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Is it safe to feed pets food from a used 5-gallon paint bucket?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

I don't think it is... but is it safe to feed pets out of a 5 Gallon paint bucket that has paint and stuff on the lid still and paint on the outside but it possibly looks clean on the outside? I'm low on my cat food and I texted family to ask if they could pick me up a bag. They replied with the reply that they have cat food for their cats in a 5-gallon bucket that I could get some out of it. But the bucket used to have paint in it so I'm not sure I want to feed her any of that food.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By C. Rathjens, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on August 14th, 2019

That's a good question. If the paint was all nice and dry, it should be fine. It's good to keep food in an airtight container, even better if you put the original bag itself in an airtight container. This prevents oxidation. I'm not sure where paint buckets fall on the airtight scale. It's likely safe, but if you don't need to use it, I'd probably avoid it just in case.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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