My Cats Don't Like Leftovers.

[lovemall]

I have 3 cats that will eat wet food from a freshly opened can, but tend to snub any leftovers in it. I have given it cold and have warmed it and sometimes they will eat and sometimes not. I don't know if the taste changes or if they just aren't hungry or if they are just spoiled. They especially don't like any thing they have left in their dish, even if I frigerate it. I have thrown so much out I feel like I must be doing something wrong, maybe feeding too much or too often. I have read kitties have small tummies and 3 or 4 small meals are better than 1 or 2 big meals. So thats what I do. Since I am retired and am home most of the time, it is not a problem to feed them frequently. I am wondering how others deal with leftovers. Thanks, Oh, I feed a variety of Friskies and they favor the extra gravy types.

 

[tabbytom]

My boy doesn't like the taste of left overs. I have a standard rule to follow, any new opened canned with left overs will be cling wrap for 5 hours. If my boy eats his next meal within that time, I'll give him the left over BUT sometimes he just refuse it as the smell and taste have changed.

I do not refrigerate left overs. Usually he eats around 3/4 or slightly more of a 3oz can. So the next meal will be a fresh can and sometimes I have half a can of left overs and I know he'll eat more than that, I'll open a new can for him and discard the 1/2 can else it'll be more waste of the new can if he eat just slightly more than that, meaning if eats 3/4, then I have 3/4 left in the new can and he won't eat his next meal within the 5 hour period and the 3/4 will be wasted.

I know my boy's eating habits so I roughly gauge the ration so to minimize the wastage.

For kittens, feed them as much wet food as they can eat at one sitting and feed them 4-5 times a day. As they grow and reach maturity, they'll tend to eat more as they go through the growth spurt and after they are into a year or two, their amount of food and number of feeds will taper down. I'm referring to normal breeds as they mature at one year.

 

[lovemall]

Thanks for your response. So maybe the taste does change. I will try the cling wrap and maybe they will be more willing to eat it. It is about 5 hours between their feedings so that might work. So.....not so important to refrigerate it if they eat it within 5 hours? I am always afraid of food poisoning. 2 kitties are 9 and 10 years old and the other is a stray that decided to stay last winter so I don't know her age, but I am guessing about 1 -2 years. She ate much better when she showed up at my place and was super hungry. Since then, she has made herself at home in the house and outdoors and knows she has a home so has gotten a little more fussy. She is the avatar kitty.

 

[tabbytom]

Canned food can be left out for longer hours as they are already cooked before they get really spoilt and food poisoning may or may not happen but don’t take the risk. But it gets dried up and parts of it will turn hard and also taste will change and will not smell fresh.

I always smell the food first before giving to my boy even if it’s a new can. Sometimes new cans does not have a fresh delicious smell and my boy is very picky. Any smell he doesn’t like even if it’s a brand new can, he won’t eat. He’ll just sit there waiting for me to open another fresh can.

Some members refrigerate left overs and later microwave it warm like for a few seconds and test the warmth with your finger but I find that a hassle as I don’t know when my boy wants to eat and it’s very important not to over heat the food so that it won’t burn your cat’s mouth and if it’s half warm and half cold, probably diarrhea will follow suit after eating or they’ll reject it.
So I chose to give him as fresh as possible.

I live in a tropical country and I don’t refrigerate the food. I just cling wrap it tight and store in a cool place. If after 5 hours he eats the left overs, then I’ll let him eat if not I’ll open a new can. Sometimes he just lick the juice and look at me and say ‘hey, come on, this is not fresh’ and I’ll reply ‘ uh oh, ok, new can coming up’

BTW, your kitty is very beautiful

 

[maggie101]

I refrigerate left overs. For their second meal I mix in shredded chicken or gravey with pieces of meat. I use the brand miko mostly or a canned food with gravy and meat pieces. Warming it up the texture is like slop so my cats won't eat it

 

[maggie101]

I use nutro perfect portions. Makes feeding much easier

 

[daftcat75]

How do you warm the leftovers? The microwave will change the texture and taste. Instead, I finally found how Krista likes it. Your cats may vary. I microwave 1 cup of water for 1 minute. I weigh out her portion into a plastic baggie. I place the bagged portion into the hot water and squeeze it flat, flip it, squeeze it flat again, and that's usually all it takes to bring the bagged portion up to lukewarm. Turn it out on a plate and serve.

 

[lovemall]

Thanks for all the great ideas. I will try them all to see which ones work. One of the problems I have is that I lost my sense of smell (and taste) when I was hit by a semi truck (he ran a stop sign) 5 years ago. No, I don't taste their food but I would smell it if I could. I would warm it in the microwave and stir with my finger to make sure it wasn't too hot and to mix the warm with the not so warm. Since the microwave changes texture and taste, that might not be the way to go. Warming in warm water in a baggie and possibly mixing with gravy and meat pieces may work too. We all have such beautiful kitties. I just TNR'd a big tabby tom that looked just like your tabby tom . He was a big boy but a beauty. I live in the country and he was either a feral or a stray. Couldn't get near him. I have a Maggie Tortie and I use to have a Tuxedo that resembled Maggie101 and Lucky Kitty is a Torti/calico I just love em all!!! And as long as I'm alive they will be spoiled!!!!

