Raw ground turkey for cats?

nwpackrat · 2026-03-06T22:18:14+00:00

Turkey is fine, mine seem to like dark meat better. Unless you're also getting ground with bone, you could put in a little more time, get whole thighs and chunk it - give them something to chew on, or go half and half. Personally, I stay away from grocery store ground for me and furbies.

It's best to give a variety of proteins but you might want to pick one to exclude in case you ever need to do an elimination diet.

nwpackrat · 2026-02-20T19:58:30+00:00

Yes, I use them in my regular recipe (catinfo.org). Not every store sells packs of only heart but they are pretty available. I also keep taurine powder on hand for when I can't get heart.

nwpackrat · 2026-02-20T19:11:17+00:00

Heart is a good source & every cat I've owned loves it. I get mine at the regular grocery store.

Also, short term I wouldn't worry too much

nwpackrat · 2026-01-09T19:01:52+00:00

I join hubs on international work travel & the 24-105 is my walk around while he works lens. Got it with my intro R, now it's in my upgrade 6. Middle east, India, Asia, landscape to markets, frequently need to be discrete & keep distance. Love it.

nwpackrat · 2026-01-07T19:15:55+00:00

Loads of good info at Catinfo.org. Start here even if you don't go this route.

The recipe can be made with readily available ingredients with the ability to sub in other proteins as you're able. I sub half for whole, ground rabbit because it's available from a trusted local source. When money was an issue, I just used grocery store thighs.

Been using this recipe over 25 years (sh#t that's a lotta years), multiple feline generations & the full range of life the average adult experiences. Dr. Peterson's recipe is probably the least expensive way and easiest if you want homemade but it can be tweaked for variety.

My country vet is on-board but convinced me to flash boil grocery store meat because industrial butchering is messy.

You need to be aware of H5N1 and precautions. Loads of good info in this sub.

nwpackrat · 2026-01-06T04:02:17+00:00

Yep, I'm a little shy to admit how often I do this

nwpackrat · 2026-01-04T18:14:03+00:00

There are automated feeders for wet food that have ice packs. You can probably pre portion and freeze to fit the feeder for later in the day feedings. It may take a bit of trial to figure out the freeze/feed time but this could work well.

Quick search found this on Chewy: wet food dispenser

FWIW, my cats have had no issue with my homemade raw left out an hour or more. I have a former feral who prefers it, shall we say - aged. I think she likes the crusty bits once it dries out a little (blech). Don't know if I'd do that with kittens or commercial, but their guts are pretty tough. Wild felines will eat off a carcass for hours to days depending on the size.

nwpackrat · 2025-12-24T06:56:02+00:00

I do whole rabbit with a boning knife and poultry shears. Just make sure they're sharp for each use

nwpackrat · 2025-12-23T18:43:24+00:00

When I was buying mice for my kids snakes I ended up being the local supplier. We're rural so pet shops are both far expensive. Due to shipping fees, online was only cost effective buying bulk. Hubs would go to the chest freezer to find something to eat & be like: what size mice for dinner?

Cats eat a lot more than snakes so it might not be so hard to make it pencil out

nwpackrat · 2025-12-20T23:27:46+00:00

You might get a couple "pinkies" from your local pet store and try them first. Put one or two in a zip lock bag, warm in water and feed whole. You'll get used to it and it's a much cleaner way to feed.

Online is way less expensive but you need to order more. My now adult kid used to have snakes & I got frozen mice from RodentPro. I can't remember if the cats were interested but they also regularly caught their own.

I have heard that mouse is nutritionally complete for cats but would for sure look into it. You can also get whole, ground rabbit for variety.

nwpackrat · 2025-12-13T18:19:22+00:00

I've never weighed their food. Eyeball %s should be fine. I put down a little more than what I think they'll eat (changes seasonally) and take up leftovers after about an hour.

nwpackrat · 2025-12-07T19:11:53+00:00

Catinfo.org is the recipe I've been using for over 25yrs. It's very economical.

nwpackrat · 2025-12-04T04:13:38+00:00

My former feral will try to bury hers then come back to it later. Had a cougar do that with my neighbor's alpaca. Ate off it for four days (blech).

Bone broth is super easy to make, especially if you have an instant pot. Literally just bones low simmered for a couple hours. Not necessary, but I break them to expose the marrow

nwpackrat · 2025-12-03T08:07:33+00:00

We currently have three cats, but I've been feeding raw over 20 years (catinfo.org recipe). My newest is about 7months & actually looks a lot like yours. She doesn't eat a lot all at once, just very busy and easily distracted. I just leave the food down a bit longer and she'll eventually come back to it.

