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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / March 2005When does wet food go bad?
Hi all: Do you know how long you can leave out wet food in the dish before it goes bad? I read once that two hours was the limit; however, it seems that its often out longer than that before the boys finish it. I know that I should dish out smaller portions and refrigerate the rest; however, I haven't been doing that. I end up forgetting about stuff in the fridge and I find the heating up a pain. The boys don't seem to like it as much out of the fridge. Thanks, Susan M Otis and Chester > Do you know how long you can leave out wet food in the dish before it goes > bad? I read once that two hours was the limit; however, it seems that its > often out longer than that before the boys finish it. We leave it out until they finish it. It's usually within 2 hours, but sometimes it stays out longer. Considering cats and and do eat carcasses that are not precisely fresh, I wouldn't worry about it... :)  SignatureVictor M. Martinez Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM) Send your spam here: uce@ftc.gov Email me here: pistorLITTER@BOXaustin.rr.com > Hi all: > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > Susan M > Otis and Chester Pearl has never gotten ill or had a bad effect from eating several hours old wet food. She makes a production out of it if she knows I am watching to get new wet gooshy food, but when I am gone to work, I know she polishes off the older stuff. > Hi all: > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > fridge and I find the heating up a pain. The boys don't seem to like it as > much out of the fridge. I leave Oscar's bowl out until the next feeding time, and she's fed twice a day. I just started her on wet food in December, so she's used to being able to graze; she just won't eat it all in one sitting. So far I've seen no ill effects. I'm sure that when it comes out of the fridge, it will stay "fresh" longer than if it's room-temp. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > Hi all: > > Do you know how long you can leave out wet food in the dish before it goes > bad? I read once that two hours was the limit; however, it seems that its > often out longer than that before the boys finish it. Mine take longer to finish theirs, too, and I leave out the food I give them for breakfast when I leave for work. Sometimes, there is some left when I get home, but of course they don't eat it when it's that old. I'm a bit more careful with fresh meat. But if I didn't leave out the wet food, Nikki would never eat anything. She always waits until Frank has finished eating, and sometimes she waits an hour or two after that, before she eats anything. Well, they're 16 and 17, so I guess it's not very bad for them. ;o) SignatureMarina, Frank, Nikki, and coming soon: Mere! marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/ and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki > Hi all: > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > Susan M > Otis and Chester Like Monique, I feed mine canned food twice a day, in the morning before I go to work and then at night before I go to bed. It stays in the bowl until the next feeding - no problems that I've seen and I've seen them eating the old food right before I put out the fresh stuff. I think that if it hasn't been refrigerated it should be fine - same principle with mayonnaise. If you *never* refrigerate it (I keep mine in the pantry) it doesn't go bad, but if you refrigerate it after it's been opened and *then* leave it out it will go bad. Hugs, CatNipped Uh...I dunno where you live, 'Nipped, but where we moved from - Miami area - no one in their right mind would keep mayonnaise in pantry as at the very least consuming such would result in food poisoning. One of the pleasant things we've found about MileHigh here is that we can indeed keep foods out in pantry or counter-top that we wouldn't have dared back where we came from. And Victor, I never thought of equating canned food with carcasses in the wild, but it makes sense (still ROFL).......that's about as close to "hunting" as the Deadly Duo here will ever get, I hope. >> Hi all: >> [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > > CatNipped > Uh...I dunno where you live, 'Nipped, but where we moved from - Miami > area - no one in their right mind [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > ROFL).......that's about as close to "hunting" as the > Deadly Duo here will ever get, I hope. I live in Houston, TX, and before that in New Orleans, LA (both as hot and humid as FL, if not more so), and I've *always* kept mayonnaise in the pantry and have never had a problem with it. Again, if it were refrigerated at any point and *then* left out, it would be a problem. I had that problem when I first moved in with DH - he was used to the mayonnaise being kept in the fridge and would forget and put it in there, then I would forget and leave it out, so many almost-full jars of mayonnaise had to be thrown out before he finally learned the system! ;> I learned the "don't refrigerate" trick from my mom because we would go on picnics and camping a lot and she would like to make potato salad for the trip (when coolers might not stay cool enough). If she'd used refrigerated mayonnaise the potato salad would go bad and make everyone sick, but using mayonnaise that had not been refrigerated allowed the potato salad to stay out without spoiling. Hugs, CatNipped >>> Hi all: >>> [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] >> >> CatNipped > I live in Houston, TX, and before that in New Orleans, LA (both as hot and > humid as FL, if not more so), and I've *always* kept mayonnaise in the [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > go bad and make everyone sick, but using mayonnaise that had not been > refrigerated allowed the potato salad to stay out without spoiling. I've always refrigerated my mayo. Never heard of this before. I kind of like my mayo cold, anyway, though. I wonder what being refrigerated does to change it. