How to keep opened wet cat food?

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Mollycat
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How to keep opened wet cat food?

Post by Mollycat »

Following on from my fat cat question when Molly loved her new renal food so much I was worried about her potential weight, she has now slowed down and I find my handy canine dustbin is getting 3/4 of a tin of wet renal cat food daily. Not a problem, just works out an expensive way to feed a dog and possibly not the best nutrition for him.

Does anyone have any good tips on how to keep tinned food in good shape for a couple of days?

Can you freeze it? Or does that kill too many good nutrients?

How long does it keep in a plastic pot in the fridge?

Any other ideas?
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fjm
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Re: How to keep opened wet cat food?

Post by fjm »

I freeze it - I reckon after the processing canned food gets it must be pretty temperature stable. Ice cube trays are useful for small amounts and faddy cats, as you can bag the cubes up when frozen and just defrost enough for a meal. For Poppy-dog, who needs rather less than 1/3 can of special hepatic food a day, I freeze it in one-day portions, together with enough chicken to add protein and disguise her various tablets.

I seem to spend my life juggling bowls of food these days. Poppy is on steroids, and will gobble anything she can find (including the contents of the litter tray), but needs to be on a strictly controlled diet; Pippin and Tilly both have early CKD, and have to be encouraged to eat, with easily accessible tempting meals many times a day, and Pip is very arthritic so can't jump; Sophy-dog eats her own bowlful, then checks for anything else in reach - she can climb like a squirrel so can easily reach anything Pippin can get to. I seem to spend half my waking hours trying to make sure everyone gets enough of the right foods, and none of the wrong ones!
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Ruth B
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Re: How to keep opened wet cat food?

Post by Ruth B »

When I was a lot younger I remember cat food only coming in large tins, (something like 400g), as we only had one or two cats at the time there was no way it could all be used in one go, so a bit of cling film over the top and popped in the fridge, it certainly lasted a couple of days in there. Later they even started doing plastic lids with paws embossed on them to go over the cans. I think the biggest problem was that cats evolved to eat body temperature food, and getting it straight out of a fridge was a bit alien to most and of course cold food doesn't smell as much, so letting a portion warm up a bit before putting it down might be worth it.
I think we have become a bit spoilt these days with all the small tins and pouches we can get to feed them with, not only have the cats trained their owners, they have trained the cat food manufacturers as well.
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Mollycat
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Re: How to keep opened wet cat food?

Post by Mollycat »

Oh fjm you always make me laugh though it is a sympathetic laugh and not an unkind one.

Ruth yes I remember those days. Misha had Arthurs - remember that? A brand long ago disappeared, and now I can't even remember what we replaced it with. Misha was easy though, the whole tin went down in the morning and by next morning she was ready for another. And so for 8 years my 3kg nothing cat ate 400g of tinned food plus titbits every day for 8 years until she got chronic kidney failure and went onto Hills dry, where she gained a pound in a week and stayed for the second 8 years of her life.

I always sneered at pouches as a money spinner, till I became grateful for them when I discovered that not all cats have appetite or metabolism like my Misha had. But something has changed, Molly and Boo would not eat a second helping from a tin regardless of clingfilm, plastic lids and even emptying into another bowl, in the fridge or out or in then out.

Molly is fine with the same tin left out for later the same day, I'm wondering for making a tin last 4 meals, she is eating so little of it at the moment and it's not cheap. So freezing might work then? I'll give it a go, split the tin and remember to defrost! It didn't work when I tried it with Butchers, hence the question, the jelly just turned liquid and nobody would eat it.
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Kay
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Re: How to keep opened wet cat food?

Post by Kay »

wasn't Arthur's the new name for Kattomeat? and before either there was just KIt-e-kat in a single, fishy flavour - I bet it had better ingredients than in most cat foods these days though

I have given up on wet cat food for my outside cat now, though, as he cannot manage the tough bits of meat in the pouches, some of which even survive a blasting in my blender - and won't eat pate foods - he lives now on raw mince, beef and turkey, and a good quality dry food, and I have no leftovers
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fjm
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Re: How to keep opened wet cat food?

Post by fjm »

Freezing works for the cats' Pro Plan renal, and for Poppy's hepatic loaf, and for the home cooked meat. I haven't tried it with jellied, but I can imagine it would change the texture. On the rare occasions that I am away overnight I leave the cats with fresh food and frozen - it takes a while to defrost if in a large lump, so is just ready to eat as the first bowl is finished. They eat it all, fresh and frozen, so don't seem to mind.

I remember when Whiskas first hit the shelves - we all wondered what the magic kitty crack ingredient was!
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Re: How to keep opened wet cat food?

Post by Ruth B »

I remember Arthur's and the advert with the cat who would get it out of the tin on his paw to eat it, and Kattomeat as it was known before. My early memories are of Whiskars, Kattomeat and Kit-e-Kat all just in the big tins. My Mother also used to say about when the first actual cat food was released, I think it was Kit-e-Kat, but can't be sure, she lived in a coal mining village in the West Riding of Yorkshire and they used to have to get the bus to Sheffield to go and buy it.
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Re: How to keep opened wet cat food?

Post by Mollycat »

The cat that first advertised Kattomeat by dipping his paw in it was named Arthur. I suppose that must be why they rebranded Arthur's. Then they needed a new Arthur as the original had used up his 9 lives, and they found the ideal cat in a rescue centre. he even ate with his paw - but he was right pawed, whereas Arthur has been left-pawed. So they retrained hi to eat with his left. Would anyone ever have noticed??

Misha was born in 1987 and we were told she ate Whiskas. She hated it and smelled dreadful on it. So we switched her to Arthurs. I can't remember what it then changed to. Oddly enough, I've just looked it up, and Arthur 2 was presented to the world at the Savoy Hotel in 1987! The original Kattomeat Arthur started advertising in '66 so a little before my time.

I'll try freezing the next couple of tins then, and see if it's still acceptable.
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Re: How to keep opened wet cat food?

Post by Ruth B »

'66 was before my time as well. Rusty, our first cat, was born on 25th December 1977 when I was 6 and a half years old, a date I can remember as when the vet asked when he would be 6th months old and needing to be neutered, my Dad said Christmas Day, the vet, understandably, refused, and I think he ended up being done a week or two early. I know my Mum was still at school when she got her first cat so probably sometime in the mid to late 50s, which would fit with the first branded cat food coming out while she had him. He was a big, butch, tuxedo tom cat, I think he was neutered as I remember her saying about how their vet had a price for neutering a cat with or without anesthetic, and he was called Bimbo, some things, and words, were rather different back then.
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Re: How to keep opened wet cat food?

Post by jennij001 »

I freeze it everytime
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