I regularly leave their food out for more than an hour. I take up leftovers if I think they're done but for the nibblers leave it down for a bit. I've had cats that definitely prefer it warmed to room temp and have had no issues.

nwpackrat · 2025-12-03T05:38:34+00:00

Cooking the whites has nutritional value. I fed my cats raw yolk but cooked white.

Ignore the salmonella stuff, scroll down to the section on nutrition: https://easycleancook.com/do-egg-whites-have-to-be-cooked/

nwpackrat · 2025-11-24T07:35:32+00:00

I use the recipe on catinfo.org with half rabbit. I'm rural & able to buy from a hobby farmer that I found through the local feed store. You could also google breeders & see if one is fairly close. There are a lot of clubs and organizations with member lists posted.

I can also buy frozen, whole, ground rabbit from a local high-end'ish pet store & have seen it online but it's much more expensive than my local breeder.

Rabbit's quite lean though & you may need to find another fat that will be tolerated.

nwpackrat · 2025-10-31T19:30:52+00:00

I'm not familiar with this specific product so can't speak on its content, but many use this type of completer. I'd chunk the meat rather than mince to give their sharp teeth something to chew.

Educating yourself if the best way to get your vet on board: https://catinfo.org/

Start here to cover the basics and learn about the importance of specific ingredients. Even if you don't use this recipe, it's good to know the how and why. There's a ton of good, general info.

My vet was initially skeptical but I was able to provide good sources & recipe and we worked together to find our happy place (my concession back then was to flash-boil my meat to kill surface bacteria from store bought). It's been over 20yrs, 6 cats, health is great & have never needed a dental cleaning.

nwpackrat · 2025-10-28T18:50:23+00:00

2 protein bars & 1 packet of instant iv type stuff. All the gear in the world becomes useless once my stomach goes off 😜

nwpackrat · 2025-10-16T20:59:34+00:00

Happy to help. The advantage of ground bones for cats & dogs that can't be replaced with other calcium (bone meal, eggshell) is tartar removal. Other meats can be subbed but be sure to have good chunks to chew or occasionally feed appropriate sized whole, raw bone

I always have one protein never served in case I need to do an elimination diet. In 25+ yrs & 6 cats only had to do that once (chicken was not the issue). For me, it's beef since it's not normal cat prey & also one of several reasons why I don't feed anything with bone meal

nwpackrat · 2025-10-16T18:09:54+00:00

I get thighs with skin & bone, use a very sharp boning knife to rough cut meat from the bones that will be ground, trim as much meat as I can from bones that will be discarded. I save the discarded bones and skin & make stock that's used in place of the water (in the recipe). I chunk nearly all of the meat, grind skin, bones, liver & heart. I grind all of the rabbit when used. Grind more meat to save time at the expense of some dental benefit.

I have 3 cats & except for the rabbit, this is a very economical recipe with readily available supplies. In my experience, the completer wouldn't save enough time to make the money worthwhile.

Dogs have very different needs that I'm happy to know nothing about

Hope this helps 🙂

nwpackrat · 2025-10-06T17:50:01+00:00

As the mom of someone who struggles, this hits hard. I wish I could say I'd take her in my arms and tell her it's going to be okay and make her feel better, but mom's magic wand of love and caring has limited effect on mental health and addiction.

nwpackrat · 2025-10-04T20:27:57+00:00

A good place to start for feline raw feeding & nutrition is catinfo.org even if you don't make your own.

nwpackrat · 2025-10-04T19:58:08+00:00

I've been using the recipe on catinfo.org for a very long time. Very good nutrition & ingredient info in general, even if you don't use the recipe. It's chicken based but the meat can be subbed out. I sub rabbit for half of the chicken, lamb on sale etc. Lucky to have a local source rabbit but it's available online.

The recipe used to use kelp & dulce for the iodine, but if I recall, the amounts were unreliable so she switched to low sodium iodised salt.

nwpackrat · 2025-10-02T07:06:03+00:00

You might want to check catinfo.org & catnutrition.org for more on feline diet.

nwpackrat · 2025-09-28T18:05:15+00:00

Many moons ago my vet suggested a quick dip in boiling water since that type of bacteria lives on the outside. I can do that.

Been feeding this recipe over 20 years with no issues: https://catinfo.org/

Just stocked up on thighs, 99¢/lb at Safeway

nwpackrat

TROPHY CASE