Shelf life
How long a bag of cat treats keeps, open or not
Updated
How long do cat treats last? A sealed bag of ours goes by the best by date printed on it, set at one year from production. After opening, our guidance is to finish it within 30 days. Cats get small pieces, so an open bag can outrun that window. Open one bag at a time.
Where does the date on a bag of cat treats come from?
We set it. Each bag gets a best by date of one year from the day it was produced, and the date is printed on the bag. That is the one date to go by for a bag that has not been opened.
We do not describe where the date sits on the bag, and we make no statement about a treat once the date has gone by. If you cannot find a readable date, write to us before opening the bag.
The dates on the bags in one box can differ. Read each one rather than guessing from the bag next to it.
A printed date is easy to ignore until a bag has been in the cupboard for months. Looking at it when the box arrives, and again when you open the bag, takes a few seconds and settles the question without any guesswork.
How long do cat treats last once the bag is open?
Within 30 days is our guidance for an opened bag. It is our own number. The label does not carry it, which is why we never put it in quotation marks as if the bag had printed it.
Count from the day you open that bag. The others in the box stay on their own best by dates until you open them. After each serving, close the opened bag fully and return it to the same cool, dry place.
A marker works well here. Write the open date on the bag the day you break the seal, and the 30 days stops being something you have to remember. It also helps in a household where two people feed the cat.
For where sealed bags are best kept, freeze dried cat treats covers storage spots, and we will stay out of its way.
Why does open bag timing matter more for a cat?
Because a cat's portion is usually small, and a bag lasts a long time at that rate. Offered a few pieces at a time, one bag can outlast a whole month, and the 30 days keeps ticking whether or not the bag is nearly full.
Two habits help. Open only one bag at a time, so there is a single clock to watch. And break the pieces into smaller bits if that suits your cat, which stretches a serving across more moments without opening anything new. That is about pacing and nothing else.
If you tend to fill the tank only when the gauge hits empty, the habit transfers: you want to know how long a bag will take before you open the next, not after. Most of the work is noticing how fast this particular bag is going.
The cat box treats are for intermittent or supplemental feeding, the opposite of a full meal. For how many treats suit your cat, ask your veterinarian. Feeding advice is not something we give, and we have no portion number to offer.
What about the sealed bags still in the cat box?
They go by their own best by dates, and they can stay sealed while you work through the first one. What is inside shifts from one month to the next, and product page photos are only examples, so what lands in your box may not match last month's.
One box covers one pet, and the pets in one home all receive the same lineup. If you want the cat version, pick Cat on the cat box page.
Browse more of our reading in the guides hub.
Questions
Do cat treats expire?
Each bag has a best by date printed on it, one year from production. After you open one, we suggest finishing it within 30 days. That covers everything we say about dates and timing for the treats in our cat box.
Is the thirty day guidance on the label?
No, it is ours. The printed best by date is what appears on the bag. We offer the 30 day figure for opened bags as a rule of thumb from us, and we do not claim the packaging says it.
Can I split one open bag between two cats?
Yes. It is still one bag with one 30 day window, however many cats share it. Each cat still gets a box of its own, and two cats under one roof receive matching lineups.
Do dog treats and cat treats keep the same way?
Both boxes carry the same dating: a best by date a year out from production, printed on the bag, and our suggestion of 30 days once a bag is open. Our page on how long dog treats last goes through pacing a dog's bags.
What if my cat finishes a bag slowly?
Open the next bag only when the last one is done, and write the open date on the bag so you can see the window. Close it fully after each serving. The 30 days is our guidance for an opened bag, so a slow finisher is a reason to open less often, not more.