 

[Kat0121]

95% of the cat food I buy is in 3 oz cans and that's why. They will not eat food that's leftover in the can. It doesn't matter if it's cold, room temperature or slightly warmed. I have VERY picky eaters.

 

[KittyCatCove]

Do what I do... give all leftovers to the stray/feral cats outside.

 

[mazie]

That's what I do!! At least I don't feel so bad that I am wasting food. Have you tried Sheba? They come in even smaller portion containers. If you find the flavors she likes, then there won't be so much uneaten food.

 

[Rini]

I gave up on trying to feed leftovers. Aslan eats about 12 ounces a day and I thought I could save some money on the 5.5oz cans.

Not a chance!

He wants 3-4 3oz cans of food a day. Different flavors and textures, obviously. Silly human.

 

[mizzely]

Lydia won't eat food that's been left out or refrigerated either. However, I bought a Sure Pet Sealed Food Bowl and that changed! It may take her 12 hours to eat it all but it's still moist and room temp during that time so she finishes it much less waste!

 

[Tobermory]

Warming the food in the microwave always worried me a bit, so now I either put the food container in warm water for a few minutes or I add very warm water to the food in the bowl. Either way I stir it well. I sometimes have to resort to toppers to encourage Iris to eat her food (the other two will eat anything at any temp). Bonito flakes work well for her as does a crumbled nugget of Stella & Chewy’s Duck Duck Goose.

 

[maggie101]

I have used bonito flakes but how much is too much? It would be in her 4 meals every day. I was going to try stella

 

[CatLover49]

Canned food can be left out for longer hours as they are already cooked before they get really spoilt and food poisoning may or may not happen but don’t take the risk. But it gets dried up and parts of it will turn hard and also taste will change and will not smell fresh.

I always smell the food first before giving to my boy even if it’s a new can. Sometimes new cans does not have a fresh delicious smell and my boy is very picky. Any smell he doesn’t like even if it’s a brand new can, he won’t eat. He’ll just sit there waiting for me to open another fresh can.

Some members refrigerate left overs and later microwave it warm like for a few seconds and test the warmth with your finger but I find that a hassle as I don’t know when my boy wants to eat and it’s very important not to over heat the food so that it won’t burn your cat’s mouth and if it’s half warm and half cold, probably diarrhea will follow suit after eating or they’ll reject it.
So I chose to give him as fresh as possible.

I live in a tropical country and I don’t refrigerate the food. I just cling wrap it tight and store in a cool place. If after 5 hours he eats the left overs, then I’ll let him eat if not I’ll open a new can. Sometimes he just lick the juice and look at me and say ‘hey, come on, this is not fresh’ and I’ll reply ‘ uh oh, ok, new can coming up’

BTW, your kitty is very beautiful

My cat the same way.Its something about after u open that can .It dont smell the same to them as a freshly opened can.Go through it all the time

 

[daftcat75]

I warm Krista's food using a baggie of food in hot water even for her fresh portions. So first portion, last portion, they all come out of the water bath "mouse temperature." Warming it up this way also releases more of the aromas. I don't eat rabbit (or any ground or air meat, but if it swims...) but her rabbit Rawz actually smells pretty good when I warm it up for her.

 

[lovemall]

Very interesting!!!! I guess we all have picky eaters. So be it. I do feed the leftovers to the stays that come around. Thats how I got the Big Tiger Tom that I had neutered last week end. I will continue to try some of the ideas anyway. Unfortunately, they don't take kindly to new brands. I just finished offering Maggie a smorgasboard of old and new flavors and she just looked at me and asked me what I thought I was doing. I tried Whole Earth and Tiki. Both are reviewed as healthy for cats. When offered to Lucky Kitty she licked the juices off Tiki and ate the Whole Earth. Maybe some hope there. Button only eats twice a day, the other two 3-4 times a day. At any rate, thanks to everyone for your ideas and methods and for reassuring me my kitties are pretty 'normal'.

 

[Jewely]

oops!

 

[ailish]

Ailish prefers a new can but will usually eat leftovers. Anything she won't eat leftover I don't buy again. I can afford to give her pricier food, but I can't afford to waste pricier food. I store in the refrig with tight fitting caps and then warm in the microwave with a good bit of water. Generally the food isn't in the refrig for more than a day. CLEARLY she would like a fresh can every time, but it ain't gonna happen. Any cat who can eat old dead bugs can darn well eat food that was opened six hours ago!