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Recently, my roommate's sister went on vacation and I offered to take care of her kitten for her in the 1-2 weeks she is going to be gone.

The feeding instruction she told me is to leave dry food out at all times for the kitten and give her a can of wet cat food once a day. I typically open a can of wet cat food when I get home from work around 5:30pm.

The problem is, the kitten never finishes the wet cat food in one sitting. She will typically eat half of it and over the next 12+ hours finish it.

Food safety states that any food stored in the danger zone(room temperature falls in this danger zone) for more than 2 hours will drastically increase chance of food sickness. I know the dry pet food is processed enough that it does not matter. However I am a little worried about the wet cat food.

Does leaving wet cat food out at room temperature for a long period of time pose a risk for your cats?

EDIT:

Upon further research, I found that cats are very resistant to pathogens that are commonly found in food that has been sitting out at room temperature.

  • Salmonella - cats are really resistant to Salmonella which are commonly found in raw meat;
  • E. Coli - this is a bacterium commonly found in cat stomach;
  • Campylobacter - also commonly found in cat stomach;
  • Clostridium perfringens - these bacteria rarely affect cats, they more often affect dogs;
  • Staphylococcus aureus - commonly found bacteria in cat mucus glands;
  • Norovirus - this is a virus that affect humans;
  • Toxoplasma gondii - cats have very high immunity to this parasite.

http://tcfeline.com/2010/08/12/salmonella/

lila
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Jay
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3 Answers3

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I can answer this question on the basis of my experience as a chef with certification in Food Safety, Sanitation, and Hygiene.

The golden rule in food service is "4 between 40 and 140." That is to say, in most places in the U.S., Food Safety and Sanitation guidelines state that food which has been between the temperatures of 40° F (4.4° C) and 140° F (60° C) for 4 hours must be disposed of. This is based on the growth rates of various kinds of harmful bacteria and other pathogens in this range of temperatures. The range is commonly referred to as the "TDZ", or "Temperature Danger Zone".

While cats and dogs are biologically different from us, it stands to reason that they probably shouldn't be exposed to things that are obviously dangerous to us.

References:

Allison C
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Wad Cheber
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I would not suggest leaving wet cat food out for more than an hour or two tops. Wet cat food at room temperature is a perfect environment for bacteria cultures, which can grow quite quickly and may pose a threat to the animal. If the kitten consistently eats about half a can when you put it out, then I would only put out half a can. The other half can be safely stored in an airtight container or Ziploc bag in the refrigerator and be served later in the day or the next day.

Renaud Chauret
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THE QUESTION ABOUT REFRIGERATED CANNED CAT FOOD: I called the Purina company who makes this product and she said, yes, refrigerate it. It can sit out for an hour before feeding or you can also warm it up in the microwave. Not more than 4 seconds though.

Rebecca RVT
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Linda
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