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How Long Can Wet Cat Food Sit Out? [1 Hour Max]

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How Long Can Wet Cat Food Sit Out

But how long can wet cat food sit out?

Most wet cat food manufacturers would recommend that the maximum amount of time you should let cat food sit out before feeding it to your cat is 1 hour. Throw out the Wet Food after 4 hours

Is wet cat food important?

how long can wet cat food sit out
how long can wet cat food sit out

When cats used to be in the wild, they relied on the animals they hunted and killed for moisture. However, now that your cat is no longer in the bush but is busy getting comfortable on your couch watching TV with you, your cat relies on you for his food and water. That is why it is important that you switch your cat to a wet food diet.

Most pet specialists recommend that you ensure that you switch your pussycat to a wet diet food, or you can at least supplement your cat’s dry food diet with wet food diet.

Most pet parents usually prefer dry pet diets because of their long lifespan. What about wet cat foods? How long can wet cat food sit out? That’s what you are here to find out.

Cats usually don’t eat a lot.

Hence, they are less likely to eat a full serving of their wet cat food at once. Therefore, when you serve your cat wet cat food, can you keep the uneaten portion so that your cat can eat it later?

You will be asking yourself, how long can wet cat food sit out?

What influences how long wet cat food can sit?

What influences how long wet cat food can sit?

1. Room Temperature and Weather

Well, how long the wet cat food will sit out will depend on the room temperature and how you store it. How long can wet cat food sit out in hot weather? During hot weather like summer, food usually tends to go bad. Your canned cat food will, therefore, go bad easily if you leave it for long.

  • It is recommended that during summer, you should leave wet cat food out for a maximum of twenty minutes.
  • Likewise, during the cold winter, if you always leave your heater on, you should only leave your cat’s wet food out for a maximum of twenty minutes.

2. Exposure to Air

how long can wet cat food sit out
How long can wet cat food sit out – Exposure to Air

The main reason why wet cat food tends to go bad faster is as a result of exposure to air.

When you expose canned cat food to air, it means that you have exposed it to bacteria. You should, therefore, ensure that you keep your cat’s food container very closed and airtight.

Exposing your cat’s food to air also means that you have exposed the food to the room temperature. Bacteria will find this room temperature to be favorable for them hence they will thrive. This will make the wet cat food to go bad very quickly.

If your wet cat food goes bad at a faster rate, it means that you will always be spending a lot of money buying more cat food.

How to Make Wet Cat Food Sit Out for Long?

First of all, before we look at how you can properly store your cat’s canned food, let’s take a step back.

1. Ensure that your wet cat food is not out of date

All wet cat foods should always have a “best before” date printed on them.

The first thing that you should always do is to ensure that you buy cat food with expiration dates that are as far in the future as possible. 

Cat’s canned food has not been opened, it can remain fresh for a very long time, usually years

If your cat’s canned food has not been opened, it can remain fresh for a very long time, usually years, if you store it in a place that is cool and dry. However, once you have opened canned food, the rate at which they can go bad is very high.

2. Only open Wet Can when Cat read to eat

When you have bought wet food for your cat, ensure that when you open the cans to feed your cat, you only take out the amount that you are sure your kitty can finish. You can then transfer the rest to an airtight container and store in a refrigerator for not more than seven days.

Also, serve wet food in small portions.

4. Once opened store Wet Cat Food in refrigrator or Air Tight Container

It is recommended that once you have opened your cat’s canned food, if you want it to stay good a little longer, you should store it in a refrigerator. Opened canned food should be kept in a refrigerator for not more than seven days.

How long can wet cat food sit out if not stored in a refrigerator? Leading wet cat food manufacturer Purina suggests that you should throw away wet cat food that has sat out for more than one hour.

You can also consider freezing single-serve portions and thawing them on whenever you want to feed your cat.

You should, therefore, store the food in a refrigerator so that it can last for about seven days. You can also consider freezing single-serve portions and thawing them on whenever you want to feed your cat.

I guess you would never eat foods that have been sitting outside there for hours. You should also treat your cat in the same way as you would treat yourself. You should, therefore, avoid feeding your cat food that has sat out for long.

What Can Happen If You Feed Your Cat Food That Has sat out for Long?

how long can wet cat food sit out
how long can wet cat food sit out

When dealing with wet cat food, you should have the answer to the question, “What happen if your cat eats old wet cat food?”

You know the answer to this question.

1. Your Cat may get sick eating Contaminated Foods

If you feed your feline friend on wet food that has sat out for long, there are high chances that the food is already contaminated. This can make your cat get sick since he may suffer from food poisoning.

Some cats have “class, ” and they will keenly observe how you handle their food. If they feel like you have mishandled their food, then they will politely refuse to consume it. Other cats can also be rude; they will just knock over the wet food and even step on it. This requires you to be very careful in the way you handle their wet food.

Food that has sat out for long is also likely to be spoilt. Wet cat food tends to go bad very quickly as compared to dry cat food. This is because wet cat food contains a lot of moisture and fats. This provides a very conducive environment for bacteria to thrive.

2. Your Cat may get Bloated

If your cat takes this old wet food, he may end up getting bloated. If you notice that your cat takes more time in the toilet, just know that something is wrong. He may also be making nonstop visits to the toilet after consuming the contaminated food.

This will help you to ensure that you practice food safety to ensure that your cat does not eat contaminated food.

3. Your Cat may reject the wet Food and go Hungry

Your feline friend is like your real family; there is no reason at all why you should feed him on dry, contaminated food. If you go ahead to do that, then you do not deserve to own that feline friend.

How Long Can Wet Cat Food Sit Out Summary

How long can wet cat food sit out?

Well, not for long as you have already learned.

Most wet cat food manufacturers would recommend that the maximum amount of time you should let cat food sit out before feeding it to your cat is 1 hour. Past an hour, this food is likely to be contaminated hence if fed to your cat; it will definitely not sit well with his stomach. Throw out food after 4 Hours

So we hope that you will be very careful when feeding your cat on wet foods so that you ensure that you don’t feed him food that has sat out for long.

This is because you now know the answer to the question, “How long can wet cat food sit out?” Help your cat to stay healthy by not consuming contaminated food. Have you been feeding your cat on wet food? For how long have you been leaving the wet cat food to stay out?

Do you have anything to add regarding this issue of wet cat food sitting out?

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HeadCat

I am a Female 3 year Bengal Crossbreed from London, UK