Weird stuff in turkey...

Graceful-Lily

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Felix and Smokey have been doing pretty well on raw. They ran out a few weeks ago and I bought some more but this time I got turkey. However, there seems to be carrots and some unidentified herb mixed in with it. Felix keeps throwing up and Smokey won't touch it much. I spent $80+ on the 32lb box and the lady won't take any of it back. I can't buy anymore food because I don't have anymore money right now. I also had to buy them more supplement which costed me another $80+. I'm not sure what to do. I'm actually sitting here crying because this has been really stressful and overwhelming. Should I stop buying the raw meat entirely and just get a commercial brand of raw cat food for them? I don't know what to do. All that money and meat is going to go wasted because I don't have any other animal that can eat raw meat. Please help.
 

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Where are you buying the meat from that has carrots and stuff in it?
 
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orange&white

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There definitely shouldn't be any carrots or herbs in a raw mix for cats, although a few carrots shouldn't make the cats sick.  I'd be suspect of the herbs.  That "might" be a dog mix, but I don't know many raw feeders give their dogs vegetables.  There are some.
 
Where are you buying the meat from that has carrots and stuff in it?
Good question.  Is this supposed to be from a raw dog and cat food company?

Sounds like they got your order wrong.
 
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Graceful-Lily

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The owner knows I have cats so she caters the order specially for me if I ask. This time, I assumed she remembered since I have an account with them but I guess not. The chicken was pure but the turkey has a lot of mix-ups in it. Neither cat is too fond of it. I tried offering wet food but I don't have much. And Felix went into my room and ate dry food from the other cats without me noticing. I kept telling him to go downstairs but I took my eye off of him for a second and he got to the bag. I'm really stressed out over this. It may seem simple but with my anxiety and depression, little things really get to me. I'm not sure what to do with all the meat and I don't know what to feed my cats either. I just want them to eat raw and be healthy but Felix makes it difficult for me when he doesn't eat and I have to throw out all that expensive organic meat that isn't​ close by might I add. I have to drive 1.5 hours away from my home just to pick it up.
 
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orange&white

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Hmmm.  Ok, so this is a "human food" caterer who usually makes unseasoned mixes for your cats?  I  may have misunderstood that...let me know.

Is she grinding bones and organs into the meat for the cat food?  If not, then the food isn't nutritionally balanced.  However, if the turkey with the carrots and herbs does not have any bones in it, you can salvage it by making dinners for yourself, yes?

If the turkey has ground bones included, and the woman won't refund your money, then I would try soaking it in water to try to dilute the flavor of the herbs and pick out as many of them as possible.  The carrots should not hurt the cats; they just don't get any nutritional value from vegetables.

Before trying to salvage it as cat food, ask the lady exactly what is in the turkey to make sure that none of the herbs are toxic to cats.  If there is any garlic, onion or onion powder in the mix, you should not try to salvage any of it for the kitties.  Onions are poisonous to cats.
 
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Graceful-Lily

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No, she runs a business that sells raw meat for cats and dogs. I figured there is probably garlic or something in there. Felix has a sensitive tummy. He was fine with the chicken flavour. They all loved it actually but something just seems weird about this turkey. I'm not worried about the meat being unbalanced because I do add supplement to it.
 

orange&white

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All right.  I misunderstood.  Still, something with "carrots and herbs" sounds like a dog food mix.  I would ask her exactly what ingredients are in it.  As the customer, you have a right to know that at least.
 
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Graceful-Lily

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All right.  I misunderstood.  Still, something with "carrots and herbs" sounds like a dog food mix.  I would ask her exactly what ingredients are in it.  As the customer, you have a right to know that at least.
Yes, I'll have to ask her. I could feed the meat to my dog but he's not here yet and won't be until April 23rd. I don't know if the meat will still be fresh then. As for the cats, I have no idea what to feed them.
 

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I don't defrost more than 48 hours of meat at a time, which is one 24 ounce container every 2 days for my two cats.  Is the meat packaged in small containers you can freeze?  If it's 32 pounds of "loose" meat, you'll need to package and freeze until you need it.  Refrigerated, it will go sour in 3-6 days.
 
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Graceful-Lily

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I don't defrost more than 48 hours of meat at a time, which is one 24 ounce container every 2 days for my two cats.  Is the meat packaged in small containers you can freeze?  If it's 32 pounds of "loose" meat, you'll need to package and freeze until you need it.  Refrigerated, it will go sour in 3-6 days.
They are seperated already. All I have to do is take out the portions, thaw, and feed it to the cats.
 

orange&white

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As long as it's frozen, the turkey will still be fresh when you dog gets there.  It should be fine frozen for 6 months to a year.
 
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Graceful-Lily

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Update: Felix is now eating it without problem. I'm assuming he had a little upset stomach because he hasn't had turkey before like that. Just chicken. He was also throwing up his wet food. But after adding some of my home remedies to it, his stomach calmed down enough to take the raw meat. It's been a few days and he's still eating his 6 tablespoons a day without issue. As is Smokey. They also like their raw meat better with the raw eggs, liver, and supplement I add.
 

orange&white

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That's good news!  My cat's really do like liver (at 5% of their food mix), especially the kitten, and they both think the egg yolk/supplements mix makes a might-fine gravy!  Glad to hear that turkey mix wasn't a waste of your money (of course, that is where owning a dog, too, comes in handy).  : )
 
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