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Does Fancy Feast Need To Be Refrigerated? (Or Not?)

If you have some leftover Fancy Feast wet food you may be wondering if you need to store it in the fridge, and if so, the best way to do so (click here for my best solution, on Amazon #Ad)…

Does Fancy Feast Need To Be Refrigerated?

Fancy Feast does need to be refrigerated once it’s opened. In fact, it should be done immediately once you have done with it and have more left to store. However, when it’s reused it’s important to reheat it correctly.

Use these to cover when you refrigerate:

Description	Image	My Rating
01. Canned Pet Food Covers (My Best) Click here for the price on Amazon #Ad
02. Yobbai Pet Food Covers Click here for the price on Amazon #Ad
03. Food Wrap (Cling Film) Click here for the price on Amazon #Ad

So, now you know. But, how long can it be left out? Is it better than Friskies? Why is it so popular? Keep reading for these answers, and much more…

How long can Fancy Feast sit out?

Once the wet Fancy Feast is opened and left exposed it should only be left out for up to one hour. However, this can vary depending on your current room temperature. But, one hour is a good general guide.

If you leave the food out too long it will start to dry out and run the danger of going off.

How do you store wet cat food after opening?

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The best way to store wet cat food is using a purpose-made canned pet food cover (Click here to see the reviews, on Amazon #Ad) and keep it refrigerated. These are convenient and designed to seal the contents.

Failing that you can consider using food wrap (cling film) (Click here to see the price, on Amazon #Ad) as a good alternative.

Does Fancy Feast make cats sick?

Any cat food can make a cat sick. However, some cat owners worry about Fancy Feast because they say other cat foods have better quality ingredients. That being said, there have also been many reports of cats eating it for years with no issues.

Is Fancy Feast better than Friskies?

In my opinion, Fancy Feast (Click here to see the reviews, on Amazon #Ad) is better than Friskies (Click here to see the reviews, on Amazon #Ad). This may seem obvious based on the way they are marketed, but I prefer the ingredients of Fancy Feast over Friskies.

Is Fancy Feast Good for Cats?

Yes, if your vet agrees and your cat enjoys the taste. However, there are big debates with cat owners who stand on different sides of the fence. Some love the tasty food at a reasonable price. While others swear it has no nutritional value and full of filler.

Now that you know the truth about Fancy Feast (Click here to see how cans per day is needed), let me explain what fancy food is (its origins), why there is so much discussion about it, why it’s so popular, concerns that some cat owners have and more, keep reading…

What should you check before you use Fancy Feast?

Firstly, you need to check with your vet, each vet has their own opinion, and it’s good to get their view. Also, does your cat even enjoy the flavor? Then this is another tick in the box. And finally, is your cat in good general health?

If you can get a thumbs up in all those areas, especially your vet’s approval, then yes, you are good.

What is Fancy Feast Cat Food?

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Before we get deep into this, let’s take a step back and understand what Fancy Feast cat food actually is. It is a cat food available in wet and dry variations.

It was established back in 1982. At this time it was regarded as a gourmet type of cat food. Since then, back in 1985, they were bought out by Nestle. Since then it remains under the Nestle-Purina brand.

There are many different variations available for both wet and dry food. When I say many, to put this into perspective I mean eighty plus variations, you with me?

Why is there so much discussion about this?

This Fancy Feast cat food has had a lot of discussion due to its mixed reviews and polarising position. What do I mean? Well, many people use the product, which obviously means a broad spread of feedback.

Some love it, while others say they are not happy with it. But why? Well according to petsofun, it “contains an enormous amount of filler”. In summary, the arguments against it claim it doesn’t offer much nutritional value for cats.

I remember growing up and every time I passed this fast food shop (no names to save the innocent) my dad would ask, “Do you want a burger?”. Most of the time, for some reason I would always wait till after I passed the shop to confirm, yes I want it.

This angered my dad, but the taste of those burgers and fries was too much to be left behind. The reality is we all knew that this burger was far from a salad dinner if you know what I mean, but it was cost-effective and tasted delicious.

My point is, this is similar to some cat owner’s views on Fancy feast, tastes great, affordable, but is it fulfilling all the nutritional needs? (let’s see).

So, why is Fancy Feast so popular?

You may be thinking if there is mixed feedback with it, why is it so popular? Good question. In general, people seem to love it for a couple of reasons:

• Flavor
• Cost.

Flavor

Some cats love this stuff. They will lap it up and beg for more. Therefore, as a cat owner, you are obviously going to keep stocking up to keep the kitty happy, right?

Cost

The cost of Fancy Feast is another big factor in its popularity. It is generally on the lower cost side. Making it ideal for cat owners on a budget, with a hungry cat to feed.

Some people, who are opposed to it, claim that it is cheap but not much substance, from a nutritional basis. However, that is subjective and some people seem to disagree.

Has Fancy Feast ever been recalled?

If you are concerned about it, you may be keen to check if it has had a history of recalls, or in fact, any recalls to date. It is a good question really because this does help to build a picture of the value of a product.

To cut a long story short, according to wwwallaboutcats, there are no records of the product being recalled. However, there are reports of other Purina products being recalled. So, interpret that as you may.

Related Questions:

In this section, I will answer some related questions to Fancy Feast and other cat food-related topics.  If you have some other questions on this topic, that you cannot see answered here, please drop a comment below.

Q: How many cans a day should a cat eat?

The reality is few factors affect this. Like what?

• Weight.
• Body condition.
• Age.
• Activity level.

Let me explain, with some examples, how these factors impact the expected food intake.

Firstly, let’s assume you have a strong cat, at least 16 pounds in weight, and average activity. You will need to feed him more to maintain that physique.

Now let’s assume we have another 16 pounder, but this time he is overweight. Would you give him the same calories? The answer should be no! Why? Because he should have fewer calories.

This is because he should be consuming enough calories to match his target weight, not his “overweight” weight, are you with me?

Basically, he needs to lose weight, so you shouldn’t be maintaining his current physique…

Q: What is better, wet or dry food?

This is quite difficult to answer with a straight binary answer (wet or dry). The reality is, it depends (Should You Be Using Wet or Dry Cat Food? click here for my full article). As I briefly touched on earlier there are benefits with each of these options.

To briefly recap, dry food is great for their teeth and a great convenience (because you can leave it out all day, while you are at work). And wet food, on the other hand, has great protein, a good source of water, and typically tastes delicious to most cats.

The most important factor is not if it’s wet or dry. It is more important to make sure your cat gets the right balanced diet. I mean as in, protein, vitamins, etc.

Q: Can cats live on just dry food?

Yes, a cat can live on dry food. This is because some people have done this. But, whether it’s an ideal choice is another question.

Dry food typically has extra nutrients added to make it a viable food source. However, you may find your cat can get dehydrated if you are not careful. For that reason, it’s important to provide a lot of water for them to avoid this.

In all honesty, the best method is to consult your vet first and see what they advise. During your visit, it’s worth asking him if he (or she) recommends mixing dry and wet food. This, in my opinion, is always a good compromise.

Q: How long can you keep wet food out for?

One of the benefits of dry food is the fact that you can leave it out for so long. The reality is, it’s convenient for indoor cat owners that work a 9-5 job. But, you just don’t get the same benefit from wet food.

However, it has other benefits (as discussed earlier in this article). But, out of interest, how long can you leave wet food out? The truth is different brands have different guidelines on this. Why? because they have different ingredients basically.

In general, you shouldn’t keep it out for too long at all. Some say as low as one hour, others say up to four hours. And this assumes it’s not a hot day with a house that does not have air conditioning. If possible keep it to a minimum.