Question about canned pet food

[CathyA]

I feed my dog half Blue Buffalo dry food and half canned food twice a day.
I only use 1/4 can per meal. I keep it in the fridge. I always warm it up before I give it to her, if its been in the fridge.
Do you warm yours up? Its sort of a pain. I use the microwave. I'd love to quit doing that, but eating cold food seems like it wouldn't be good for her. Tell me I'm wrong. :~)

[pinkytoe]

DH and I feed our weiner dog similarly. DH always heats up the canned cold food portion in the microwave; I don't. So far, it doesn't seem to matter as she readily eats it either way.

[CathyA]

Thanks pinkytoe. I keep telling my dog to slow down and enjoy it. She swallows it whole, without savoring it. haha

[Rosemary]

I don't warm up our canned cat food. They don't seem to mind. However when I've given our cat warm food that I've been working on in the kitchen - scraps of chicken from a carcass I'm cleaning, or just-roasted sweet potatoes - he does not eat it until it has cooled to room temp.

[Glo]

I mix about 2 tablespoons of canned food with 1 cup of dried food. The canned food is refrigerated and I don't warm it; dog is fine with it.

[treehugger]

I use the microwave. I'd love to quit doing that, but eating cold food seems like it wouldn't be good for her. Tell me I'm wrong. :~)

I can't imagine that it would be more or less healthful either way. You probably eat cold food sometimes with no ill effects, after all. So, it comes down to preference. If she won't eat it cold, that's another issue.

My dogs get dry food (currently, Taste of the Wild), but my cat gets canned (Trader Joe's) and every other meal, it comes straight outta the fridge and she eats it happily.

Kara

[CathyA]

I guess I was thinking cold food would be rough on her stomach. But if its not an issue, I would be really happy to not have to heat it up all the time!
Thanks for all your input!

[Miss Cellane]

Canned cat food smells horrible when microwaved. I don't know how dog food smells, but the stench alone would keep me from warming up the cat's food.

I've had some cats that would wait for cold food to warm up to room temperature, but usually they are more interested in eating it right away, cold or not, so that the other cat can't get it.

[iris lily]

We feed our dogs dry food that has been soaked in water for 12 hours because we have an elderly nearly toothless Frenchie and she can't eat a lot of dry food. So usually it is room temperature, but during the very hot day sof summer I put their food in the fridge. I never worry about it being too cool for them.

OP I wouldn't consider cold food a problem with dogs.

[puglogic]

We feed our dogs dry food that has been soaked in water for 12 hours because we have an elderly nearly toothless Frenchie and she can't eat a lot of dry food. So usually it is room temperature, but during the very hot day sof summer I put their food in the fridge. I never worry about it being too cool for them.

I soak all my dogs' kibble, since our multi-thousand-dollar adventure with intestinal problems early last year, and other digestive issues later on. No problems since. They don't mind a bit if it's cold or warm. What a nice dog mom you are, CathyA :)

[jp1]

We give our cats one full can/day of canned food so it's at room temperature. Occasionally we've gotten off schedule for various reasons and have had partial cans refrigerated. We haven't tried heating it so I can't speak to that. When it's cold they don't love it as much, but still eat it. (perhaps it doesn't smell as much when cold?) Just as I am fine with a cold turkey meatloaf sandwich even if it's not as good as when hot, I doubt it hurts them.

This thread reminds me of my grandfather. Back when he was alive they lived on a farm and had quite a lot of barn cats which he appreciated since they kept the rodent population down. He would feed them enough scraps so that they wouldn't starve or leave if the rodent population was low and he'd provided some very rudimentary bedding/shelter so they wouldn't freeze in the cold, but beyond that he didn't 'care' for them as one would pets. As he got older he seemed to get more concerned about what they might like. So every night after dinner he would heat up the scrap mixture before carrying it out to the barn. The cats LOVED this. Once he started making them a hot dinner every night they'd see him coming and all swarm around him excitedly until he poured the nasty mess into their trough. Knowing how sensitive cats are to smell I'm not surprised. This stuff STUNK big time.

[sweetana3]

Ever since we had a cat with kidney issues, we have added very warm water to their wet food. They get a cat food "stew" twice a day. I leave out dry food in case they are still hungry. Water is very important to cats.

[Wildflower]

My dogs eat cold food with gusto, kind of like me eating a cold piece of leftover pizza straight from the frig. :)

However, when I've had elderly and sick dogs in the past I would warm it. They appreciated it too, warm food was more enjoyable for them at that point, I think...

[Tussiemussies]

You make a really good point CathyA, we also feed the wilderness brand of the Blue Buffalo, canned variety and keep it in the fridge. Oddly our girl eats during the middle of the night. Don't remember how that started but by the time she eats it isn't cold anymore. I would heat it for her since she gets cold very easily, she is small. And she is very dainty with her food. Actually she eats it on the plate so that a straight line of the food left on there!

[larknm]

I've read that dogs, like us, prefer warm food. I think it's less of a shock to their bodies. I think room temp is good.