[Tundra_Queen]

Originally Posted by totallyhip

I don't have cats but feed our dogs raw. My friend feeds her cats raw too. I understand she feeds them chicken wings and backs as well as turkey necks. People also call them chicken carcasses or frames. Basically it is what is left of a chicken after most of the meat is removed (minus the wings and legs) thats what it looks like. Here is a link.

http://www.rawfedcats.org/

Thanks for explaining that it is the carcass. *duh* I'm a bit slow sometimes. Now I understand. I usually just buy the chicken thigh with the leg attached, chicken quarters some people call them. But now I understand, the whole chicken! Things are clearer now.

Originally Posted by TeriM

I use the premade raw for my cats. It is easy, convenient and cheaper then a good quality wet food. I have found in the past that they did ok with chicken necks but not the backs. Chicken wings were also a good option. You can also take a meat mallet (tenderizer thingy) to them to break them up a bit when you first start as it makes it a bit easier until they get the hang of things.

Thanks for the info and the tips about the tenderizer mallet. Good way for me to get out my frustrations...

What do u mean by premade raw? I know I can get the wings at the grocery storebut can't get the chicken necks here.

Originally Posted by sugarcatmom

There are better options than turkey bones, which are just too big for most cats, especially if they're new to raw. If you think about it, the average weight of a live turkey is about 30 lbs. The average cat is about 10 lbs. Those turkey bones have to be pretty sturdy to support all that weight. Cat teeth are adapted to tiny bones like mice and small birds, not 30 lb ones, and even if you have the rare cat that is willing to try gnawing through a turkey bone, there is the risk that their teeth will be damaged.

So stick to chicken (wings, necks, backs - I'm not a fan of drumsticks), quail or other small game birds, some rabbit parts if you can find them. But since your cats are new to raw, go slowly. I can't remember, have you tried giving them just pieces of raw chicken meat to see how they like it? That would be the first step.

Thanks for the suggestions. I looked at quail at the grocery store, 18 bucks and to order rabbits the butcher said it was around 18 bucks per rabbit. That is a bit steep for us. But we could do turkery and the chciken wings for sure.

Thanks everyone again for all your suggestions and help.

Debbie