and while at work) I put down as the core refrigerated food and surround it with non-refrigerated food. It tends to keep the non-fridge food fresh longer and then the fridge food slowly warms up by they time they get to it. The worst that can happen is the food dries up, have not seen it spoil or anything like that.

 

[Melanie and Smokey]

We've filled the timed feeder for up to 20 hours. I think 24hrs would be fine. I find the timed feeders keep it from drying out better.

 

[racn1320]

I leave mine out,friskes pates and when i get home about 10.5 hrs later its all dried up,should I try leaving a can in fridge before i go to bed at night and use in am? will that help or will it dry out more?

 

[bsmith]

I read an article today and panicked when it said that Fancy Feast says to pick up wet food after 30 minutes.

Wow, those Fancy Feast people must have cats that eat on very precise schedules. "You eat now! 30 minutes, hurry up." And now I'm having flashbacks to public school lunches, same time period and everything. My cat has always eaten at a leisurely pace unless he was deciding to have a binge/purge party.

 

[bsmith]

I leave mine out,friskes pates and when i get home about 10.5 hrs later its all dried up,should I try leaving a can in fridge before i go to bed at night and use in am? will that help or will it dry out more?

You can try freezing the cat food the night before. Then when you leave it out the next day it will slowly defrost so "fresh" food will be available throughout the day as it defrosts bit by bit. I think @BJM has done this for some of his cats, if I'm remembering correctly.