# Canned Pumpkin



## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

I was at Walmart today (not a super Walmart, a regular old crappy one) and in the 'clearance' food section they had Libby's pureed pumpkin in the 15 oz cans for only .79 a can. The expiration date on the cans were all after 1/2013 and they had no dents or bulges.

Not sure if it's a nationwide thing but I guess they are trying to dump their holiday stock. It might be worth checking out if you shop at Walmart and feed your beasties pumpkin.

I thought it was a great deal until I was lugging all those cans up 3 flights of stairs..... **** cat.....


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Wow, our Walmart has been out of plain pumpkin for months now. I hear there was a shortage of pumpkin. IBD people use pumpkin so was aware that it was in short supply.

I think you had a lucky day for finding it at that price. I mix in pumpkin with my soft food.


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## Vivid Dawn (May 31, 2010)

Yeah, pumpkin was really hard to find this summer. My supervisor went to about 5 stores, before she finally found some for a new cat we rescued who needed it.


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## Time Bandit (Aug 17, 2010)

I've never fed pumpkin before... What does it do for a cats health? How much of it would you feed?


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

I read that it helps them pass hairballs (he vomits up hairballs at LEAST once a week). I also read it helps for diarrhea and constipation. Since he's been on the EVO I notice he poos MUCH less than he used too. I don't know if it's constipation but I figured it couldn't hurt. It also adds bulk/fiber to help them with weight loss. 

As for amounts.... I found a lot of different opinions. I decided to start with 1 tbsp a day. He gets probiotics in his meal at night so I decided to give him the whole 1 tbsp in the mornings and he seems to quite like it. He even licked the spoon I used to put it in the wet food. I figure if it gives him the runs I'll back off a little.

Well, I've got 12 cans of it in the cabinet now.  I'll be ok for a while.


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## mollyspop (Jan 1, 2011)

*canned pupmpkin*



Time Bandit said:


> I've never fed pumpkin before... What does it do for a cats health? How much of it would you feed?


hello. pumpkin's fiber also gives firmer, bigger stools to help the anal glands release the gunk in them as kitty poops. if they don't release it, the gunk can back up & abscess; it can be very serious! i mix in just a little bit w/ each feeding of wet food; not sure how you'd feed it if using kibble...


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## Miso (Dec 5, 2009)

Thanks for the info. I've been looking for a place that has it. All the places I've looked only had the pumpkin pie filling stuf.


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## Vivid Dawn (May 31, 2010)

Yeah, don't use the pie filling stuff... that's got spices and other junk which is bad for cats. Just plain ol'e pumpkin.

Some cats do like just the pumpkin, some cats might eat it if it's mixed with food... other cats, like Paizly, won't touch anything that even _smells_ like pumpkin!


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

I had to be careful of that. The pumpkin pie filling cans were the same price and mixed in with the plain puree. I had to sort through the cans to find the real stuff.

I THOUGHT about buying filling and making a pie but I was worried I'd grab it by accident and feed it to the cat. (I would HOPE I'd smell the spices when I opened the can but better safe than sorry).


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## catnapped (Nov 11, 2010)

I can't buy canned pumpkin here. Would butternut squash (boiled and pureed) do the same job?


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## Leni (Sep 21, 2010)

How long is the canned pumpkin good for after you open it? I assume you refrigerate the remainder after it's been opened but how do you store it?


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Leni said:


> How long is the canned pumpkin good for after you open it? I assume you refrigerate the remainder after it's been opened but how do you store it?


I dropped it by tablespoon fulls(1 serving for him) onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet and then popped it in the freezer overnight. Next morning i peeled the frozen blobs off the wax paper and dropped them into a ziplock baggie and store them in the freezer. 

Each night before bed I yank one out and put it in his bowl in the fridge to thaw and be ready to add to his food for breakfast. Even if i forget to take one out at night a 3o second zap in the microwave thaws it enough to mix into his food (which I heat anyway).


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## Triscuit&Snickers (Jan 5, 2011)

Wow, I had never heard of that before. Thanks for the information!


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## Leni (Sep 21, 2010)

Oh ok, neat, thanks for the idea! I have a leftover can of canned pumpkin from a failed attempt at making pumpkin bread that I want to try. Sherlock doesn't really have too many hairballs but from time to time I see him trying to hack one up so maybe this will help.


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## hdunne (Jan 2, 2011)

Wow, I'd never heard about giving pumpkin to cats before! It's something to think about next time I have leftover pumpkin puree.


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