How long can you keep opened canned food?

cybercat wrote:

: If I don't give the unused portion to my cats the next day, I toss it. I
: would say that you could probably serve it two days after opening it and it
: would still be good. After that, no.

I assume you mean two days if refrigerated.

How long would the can (opened but then closed with a tight lid) be ok
if left unrefrigerated in 60 deg room? (In case somebody is wondering
why even consider leaving it unrefrigerated, the answer is that warming
chilled food has its own issues. So I am wondering how long can I get
away with simply leaving it at the room temp?)

" wrote:

: I let the cat judge for herself. When I buy a big can, 14 ounces?, of
: super premium cat food, I'll usually keep it a week. Every day or so,
: I'll put some out. But she usually won't eat this at all. I keep it in
: the frig. Surprisingly it lasts easily. So I'm back to 3 ounce cans to
: avoid all this. The 3 ounce is good for the day. If she gets hungry
: enough, she'll eat the food even if it's 6 hours old. If she can keep a
: mouse for a day or two, then she can keep a can for 6 hours...

I too have given up on 14 oz cans. Maybe when we have two cats, but
with just one cat it is false economy if she won't eat and I have to
discard a good portion of it.

However, 3 oz cans are particularly uneconomical. I still haven't given
up on 5.5-6 oz cans.

I know you can keep them 2-3 days in the fridge, but that raises the
issue of warming it so she would still eat it. Straight microwaving
doesn't work with her. I have better luck with microwaving at defrost
setting. Still, I am trying to figure out how long is it safe to leave
it unrefrigerated.

Joan in GB-W wrote:

: I use small tupperware containers. The second day I microwave it
: for 10-15 seconds so that it is not refrigerator cold.

You are lucky, mine refuses to eat food microwaved in this manner!

In article , says...

"AlexZ" wrote in message
What do you do with your
own food? I don't keep meats more than 3 days,

I keep meats for a week in the fridge.

fish and chicken more than 2.


Chicken for a week also in the fridge.

John Doe wrote:
nym shifting troll

How could a malicious troll like you ever be sociable. On
Comp.Speech.Users you spew venom and are constantly castigated.

Anyone who feels this way should write John Dope at Lshaping atsign
hotmail.com to let him know he should get back on his meds.

Sincerely,
Markoe

"Elmer Pintar" wrote in message
ups.com...
no more than a day. It dries up and develops a stale odor, like any
food left out unrefrigerated.


Um. I assumed the OP meant in the refrigerator.

cybercat wrote:

: Um. I assumed the OP meant in the refrigerator.

Well, my question was in three parts-

"How long can I keep opened canned food if it is:
1. Left in a plate for her to eat? (apartment temp 60 deg F)
2. In a tightly closed can in the room? (apartment temp 60 deg F)
3. In a tightly closed can in the refrigerator?"

Martin Markoe is a racketeering spammer troll whose only
activity on USENET (besides stalking) is pushing microphones on
disabled users whose speech recognition problems usually have
nothing to do with their microphone.


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From: mmarkoe optonline.net
Newsgroups: alt.cats,alt.pets.cats,rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Subject: How long can you keep opened canned food?
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John Doe wrote:
nym shifting troll

How could a malicious troll like you ever be sociable. On
Comp.Speech.Users you spew venom and are constantly castigated.

Anyone who feels this way should write John Dope at Lshaping atsign
hotmail.com to let him know he should get back on his meds.

Sincerely,
Markoe

On Wed, 15 Feb 2006 03:47:54 GMT, AlexZ wrote:

cybercat wrote:

: Um. I assumed the OP meant in the refrigerator.

Well, my question was in three parts-

"How long can I keep opened canned food if it is:
1. Left in a plate for her to eat? (apartment temp 60 deg F)
2. In a tightly closed can in the room? (apartment temp 60 deg F)
3. In a tightly closed can in the refrigerator?"

Good question since my cats do not like refrigerated food, even if
microwaved, and I'm not going to heat it on the stove. I have to draw
the line somewhere.

I finally went with the 3oz cans, which are pretty expensive but the
boys like ProPlan salmon and rice and PP is only available in 3oz
cans. So I buy it by the case and it's a bit cheaper.

I split a can into two bowls in the morning. In the evening I clean
the bowls and split another can. That sits until the morning. So each
cat gets one 3oz can per day. Plus they also get all the PP DRY
salmon and rice (the boys are consistent at least) they want.

Usually there isn't a whole lot to clean out of the bowl.

This morning, while waiting for my arrival with the can, Espy was
happily eating away at the leftovers from the evening meal. I took it
away and gave him the fresh stuff but he was perfectly content to keep
eating the 12 hour old stuff.

dgk wrote:

: I finally went with the 3oz cans, which are pretty expensive but the
: boys like ProPlan salmon and rice and PP is only available in 3oz
: cans. So I buy it by the case and it's a bit cheaper.
:
: I split a can into two bowls in the morning. In the evening I clean
: the bowls and split another can. That sits until the morning. So each
: cat gets one 3oz can per day. Plus they also get all the PP DRY
: salmon and rice (the boys are consistent at least) they want.

Although Pro Plan and Fancy Feast offer only 3 oz cans, many premium
brands (Iams, Science Diet, Nutro) offer 5.5 oz. With two cats, if they
would like one of these flavors, you have the option of splitting a 5.5
oz can. On sale these are available for around 50c. This would be more
economical and also better for their health (ie, more canned food, less
kibble).

From what I read in the ng's, even mainstream manufacturers like
Friskies have improved their quality a lot, and they are available for
less than 30 cents per 5.5 oz can. You can try those too.

I have also heard that too much sea food is not good for the cats' long
term health, I am no expert but you might want to look into it.

If you are tempted to try a change, it should be very gradual. For
starters, I might try offering new food only one meal a week (ie, 1 out
of 14 meals).