If You Only Have 1 Cat....

[MissMolly08]

What size cans of food do you buy and how long do you keep them in the fridge after opening?

I've heard that the bigger cans are cheaper per oz. but I only have 1 cat and right now we are slowly moving her from an all dry diet to a 50/50 combo diet so she only eats about 1.5oz of canned food once a day. If I buy a 5.5oz can, that lasts her 3 meals and she seems a little iffy about it by the 3rd meal (she eats it from the fridge the 2nd day no problem so it's not necessarily that she doesn't like refrigerated food/leftovers... maybe she's sick of the same flavor 3 times in a row?).

How do you work this? Do you feed the same thing multiple days in a row until the open can is gone? Do you just buy smaller cans?

 

[maggiedemi]

If you can, I would try to up that to at least 3oz of wet food a day, maybe 1.5oz in the morning and 1.5oz at dinner. You could use one 3oz can per day or half of a 5.5oz can. I put the leftovers in the fridge and when I take it out for the next meal, let it warm up on the counter for 15-20 minutes. You can microwave it for 10 to 15 seconds if your cat prefers that. My cats are okay with one or two flavors per day. You can leave it in the fridge for at least 3 days.

 

[tabbytom]

I get for my boy 3 oz cans. I don't scoop all out at once when feeding him. I scoop a quarter and if he finishes it, I'll scoop another quarter till either he finishes one can or more at one sitting or left a quarter or half during that meal. I'll feed him till he had enough.

Whatever balance, I use catering film and cover tight and just keep it out of his reach in room temperature. I don't store the balance in the fridge. Anyway, canned food are all cooked and they can last a few hours without refrigeration. Yes, quality will be different by the time you reach the third feed and the smell of the food is not as fresh as it is just opened. Cats are sensitive to that. My boy knows that too.

If you refrigerate, you have to warm it up to make sure every part of the food is warmed up and not too hot or some parts hot and some parts cold. That's why I don refrigerate the food. I used to buy the bigger cans as they are more economical but I have to store the rest in the fridge and have to pre-warm which is quite troublesome as sometimes my boy is real hungry and I cannot warm and cool the food in time for him to eat and most of the times it get wasted and I have to throw them away.

Feeding wet food is better that feeding dry.

 

[MissMolly08]

If you can, I would try to up that to at least 3oz of wet food a day, maybe 1.5oz in the morning and 1.5oz at dinner. You could use one 3oz can per day or half of a 5.5oz can. I put the leftovers in the fridge and when I take it out for the next meal, let it warm up on the counter for 15-20 minutes. You can microwave it for 10 to 15 seconds if your cat prefers that. My cats are okay with one or two flavors per day. You can leave it in the fridge for at least 3 days.

I am planning to up it to 3oz wet but she's been a kibble kitty all her life so it's slow going. I'm still learning what brands of food she likes, flavors, what upsets her tummy etc. so we are only doing wet once a day, rotating brands and watching for tummy troubles right now.

 

[MeganLLB]

I feed her half of a 5.5 oz can and keep the other half in the fridge. Next day feed it to her cold. And she's fine with that. I've left it in the fridge for maybe 3 days and they still eat it.

 

[tabbytom]

Yes, do the food transition gradually, else will end up rejecting the good and also will upset the system.

 

[MissMolly08]

I get for my boy 3 oz cans. I don't scoop all out at once when feeding him. I scoop a quarter and if he finishes it, I'll scoop another quarter till either he finishes one can or more at one sitting or left a quarter or half during that meal. I'll feed him till he had enough.

Whatever balance, I use catering film and cover tight and just keep it out of his reach in room temperature. I don't store the balance in the fridge. Anyway, canned food are all cooked and they can last a few hours without refrigeration. Yes, quality will be different by the time you reach the third feed and the smell of the food is not as fresh as it is just opened. Cats are sensitive to that. My boy knows that too.

If you refrigerate, you have to warm it up to make sure every part of the food is warmed up and not too hot or some parts hot and some parts cold. That's why I don refrigerate the food. I used to buy the bigger cans as they are more economical but I have to store the rest in the fridge and have to pre-warm which is quite troublesome as sometimes my boy is real hungry and I cannot warm and cool the food in time for him to eat and most of the times it get wasted and I have to throw them away.

Feeding wet food is better that feeding dry.

I thought it had to be refrigerated? I know it can sit out for a bit but I wouldn't be comfortable leaving it out overnight. I do bring it out of the fridge and let it come to room temp for 30-45 minutes before I feed her. She doesn't seem to have a problem with the temperature or anything on the 2nd day... Perhaps 3 days is just too long and affecting the quality or smell too much for her... It's just so odd that she's fine with leftovers the 2nd day but not so much the 3rd..

 

[maggiedemi]

She might be sick of the same flavor three days in a row. Yes, I refrigerate the leftovers. I don't like leaving it out more than an hour, but I have left it out for up to 3 hours before.

 

[MissMolly08]

She might be sick of the same flavor three days in a row.

That's what I was thinking too...either quality or she's just sick of it after 3 meals of the same thing. That's why I was curious how others with only 1 cat work it if they buy bigger cans.

 

[tabbytom]

If it's eaten within 6 hours, it's still pretty ok. That's why I use a catering film and wrap the can tight.

If you have the time to thaw it to room temperature will be good. If not have to open a new can and end up too many cans being opened and not finishing in time.

So far, after I switched back to the 3 oz cans, the rationing of it is pretty good without refrigeration. My boy is a little fussy

 

[maggiedemi]

I would open up two cans and alternate them. I wouldn't keep it more than 3 days in the fridge though.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

What size cans of food do you buy and how long do you keep them in the fridge after opening?