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca >> I live in Houston, TX, and before that in New Orleans, LA (both as hot >> and [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > > I wonder what being refrigerated does to change it. I don't know, but now I'm curious enough to research it. I think it may have to do with the eggs in it. Eggs are the same - if you buy them unrefrigerated you can keep them unrefrigerated for a couple of weeks without them going bad. Hugs, CatNipped > I don't know, but now I'm curious enough to research it. I think it may > have to do with the eggs in it. Eggs are the same - if you buy them > unrefrigerated you can keep them unrefrigerated for a couple of weeks > without them going bad. You can have eggs go bad in two weeks? <boggle> I dread to think how old they must be when you buy them then. Hens eggs that have clean shells should last for at least 3 months, can be even longer. This doesn't apply if they have been washed. In the brief summer we have here in England, if it decides to stop raining for two weeks at a time, the eggs my hens produce will be clean. These eggs will last for absolutely ages, for my own use. The strange thing about hens is that no matter how many nestboxes they have, if there is one egg in one, that's the box all the other girls will want to use. Therefore, if it's been raining - and it usually is, has been, or about to here, as they have access to "the out" they come in with muddy feet, tread on the egg already there, dirty it and so on ad finitum. Dirty eggs don't keep so well. To test the freshness of an egg, put it in a deep bowl of water. If it floats to the top, broad end up, it's at least 2 weeks old if not more. The other way to tell is if you break one open to fry it. The yolk should stand up and there should be two sorts of whites, a higher one that the yolk sort of stands on, and a lower part that spreads a little. That is a fresh egg. If you break an egg to fry it and it spreads all over the pan and the yolk breaks, it's stale. Tweed <----chicken keeper, egg expert >Uh...I dunno where you live, 'Nipped, but where we moved from - Miami area - >no one in their right mind >would keep mayonnaise in pantry as at the very least >consuming such would result in food poisoning. One of I think they meant UNOPENED jars of mayo, not opened jars. I'm in the south also (Maryland), and I keep the sealed jars of mayo in the pantry until I open them, then they stay in the fridge until emptied. Jane - transplanted northerner >>Uh...I dunno where you live, 'Nipped, but where we moved from - Miami >>area - [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Jane > - transplanted northerner Nope, I meant opened jars. I've always kept them that way and have never once had a bout of food poisoning in the 53 years I've been eating it that way (and nobody else in my extended family has either)! It's only when you put them in the refrigerator and *then* leave them out that they go bad. Maybe it's a New Orleans bit of knowledge - I found this in an internet article on how to avoid food poisoning during Mardi Gras, "Contrary to old lore, mayonnaise does not cause food poisoning. In fact, acids in the condiment actually slow bacterial growth. You might want to put the spread on your sandwiches as a safety precaution." Hugs, CatNipped >>> Uh...I dunno where you live, 'Nipped, but where we moved from - >>> Miami area - [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >> I think they meant UNOPENED jars of mayo, not opened jars. I'm in >> the south also (Maryland), and I keep the sealed jars of mayo in the >> pantry until I open them, then they stay in the fridge until emptied. >> [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > CatNipped I just incredulously told your theory to Dennis and he thinks there may be something to this. He's noticed that here in Thailand, where it's always hot and humid, they always have the mayo out and nobody gets sick. I wonder if they know that trick too? -- Britta (who doesn't eat mayo so isn't about to test it) "There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast." -- Unknown Check out pictures of Vino at: http://photos.yahoo.com/badwilson click on the Vino album > >>> Uh...I dunno where you live, 'Nipped, but where we moved from - > >>> Miami area - [quoted text clipped - 38 lines] > Check out pictures of Vino at: > http://photos.yahoo.com/badwilson click on the Vino album Maybe *because* it's so hot and humid, and things would tend to go bad even faster when left out after being refrigerated???! I don't know, I just know that everybody I know from N.O., family and friends, have always done this and none of us has ever had a case of food poisoning from it! Hugs, CatNipped > >Nope, I meant opened jars. I've always kept them that way and have never >once had a bout of food poisoning in the 53 years I've been eating it that >way (and nobody else in my extended family has either)! It's I stand corrected. Alton Brown explains why this works in his show about making mayonnaise, but I can't remember the reasoning. It's got to do with bacteria and the acidic environment of mayo. (Good Eats) Jane >>Uh...I dunno where you live, 'Nipped, but where we moved from - Miami >>area - [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Jane > - transplanted northerner Here's another quote about mayonnaise from a boater (without a fridge on board)... "We hear so many stories about mayonnaise and are likely to be confused by them. I'm no expert on the subject, but my current level of understanding is that if the stuff is kept pure, it can last. Mayonnaise mixed with other foods must be kept cool, it would seem. And you shouldn't "contaminate" a jar of mayonnaise by sticking a utensil back in there after it has been in contact with other food. We have heard of some people getting small packages of mayonnaise from fast food places for their boats. That works, too. We bought small squeeze bottles of