Surprise! (and Help Needed)

[Vega's Dad]

I bought some ground turkey for stuffing and found out there's some bone in it. It's not on the label but my mouth doesn't lie. I was about to throw it away but Vega showed interest. I gave her a tiny bit (not all 3 spoons! The other two were used during her supper ) and she was crazy about it! She eats turkey neck as treats but I didn't expect she would like ground turkey so much. I froze the rest as small portions for treats.
I am thinking to introduce some raw to her diet. Currently, I'm not going to do all raw feeding but ~50% daily consumption of 2 or 3 days per week would be ideal. The ground turkey is not complete or balanced. I seem to recall a supplement for adding to muscle meat to make it "complete" but can't remember the name. A little help would be appreciated!

 

[orange&white]

EZ Complete.

 

[Vega's Dad]

EZ Complete.

Thanks!

 

[orange&white]

'twas easy.

Glad your kitty is enjoying the raw treats! Careful though. Some cats start refusing processed foods after a few raw samplings.

 

[missmimz]

EZ complete is only for boneless meats. There's also alnutrin with eggshell calcium, for boneless meat, and alnutrin for meat and bone.

 

[lavishsqualor]

I have read that ground meats purchased from the grocery store have a higher propensity for bacteria. Others will chime it, but do be careful. And congrats on feeding Vega a species appropriate diet!

 

[Vega's Dad]

EZ complete is only for boneless meats. There's also alnutrin with eggshell calcium, for boneless meat, and alnutrin for meat and bone.

The ground turkey is supposed to be de-boned. It's just not done completely. The bone residue should not contribute much to cats diet. It's just not suitable for human consumption IMO.

 

[lisahe]

I have read that ground meats purchased from the grocery store have a higher propensity for bacteria. Others will chime it, but do be careful. And congrats on feeding Vega a species appropriate diet!

This was my first reaction, too. I've used store-bought ground meat for homemade cooked food (with EZcomplete) but wouldn't feed it raw. Here's an article from a raw feeding site that sums up the concern: article here!

All that said, I'm also glad to hear Vega is happy to eat raw meat!

 

[orange&white]

I started a discussion on raw ground turkey in April: Grocery Store Pre-ground Meats: Yes Or No?

I do use some store bought ground turkey chubs that are in the freezer case at the grocer (not in the fresh case) because I believe it has been HPP'd.

It appears that many processors are using HPP technology to effectively "sanitize" and extend the shelf-life of meats.

Excerpt from article, Strengthening meat safety | MEAT+POULTRY:
"Whether they advertise it or not, most of the larger meat and poultry processors use HPP in one product or another, Barnard claims.

“The most well-known are Hormel with the Natural Choice product line, Applegate Farms sliced RTE products and Perdue Short Cuts chicken strips,” he adds. “Jennie-O processes their ground turkey chubs with HPP. Costco, HEB, Whole Foods and even Walmart want clean-label products for their store brands.” "

The frozen "natural" turkey I'm looking at is the HEB store brand, so I'm feeling fairly comfortable that is has been HPP processed to kill off bacteria and is safe to use.

I haven't had any problems with it.

 

[Vega's Dad]

I started a discussion on raw ground turkey in April: Grocery Store Pre-ground Meats: Yes Or No?

I do use some store bought ground turkey chubs that are in the freezer case at the grocer (not in the fresh case) because I believe it has been HPP'd.



I haven't had any problems with it.

I got it frozen and packaged like sausage. I'm thinking if I should cook it before serving. ..

 

[orange&white]

I'm personally comfortable with feeding the frozen chubs raw after reading about the safety improvements. Unlike fresh, the frozen is ground and flash frozen prior to shipping. That article I found indicates that most frozen turkey is HPP'd even though they aren't required to label it.

This is what I've been buying when it goes on sale:

 

[lisahe]

I'm personally comfortable with feeding the frozen chubs raw after reading about the safety improvements. Unlike fresh, the frozen is ground and flash frozen prior to shipping. That article I found indicates that most frozen turkey is HPP'd even though they aren't required to label it.

This is what I've been buying when it goes on sale:

This is very interesting, orange&white ! Meat like this would be ideal for raw feeding, hmm. I had no idea it even existed.

 

[orange&white]

This is very interesting, orange&white ! Meat like this would be ideal for raw feeding, hmm. I had no idea it even existed.

The only downside was that I bought this to reduce calories for my overweight cat, but when I finally put together a calorie-per-ounce spreadsheet of various meats I buy, this turkey (80/20) is higher in fat and calories than untrimmed brisket. They don't sell the lower fat turkey in frozen chubs at my store. Anyway, it's working fine if I mix it with boneless-skinless chicken breast and gizzards. Just about any meat lowers the fat content.

Edit to add that I am also adding organs and bone to make a balanced mix. ...didn't want anyone thinking I'm just feeding boneless meat.

 

[maureen brad]

I will second the advice not to use store bought ground meat unless you cook it. You can find EZ Complete at www.foodfurrlife.com- If you are adding bones and organs then you can use Alnutrin. If you don't add bone buy do add organs use Alnutrin w/calcium. You can also find supplement recipes at www.catinfo.org and www.feline-nutrition.org you can use calcium from egg shell 1/2 teaspoon per lbs. just cook egg shells and grind in a coffee bean grinder.

 

[Vega's Dad]

I'm personally comfortable with feeding the frozen chubs raw after reading about the safety improvements. Unlike fresh, the frozen is ground and flash frozen prior to shipping. That article I found indicates that most frozen turkey is HPP'd even though they aren't required to label it.

This is what I've been buying when it goes on sale:

I didn't keep the package, which had 4 of the "sausage" inside. It did, however, suggest to cook before eating. Guess no human would eat raw turkey except Bear Grylls

 

[orange&white]

That's interesting...no label? Did you purchase from a small meat market?

 

[orange&white]

...and I think the USDA/FDA requires the "safe cooking temperature" to be labelled on all raw meats...because apparently the general public is too stupid to know not to eat raw meat (for human consumption).

 

[Vega's Dad]

That's interesting...no label? Did you purchase from a small meat market?

There was a label on the package but not on each individual sausage.

 

[orange&white]

Is it a name-brand turkey, or local butcher shop? I've never seen packaging like that.

 

[Vega's Dad]

Is it a name-brand turkey, or local butcher shop? I've never seen packaging like that.

It's a brand owned by a large chained grocery store company. It's a well known brand but, considering its price range, I'd say it's mid-low end.
I'm in Canada BTW. Things look a bit different here