I've heard that the bigger cans are cheaper per oz. but I only have 1 cat and right now we are slowly moving her from an all dry diet to a 50/50 combo diet so she only eats about 1.5oz of canned food once a day. If I buy a 5.5oz can, that lasts her 3 meals and she seems a little iffy about it by the 3rd meal (she eats it from the fridge the 2nd day no problem so it's not necessarily that she doesn't like refrigerated food/leftovers... maybe she's sick of the same flavor 3 times in a row?).

How do you work this? Do you feed the same thing multiple days in a row until the open can is gone? Do you just buy smaller cans?

Maybe while you are transitioning her, just bite the (not terribly big, in my view) financial bullet and get 3-oz cans. If she is fussing with "day-3 fridge food", then during this transition you are describing that you are doing, a 3-oz can will give you your two days of wet food (along with her dry).

Some brands don't have 3-oz cans, though, so I don't even know if you are giving her trial runs of wet food that only have large cans?

 

[Vega's Dad]

I have one cat. I buy large cans, 12-14oz. I weigh 100 kcal portions and freeze them at -20 degree Celsius. I feed my cat 200kcal per day, so, every night before going to bed, I take out two small portions for the next day. She always get two flavors everyday.

 

[Gizmobius]

I use and prefer 3oz cans. My kitten is nearly 10 months old and more often than not will eat the whole can at one sitting. Anything he doesn't finish, he comes back to over an hour or two. I add extra water to his food so it doesn't dry out as quickly and is still nice and moist when he does come back to clean his plate.

 

[MissMolly08]

Maybe while you are transitioning her, just bite the (not terribly big, in my view) financial bullet and get 3-oz cans. If she is fussing with "day-3 fridge food", then during this transition you are describing that you are doing, a 3-oz can will give you your two days of wet food (along with her dry).

Some brands don't have 3-oz cans, though, so I don't even know if you are giving her trial runs of wet food that only have large cans?

I can definitely do 3oz cans for now. Some of her foods actually only come in 3oz. We've done a few flavors of FF classics so far and 4health from Tractor Supply (these are the 5.5 oz cans she is being fussy with). She was perfectly content with the FF and wiped her bowl clean the first 2 nights with the 4health but then leaves food in her bowl on the 3rd night of the 4health. The 4health does come in 3oz cans, though there aren't as many flavor options in that size. I will get those next time though.

I was looking into adding 1 higher quality food to our rotation and I know those are cheaper per oz in big cans but if she isn't going to eat it more than twice in a row, that isn't going to work. I've read plenty here about the best food for your cat being the food they will eat though so I guess if she's going to be picky about 3rd day leftovers, I will just have to stick to 3oz cans of FF instead of 12oz cans of a higher quality food.

I'm fine with that, just figured I'd check and see how other people do it to see if maybe I was missing something and there was a trick to getting her to eat it the 3rd day.

 

[MissMolly08]

I have one cat. I buy large cans, 12-14oz. I weigh 100 kcal portions and freeze them at -20 degree Celsius. I feed my cat 200kcal per day, so, every night before going to bed, I take out two small portions for the next day. She always get two flavors everyday.

Does freezing it affect the moisture content? Do you add water to it when you thaw? That's a good idea and exactly the kind of trick I was hoping someone would share! I didn't even think of freezing cat food!

 

[ScarlettGatsby]

I feed her half of a 5.5 oz can and keep the other half in the fridge. Next day feed it to her cold. And she's fine with that. I've left it in the fridge for maybe 3 days and they still eat it.

Same

 

[Vega's Dad]

Does freezing it affect the moisture content? Do you add water to it when you thaw? That's a good idea and exactly the kind of trick I was hoping someone would share! I didn't even think of freezing cat food!

Not really. I wrap them with cling wrap. And, I add water before serving. I take 2 out of freezer and put them into fridge at night. In the morning, I mix them, take half and add water for serving. I refrigerate the other half for the evening.

 

[orange&white]

My senior cat eats raw, but on the very rare occasion that he is fussy, he likes canned food. I keep large cans on hand for him and if/when I open a can, I smear most of it into ice cube trays and freeze. Each cube is about one ounce. After they're frozen, pop the cubes out, seal them in a freezer bag and suck the air out. They keep for months.

Like Vega's Dad noted, you can take out as many cubes as you want the night before...I just put them in a little lidded glass jar in the fridge to defrost. You can also weight the jar down in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes if they aren't thawed enough when you want to feed.

 

[MissMolly08]

My senior cat eats raw, but on the very rare occasion that he is fussy, he likes canned food. I keep large cans on hand for him and if/when I open a can, I smear most of it into ice cube trays and freeze. Each cube is about one ounce. After they're frozen, pop the cubes out, seal them in a freezer bag and suck the air out. They keep for months.

Like Vega's Dad noted, you can take out as many cubes as you want the night before...I just put them in a little lidded glass jar in the fridge to defrost. You can also weight the jar down in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes if they aren't thawed enough when you want to feed.

That is awesome! Freezing would allow me to rotate more which would be nice. It sucks when you open a bigger can for only 1 cat and then you have to feed that same flavor multiple times in a row until it's gone or it goes bad! Even opening 2 cans and rotating would kind of suck because they only keep a few days and we wouldn't finish 2 flavors in only 3 days. I'm sure some cats can be picky too about previously frozen food but it's worth a shot if I find a higher quality food to add to our rotation.

Thank you everyone.