mayo, and one lasted two weeks. It was emptied before it began to smell or cause any concerns. Unopened jars of mayonnaise sit on grocery store shelves for months. As it turns out, they can do the same once they're opened, as long as other food doesn't come into contact with the mayonnaise. I'd love to understand why this is so and will welcome further dialogue on this subject for our Mail Buoy column." And yes, this also agrees with what my mother told me - just don't mix in other food with unrefrigerated mayonnaise - so I use a tablespoon to get mayonnaise out of the jar so I don't have to keep sticking the butter knife back in the jar after spreading it on food. Hugs, CatNipped Well, what you said re the eggs I've found to be true, so maybe that's the secret. I still remember my great- aunt when I visited relatives in the Big EZ years ago, sending my 20-year-old self into stitches when she said "My-an-iz" (they all said it that way). >>>Uh...I dunno where you live, 'Nipped, but where we moved from - Miami >>>area - [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > > CatNipped > Uh...I dunno where you live, 'Nipped, but where we moved from - Miami > area - no one in their right mind > would keep mayonnaise in pantry as at the very least > consuming such would result in food poisoning. (snippage) Ever notice jarred mayonnaise at the store isn't stored in the cold case but rather on the shelf with ketchup/catsup and mustard and jarred sauces? The directions say "refrigerate after opening". After lets the seal break and lets in bacteria. Before, it's sealed as tight as my grandmother sealed her pear preserves. This is one reason to read labels. Persia gets 1/2 a can of her prescription can of food on Saturday morning and she doesn't eat all of it. I let it sit there for a couple or three hours, then rinse out the bowl. But she's never gotten sick from it if she eats a few bites after it's gotten a bit dried out. Jill > Hi all: > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > fridge and I find the heating up a pain. The boys don't seem to like it as > much out of the fridge. it all depends on the temperature, humidity, the number of microscopic organisms in the air and what sort of other pets (like flies) you have around. Rest assured that cats ahve a very good sense of smell and wont eat food that is off. They'll probably notice it long before you do. Its hot humid and biologically active here, and I feed my crew gooshy food twice a day. If there's any of the previous meal left over when I go to feed them their next load of gooshy food, I dispose of it, and kibble doesn't seem to go off so much as go stale. But it is *very* rare for any food, dry or gooshy, to be left over - and if it is, Fluffy the dog will polish it off regardless of its "freshness" or whether its been pre-digested or not. Yowie > Hi all: > > Do you know how long you can leave out wet food in the dish before it goes > bad? I read once that two hours was the limit; however, it seems that its > often out longer than that before the boys finish it. I would say it depends on the temperature where you live. If it is hot, the food will "go off" quickly. It is rarely hot enough here in the UK for wet food to go bad ;-) maybe two or three times a year. I put out wet food in two dishes in the morning for my two cats before I go to work. Mainly they polish it up before I come home again, but if they haven't I don't worry about it and I leave it for them to finish before I top up their bowls again. New clean bowls, of course. If we should be so fortunate as to have anything that might approach hot weather, I throw the food away if they haven't eaten it all when I'm back from work and give them fresh, in a clean stainless steel bowl. > I know that I should dish out smaller portions and refrigerate the rest; While I can afford it, mine have pouches instead of tins. It's a more expensive way to feed - though I do feed tinned food sometimes but they seem to like the pouches better. One fresh meal every time and not cold. > however, I haven't been doing that. I end up forgetting about stuff in > the fridge and I find the heating up a pain. The boys don't seem to like > it as much out of the fridge. That's cats for you. How many of us have found that the first part out of a freshly opened tin is yummy and the next bit stored in the fridge, isn't? I have not yet resorted to heating up the food. I would do if they were ill and it would tempt them to eat. Otherwise, I give them nice food and they either eat it or they don't. If they miss a meal because they decide to be picky - me wants salmon or trout - the meal is there for them, what I choose to give them. I take the food away and hide it when I go to bed. It's surprising how much they sometimes enjoy their breakfast ;-) Tweed > Hi all: > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > rest; however, I haven't been doing that. I end up forgetting about > stuff in the fridge and I find the heating up a pain. The boys don't > seem to like it as much out of the fridge. > > Thanks, > > Susan M > Otis and Chester Well, here in Thailand it's always hot and humid and I leave Vino's food out for hours. Mind you, he eats 90% of it right away. Lately, I've started to take the leftovers up right away because it seems to me that if he nibbles on them it causes him to have acne on his chin. I already use stainless steel dishes, so I think it must be caused by bacterias growing in the heat. I doubt you would have that problem though. -- Britta "There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast." -- Unknown Check out pictures of Vino at: http://photos.yahoo.com/badwilson click on the Vino album >Hi all: > >Do you know how long you can leave out wet food in the dish before it goes >bad? I read once that two hours was the limit; however, it seems that its >often out longer than that before the boys finish it. Wow, only two hours? That brand must come prepackaged with fast acting bacteria spores!
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