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How to Properly Store Cats and Dogs Food

The way you store your pet’s food is just as important as finding the best quality pet food for your pets. Cats and dogs’ food need to be stored in a proper way to ensure it maintains the nutrients value and make sure it is in its best condition for them. Storing pet food properly also prevents your pets from reaching them easily. You do not want your pet to overeat their food or accidentally eat the food that does not belong to them as it might lead to serious health problems.

01 Store in cool dry place

Store your cats and dogs’ food in a cool and dry place where the food would not be exposed to direct sunlight and is under 27°C. You want to store cats and dogs’ food where you store your dry grain or snacks, for example the cabinets. Do not store your pet food in a hot and wet environment or uncontrollable environment. High heat and over moisture will break down nutrients and vitamins in the food. It will also affect the texture and taste of the food and your pets might refuse to eat the food and it becomes a waste. Same goes to canned food, do not freeze them, keep it in a cool and dry environment.

02 Best to keep in original packaging

Dry food is best to be stored in their original packaging. The original packaging has all the information you need to know about the food you are feeding to your dogs or cats. You can always track what your pets consumed if they show any discomfort after eating the food. After opening up a bag of dry food, keep the food in an airtight container together with the bag. Be very careful and aware of the expiry date on the packaging, feeding your pets expired food accidentally is dangerous, just like humans, they might get very sick and give up on eating altogether.

03 Cover opened canned/wet food with plastic wrap and put in refrigerator

Although canned food or wet food are best to finish once opened, sometimes your pet refuses to eat all of the food and leaves the leftovers in their bowl. If the wet or canned food is not finished by your pets within 4 hours, wrap a plastic wrap over the bowl of food and keep them in your refrigerator. The longest period of time you can keep the food is 4-7 days, make sure to let your pet finish the wet or canned food in this period of time otherwise you would need to throw the food away.

04 Store the food in a place your pet cannot access

Keep your pet’s food and treats in a higher and secure place where your pets cannot reach. Cats and dogs love their treats so much that sometimes they cannot control themselves to not overeat the treats. Pets overeating can lead to serious health issues, the most common ones are heart disease and diabetes which can shorten their lifespan. When you have more than one pet in the house, keeping food away from your pets also prevents them from eating food that is not meant for them. Some pets have allergies towards the contents in the food the other pets eat, keeping the food away from them prevents them to miseat the food and putting their life in danger. 

Other than the storing of food, the hygiene of food bowls and scoops are also important to keep your cats and dogs’ meals safe. Wash their food bowl after each meal, make sure the container that stores all the food is dry to avoid the growth of bacteria. Scaled pet food scoop are always recommended to track how much your pets eat each meal.