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

[Jwa]

Wondering if the dry food I got will be good for a few months once opened if I keep it clipped shut with bag clips. I read a few websites saying it’s onky good for about 3 weeks!

 

[Tobermory]

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.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

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.

 

[Jwa]

Thank you both. He will eat it by two months so it will be long before the expiration date. I juts didn’t know if I should buy smaller bags that only last a month . Trying to save money but....
I put the opened bag sealed by clips in the fridge

 

[Kflowers]

We put it in sandwich bags. Each one holds 3/4 days worth of food/

 

[Tobermory]

You should have no problems then. And the mites are an issue only for cats that might be allergic to them...and for people like me who think there’s an ick factor at the thought of rapidly multiplying mites.

 

[Kflowers]

Well, yeah there's an ick factor.

 

[Tobermory]

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!

 

[Kflowers]

(*&_^*(*(*) If she'd eat wet food, she'd be eating it. She'd rather starve.

So, once I put the food in the sandwich bags, can I just put them in the freezer for 3 days? And that howl you hear will be my sister, insisting there isn't room, it isn't needed... etc etc etc. Maybe I could put a few bags in at a time.

I really don't deal well with bugs, or meat. I'm always terrified the wet food meat will be bad and I won't recognize that it is.

^&*%*)%&%^*^)^^)*!!!!!

 

[Tobermory]

(*&_^*(*(*) If she'd eat wet food, she'd be eating it. She'd rather starve.

So, once I put the food in the sandwich bags, can I just put them in the freezer for 3 days? And that howl you hear will be my sister, insisting there isn't room, it isn't needed... etc etc etc. Maybe I could put a few bags in at a time.

I really don't deal well with bugs, or meat. I'm always terrified the wet food meat will be bad and I won't recognize that it is.

^&*%*)%&%^*^)^^)*!!!!!

Yep, you can parcel it out and freeze it in small batches and then transfer it back to the fridge after three days. Freezing kills the mites so they can’t keep having mite sex and growing their numbers. Bigger populations of mites increase the possibility of allergic reaction for cats (and dogs) that are susceptible. For cats that are extremely allergic to storage mites, even dead ones could trigger a reaction. (I learned all about this when I was trying to figure out what’s causing Lily’s allergies. It’s not storage mites, though.)

 

[Kflowers]

Thanks. So far we've got sensitive to chicken meat, not broth or fat, okay, yeah, I'll go with that. We're working on de-sensitizing her to the chicken. There are some brands that just don't agree and I don't know why, but, again, okay. We'll see if this helps.

 

[LTS3]

I put the opened bag sealed by clips in the fridge

I'd put the bag into a food safe container. You don't want your food in the fridge to absorb the dry food smell

 

[divyanka2111]

Oh it's perfect. My cat eats it happily and it lasts for over a month. Yes it might not be first day fresh and that doesn't matter. Nor do human snacks.

 

[LadyLondonderry]

Freezing kills the mites so they can’t keep having mite sex

Well, to be fair, I think that's the only kind of sex that mites can have.

 

[jcat]

Do you have a food saver (vacuum sealer)? Our last cat insisted on half dry, so I bought medium-sized bags of it and broke them down into smaller portions immediately upon opening. They then went into large freezer bags. Any portions not put in the freezer were kept in "air-tight" plastic containers.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I feed high-quality dry (Drs. Foster & Smith) as an adjunct to their regular wet food and buy it in 7# bags. When I open a bag, it goes into a vacuum-sealed receptacle from which I scoop it out into bowls. Never had any problem with it. I bought the receptacles at Petco.

 

[sabrinah]

My cat only eats half dry and I buy 12 lb bags of food because they're cheaper per pound and I'm broke AF. I have a small airtight container that I pour 2-3 lbs of food in and I keep the rest of the food sealed in the original bag. Only opening the main bag once a month has always kept the food fresh and it doesn't turn rancid or stale.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I have Feeby on two different urinary care foods, both wet and dry. But, the bags I have to buy are at least 7 pounds or more. So, they last a long time. I also use plastic containers with sealable lids that hold a couple weeks worth of food at a time. I pour from the big bags into the plastic containers, and then only use what's in the plastic containers until they're empty. The bags have Velcro seals on them, so before I Velcro them shut I make sure the excess air is removed from the bags, and then I still roll down the top and put clips on them.

They apparently stay pretty fresh because Feeby can tell the difference between the last food in the plastic containers and the next round from the bags. Sad to say, I am guessing the food in the plastic containers must be starting to go stale by the time I empty them - as opposed to what's left untouched in the open, but sealed bags. May have to go to multiple smaller plastic containers...

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

I don't feed dry anymore, but, for me, I think there are a few things to remember...

- you don't know under what conditions or how long the dry food bag was stored in the "cat food warehouse" prior to its reaching you,
- you should try to store your dry food in a cool, dry place once opened -- and try to keep it as airtight as possible (and your hands moisture-free when opening and closing the bag or container).

So taking the above to heart, for my own peace of mind, when I fed dry food I just made sure I got smaller bags or else I threw out any remainder food if the bag was over 2-3 months old.

Fresher is best.

 

[nunnc84]

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!
View attachment 272015

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!!!