Will Dry Cat Food Stay Good For 2 Months After Opening Bag?

mrsgreenjeens said:

I don't feed fry either, but every bag should have an expiration date on it. I wouldn't feed anything past the expiration date. Also, I've always heard it's best to store it in the original bag, but would definitely secure it somehow, with clips or inside another bag or something. And I think storing it in the fridge or freezer sounds like an excellent idea, too not only ward off mites (eww), but to keep it from going rancid, particularly if there are any fishoils in it.

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In this weather I could put the food outside

nunnc84 said:

So will a storage container like this help? It’s nasty that there could be mites in the food!!!!

I don’t have a deep freezer I don’t have room for a 40lb bag!!!

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It will help to keep the food fresher longer if it’s airtight, which is definitely a good thing, but it won’t kill existing mites or keep them from multiplying. I couldn’t fit a bag in my freezer either so I just filled a gallon freezer bag from the original bag, stuck it in the freezer, rotated it into a clean airtight container after three days, and then put a new ziplock into the freezer until I cycled through the entire bag.

Other than the ick factor, storage mites are a problem only if your cat is allergic to them. It would show up as a skin allergy, according to my vet.

We’re surrounded by mites in our environment, and mostly it’s not a problem for us or our critters. I’m just glad we can’t see them! Out of sight, out of mind.

nunnc84 said:

In this weather I could put the food outside

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Great idea as long as outside creatures can’t get to the bag! Wish I could do that but we’ve had very few freezing temps this year.

Tobermorey said:

Great idea as long as outside creatures can’t get to the bag! Wish I could do that but we’ve had very few freezing temps this year.

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Thanks for the consolation
If there is no allergy it’s not a big deal

Oh I didn’t know dry kibbles contained mites? Really? All dry kibbles for all Brands? Truth or not? Can anyone comment? Didn’t come accross this fact reading many posting at catsite!

Sallysoo said:

Oh I didn’t know dry kibbles contained mites? Really? All dry kibbles for all Brands? Truth or not? Can anyone comment? Didn’t come accross this fact reading many posting at catsite!

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If you google “storage mites in cat food,” you’ll find several websites.

Here’s an excerpt from an article on feline skin disorders on Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine website. Dr. William Miller is a professor of dermatology at the school. I bolded the relevant portion.

Tobermorey said:

I don’t feed dry food for the girls’ regular meals, but I have a small bag of Dr. Elsey’s Clean Protein dry that I use for treats. I keep it in the fridge. Here’s what my vet advised: All dry food has mites in it when you bring it home from the store. (I’ve seen them under a microscope. Creepy.) They continue to breed and multiply. The vet said I should freeze dry food for three days to kill existing mites so they won’t keep multiplying. Then I transfer it into ziplocks and keep it in the fridge. It stays fresher and doesn’t run the risk of becoming rancid. Since I give it only as a treat, one bag lasts for months and I’ve had absolutely no problem with it.

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Ewww! I didn’t know ALL bags come with mites. I’ll have to put mine in the freezer. Maybe that’s contributing to Maya’s many problems.

Usually I Split it out and plastic baggies and then in an air tight container. I read mason jars are good. Or if I keep it in the original bag I will seal it and put a rubber band around it to keep it sealed, then put it in a plastic bag, then in an airtight container. I am afraid of attracting bugs, but apparently they are already in there!

Sallysoo said:

Oh I didn’t know dry kibbles contained mites? Really? All dry kibbles for all Brands? Truth or not? Can anyone comment? Didn’t come accross this fact reading many posting at catsite!

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You'd probably hate to know what all is on your actual body right now...

I keep my cat's dry food in a glass air tight pet food storage container (I was worried my last cat might be allergic to plastic.) They sell lots of plastic ones to. Any leftover food in the bag I secure by fold the bag in triangles (like the start of a paper air plane) then fold and clip with binders clips. (My logic being that if it is folded over it's self a few times then clipped it will stay fresher.) It works for a couple of weeks (or zip lock bags.) The food storage containers work for 2-3 months. I keep my house cool and have never had their food go bad or mites that I have seen... or evidence of mites.

I read up on pet food mites. I will wash their food storage container more often. I already store it in a cool dry place. Plus once my kitten finishes his big bag of kitten food he is switching over to grain free food (which is what I fed my last cat.)

I use gallon or half gallon glass jars with metal lids to store the dry food as soon as I open the bag. That keeps it fresh a lot longer, and also keeps the cats from getting in and helping themselves to extra meals.

I have one cat who is highly allergic (tested) to storage mites. She's never had any issues with the food, so I'm thinking there really aren't mites in all food, just that it's a possibility.

GoldyCat said:

I use gallon or half gallon glass jars with metal lids to store the dry food as soon as I open the bag. That keeps it fresh a lot longer, and also keeps the cats from getting in and helping themselves to extra meals.

I have one cat who is highly allergic (tested) to storage mites. She's never had any issues with the food, so I'm thinking there really aren't mites in all food, just that it's a possibility.

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I really like the idea of keeping it in glass containers. It just seems like you could keep it so much cleaner by washing with soap and super hot water between batches...much the same reason I switched to glass dishes for feeding.

Tobermorey said:

It will help to keep the food fresher longer if it’s airtight, which is definitely a good thing, but it won’t kill existing mites or keep them from multiplying. I couldn’t fit a bag in my freezer either so I just filled a gallon freezer bag from the original bag, stuck it in the freezer, rotated it into a clean airtight container after three days, and then put a new ziplock into the freezer until I cycled through the entire bag.

Other than the ick factor, storage mites are a problem only if your cat is allergic to them. It would show up as a skin allergy, according to my vet.

We’re surrounded by mites in our environment, and mostly it’s not a problem for us or our critters. I’m just glad we can’t see them! Out of sight, out of mind.

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I’m no longer following this conversation

I wager there's mites everywhere in a house I saw a commercial about mattresses and it wasn't pretty. It's best not to think about it unless there's a real health problem involved like the allergies somebody mentioned above or so

Storage mites!? I didn't know that. I feed mostly wet food, but I do also give up to 2 tbs per day of kibble, as kind of a treat. Since I don't use it fast, I buy the smallest bag. I am going to re-think this. I knew that dry food was bad (highly processed, no moisture) but mites... hmmm. I don't object to my cats eating bugs in general, since they are going to eat an occasional bug anyway, but I'm not sure about a mite diet!

Tobermorey said:

Storage mites are members of the arachnid family and are a fairly common allergen for cats and dogs apparently. I don’t mind spiders, but the thought of these little critters in my cats’ food is pretty unappealing!
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Great, now I'm afraid of cat food. Thank you, arachnophobia