Should You Warm Up Wet Cat Food?

Cold food won’t harm your pet, but cats generally don’t like it. Most cats prefer eating food at room temperature or slightly higher.

Although domestic cats differ significantly from their wild relatives, their instincts remain strong. Warm food reminds cats of prey and feels more natural.

But overheating food has many risks you should be aware of. To avoid them, use correct cat food heating methods and be mindful of the temperature.

Heating Enhances the Flavor

The most apparent benefit of warming up food for cats is enhanced flavor. Cats are notoriously picky eaters who refuse to eat food even if changes in taste, smell, or texture are insignificant.

According to studies, our taste buds feel flavor more intense when the food temperature increases.

Microscopic channels in our taste buds known as TRPM5 send stronger electrical impulses into the brain when food is warm than when it’s cold.

Think of ice cream – it tastes sweeter when it begins to melt. Although we don’t have similar studies based on animals, cats are likely no different in this sense.

Furthermore, many elements in food are conveyed via fats that become volatilized at high temperatures. The feline sense of smell is very strong, so cats can sense vitamins and elements in food better than humans.

Cats have fewer taste buds than humans, so they heavily rely on their sense of smell. If food doesn’t smell appealing to a cat, it will refuse to eat it. Heat enhances food aroma, making it more attractive to cats.

Cats with a healthy appetite usually don’t mind eating cold food. Cats don’t have microwaves in the wild, so preference for warmer food is merely a habit.

However, picky eaters and cats with appetite reduced due to a medical condition will benefit from warmer food.

Sometimes, owners struggle to make their cats eat, constantly trying new food types and brands when all they need to do is heat the food.

Cats don’t like their food hot, though. They prefer slightly warm or room-temperature food because it’s more natural, satisfying their inherited instincts of consuming fresh prey.

Fresh prey is warm yet not steaming hot. It isn’t cold either.

Heating Makes Food Better Digestible

Heating cat food makes it more digestible, reducing chronic and acute gastroenteric issue risk. The feline digestive system is sensitive to food temperatures and breaks down nutrients from warm food faster than from cold.

This is because heat breaks down some nutrients in the food before they enter the body, leaving less work for the gastroenteric tract.

Cold food shocks a cat’s digestive system, making it work overtime to metabolize the nutrients and microelements. Cold cat food can even lead to bloating and constipation.

A healthy adult cat might not experience digestion issues from cold food because its gastroenteric tract isn’t as sensitive. The feline gastroenteric tract has evolved to digest raw meat.

However, cats with chronic constipation, kittens, pregnant felines, and senior cats that have difficulty digesting hard food will appreciate warmed-up food.

Heating Makes Food Softer

The problem with canned cat food is that you need to put leftovers in the fridge, where they become harder. Heating up revives the food texture, making it soft and easy to chew.

Soft food has many benefits for cats. Firstly, it improves digestion because a cat’s gastroenteric tract needs to put less work into breaking it down. Soft food helps deal with chronic constipation and bloating.

Note that soft food can cause diarrhea in some cats, particularly if they get much fiber, drink a lot of water, or are accustomed to eating kibble.

Secondly, soft food doesn’t require chewing and is better for cats with dental issues such as stomatitis, gingivitis, and mouth ulcers caused by a calicivirus. Senior cats may also have difficulty chewing food because they start losing teeth.

Kittens during teething can feel extreme itchiness. Although some kittens tolerate teething well, others cannot eat properly.

Some cats refuse to eat entirely because of pain, so heating food can be a solution for loss of appetite due to dental problems.

Thirdly, some cats are picky about the food’ texture and only eat soupy food or pate. They simply don’t like solid chunks of cold meat in their bowl.

Heating Reduces Moisture Content

Heating cat food can reduce its moisture content. Correct heating won’t affect the water content in cat food. But if you overheat the food or use the wrong method, it will become dry, which can affect its flavor and your cat’s digestion.

If your cat is used to eating soft, moist food, it might refuse to eat dry food. Furthermore, cats that eat wet food tend to drink less because they already get water from food.

If your cat is accustomed to drinking the bare minimum, incorrect heating can lead to dehydration. Dehydration causes constipation, lethargy, and urinary tract problems.

You can avoid these issues with correct and moderate heating. Don’t fry, bake, boil, or keep your cat’s food in the microwave for too long.

Heating Decreases Nutritional Value

Moderate heating won’t affect the nutritional value of your cat’s food. However, incorrect heating can significantly reduce it, preventing your pet from eating a rich and balanced diet.

Heat breaks down nutrients and microelements in food, particularly water-soluble vitamins, because it causes water to evaporate. Raw meat and vegetables contain more vitamins and minerals than cooked.

For this reason, many cat owners advocate for a raw diet for their pets. Still, most canned cat food is cooked. But cat food manufacturers use cooking methods that preserve maximum healthy elements.

Cats don’t eat solely to feel full or to enjoy the flavor. They need the elements to maintain their bodily functions, so nutrient deficiency can severely affect their health.

If a cat doesn’t get enough carbs, it will become weak, listless, and lethargic. Protein deficiency in cats causes muscle mass loss, developmental disorders in kittens, coat problems, and infectious diseases.

If a cat doesn’t get enough fats, its metabolic and reproductive systems cannot function properly, and its coat and skin become dry. Water-soluble vitamins are primary group B vitamins, essential for a cat’s well-being.

A lack of vitamin B1 in a cat’s body leads to anorexia, gastroenteric issues, seizures, and impaired vision. Vitamin B6 helps cats metabolize calcium. Cats with vitamin B6 deficiency can experience problems with muscles and bones.

In other words, insufficient nutrition in cat food can be very dangerous in the long term. However, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t warm up your cat’s food or that you should switch your cat to a raw diet.

To prevent your cat’s food from losing healthy nutrients, choose the correct heating methods and don’t overheat it.

Heating Speeds Up Spoilage

Food spoils faster at high temperatures; that’s common knowledge. The lifespan of wet cat food already isn’t long – veterinarians don’t recommend leaving wet cat food out for over four hours at room temperature.

Heating can cause food to go bad even faster, so your cat should consume it from the first go. The FSA advises not to reheat food more than once.

Although this advice refers to human food, cat food is no different in this regard. It’s important to note that cat food won’t go bad faster if you warm it up to room temperature but can spoil if you make it hot.

The Best Way to Heat Up Cat Food

The risks of warming up cat food are mostly related to incorrect heating methods or overheating, so you will benefit from learning how to warm up cat food correctly.

The best way to warm up cat food is to transfer the pouch contents into a zip lock bag and keep it under running warm water for some moments. This way, food becomes warmer and doesn’t lose moisture.

Another option is to mix warm water with food directly in your cat’s dish. This method prevents you from reheating food and allows you to preserve leftovers fresh for longer.

However, water makes food moister and affects its flavor, which some cats might not like.

If the temperature inside your refrigerator isn’t too low or the food has only been there for a few hours, you can take it out of the fridge in advance and let it get back to room temperature naturally.

However, this method won’t work for very cold food. Don’t leave cat food out of the fridge for too long if the climate is hot and humid because it promotes bacteria growth.

Whether you can microwave cat food is a topic for debate. Occasional microwaving won’t harm your cat, but it breaks down nutrients in food.

Cats that regularly eat microwaved food are at higher risk of suffering from nutrient deficiency. When using the microwave, set it to the lowest temperature for under eight seconds.

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