# How long can I leave Raw food out for??



## ChrisKon (Nov 12, 2012)

Hello everyboday! 

Max & Buena are on a full raw diet which I purchase from Natural Instinct.

I've tried to feed them a little bit of Animonda with their N.I diet however they just turn their noses up at it!

For a couple months they were LOVING N.I, but now they don't seem to be eating as much! Max was eating at least 250g a day but it seems to have slowed down and their food is being left out for quite a long period of time. 

Sooooo, is there a rule of thumb for how long raw food can be out for? I'm sure Ive read info on this in another thread but can't seem to find it! 

p.s.They're 7-8 months old


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## delca1 (Oct 29, 2011)

I would not leave any food down for more than 10 - 15 mins at the most. If they are hungry they will eat it. Mine are impatiently waiting up come feeding time and always eat it all immediately, if they didn't I would remove it straight away as it would be unusual..in which case wet or raw food could be kept in the fridge till the next meal time.


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## Cookieandme (Dec 29, 2011)

How much are you putting down each time and how many meals to they get.

If the room isn't too warm I would say about 30mins max, after that it will dry up and be very Unappetising.

Cookie hoovers her meals but April takes a little longer, but is getting better.


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## ChrisKon (Nov 12, 2012)

Oh my gosh! Ive been leaving it out up to roughly 1.5 hours!!!! Maybe even 2!!!

Oh no! :cryin:

I also called up Natural Instinct and they said the same thing!!! (I like to get info from more than one source)


How did I miss this information out??!! I do feel quite irresponsible now.

So, no one's in the house from 9am till 6pm. And I know Kittens should eat as much as they want. How do I get around them being fed through out the day without leaving raw food out? Or do I just feed them before I go work (Even if they don't eat it all), then leave their bowls empty till I get home?

Any info/advice would be appreciated.

Thanks


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## Cookieandme (Dec 29, 2011)

When my the 7 month old was on wet food, I left her an automatic feeder for lunchtime, when I switched to raw at about 10 months she had breakfast and the tea, she did also have a supper which she doesn't now.


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## jasminex (Oct 16, 2012)

I just put it down and leave it til its gone or abandoned.

I don't really see the problem in leaving it down in this weather, I might take it up sooner in the summer though. I think cats' noses are pretty good at sniffing out iffy food anyway - I know Humphrey's nose can detect ground up antobiotic at 10 paces 

Not sure an auto feeder would be much better in terms of freshness. I guess it would keep it a little cooler for an hour or something.


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## Cookieandme (Dec 29, 2011)

jasminex said:


> Not sure an auto feeder would be much better in terms of freshness. I guess it would keep it a little cooler for an hour or something.


I did say when she was on wet


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

I will admit I have become a whole lot more relaxed about the 'leaving food out' issue. Ok, my kitchen is definitely cooler than the rest of the house and I will (probably) be much stricter in summer....but right now I have 2 main feeds at 8am and 7pm...and IF any food is left from one meal it sits out till the next one!
No tummy upsets here and in fact the crusty food always seems quite a delicacy!


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## Toby Tyler (Feb 17, 2013)

Paddypaws said:


> I will admit I have become a whole lot more relaxed about the 'leaving food out' issue. Ok, my kitchen is definitely cooler than the rest of the house and I will (probably) be much stricter in summer....but right now I have 2 main feeds at 8am and 7pm...and IF any food is left from one meal it sits out till the next one!
> No tummy upsets here and in fact the crusty food always seems quite a delicacy!


I also admit to becoming far more lax, especially in these cooler months. And the crispies, if there are any, seem to be especially yummy. rrr:

Two hours maximum is what they say food for human consumption can be left out, so stop with the worries 

One thing that recently occurred to me to solve the overnight meal dilemma with two kittens in the house is to leave some frozen chunks out after they have filled up on their final meal for the night. By the time they are hungry, the food is thawed. An automatic feeder works great for this purpose. I do find such a feeder is a great gadget to have when you can't be home.


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## ribbon (Apr 16, 2012)

^ I'm also in the "leave food out" camp and mine don't seem to have suffered from it. If it's really been out too long even my absolute greedy guts won't eat it so I doubt a cat will poison themselves. They seem pretty clever like that!


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## oggers86 (Nov 14, 2011)

ribbon said:


> ^ I'm also in the "leave food out" camp and mine don't seem to have suffered from it. If it's really been out too long even my absolute greedy guts won't eat it so I doubt a cat will poison themselves. They seem pretty clever like that!


I am as well. I left the last lot out overnight, by morning whatever was left the cats wouldn't touch it so I figure they know best. Mind you I have eaten stuff I have left out and my house is always warm and I'm not dead yet..

_Posted from Petforums.co.uk App for Android_


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## Heather 6 (Nov 8, 2016)

I bought natural instinct from my nearest stockist. Which is only 5 minutes drive from my house. I bought 2 x 250g. I left one out at room temperature for about 2 hours. Then placed in fridge. Tomorrow (10 November) will be day 3. Will it be safe to give it to my Poochon. By the way he is nearly 4 and I've never seen him eat with such relish.


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## Linda2147 (Sep 26, 2013)

Raw food has no by products or other stuff so they feel fuller longer. Don't leave it down more than ten minutes. Raw dogs fed usually get between 2-3% of their body separated in two meals.


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## Orla (Sep 16, 2015)

Have to admit I'm another that leaves things down longer. I figure cats have a good nose and won't eat what smells off, plus my girl is indoor/outdoor so who knows what she eats outdoors and who knows what she ate when she was a stray?! I do use an autofeeder for lunch feeds which hopefully keeps things a little bit fresher than it would leaving a larger amount out in the open air at breakfast for her to come back to later in the day. It might not be ideal but I am happy this is the best I can do for her.


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## minari (Jun 30, 2016)

I rarely have the opportunity to leave raw or wet food out as their plates are always cleaned in 2 minutes. In the odd occasion when they couldn't finish I'd leave it out for 20 minutes or so before I pick it up and put in the fridge for next meal.


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