I bought Jennie O ground turkey that has "natural flavors"...any thoughts on if that is ok for kitties to eat? I can call them on Monday. The Foster Farms said it had "spices" so I thought natural flavors might be better.

Could I buy turkey legs (it said dark meat was better because of the fat), cook them, pick them apart and then add the mix?

Thanks!

That happened to me with some store-baked turkey my cats loved.  They told me it was cooked in a brine, so I could no longer buy it for my kitties.     They couldn't clarify for me exactly what this "brine" consisted of.

This whole turkey preservatives thing is news to me. What do you mean turkey parts are in a brine? Don't you guys just go and buy a frozen or fresh turkey and cook it? The only thing done to turkeys up here is maybe have their guts removed so they can sell them for commercial pet food and the store I buy from does their own gutting so I can buy the hearts, necks, livers, etc.

Can you explain the type of turkey you're speaking of?

Most of the commercial packaged fresh or frozen turkey parts (and the majority of whole turkeys as well) that are sold in supermarkets have been soaked in or mixed with a brine solution to keep them moist, and may have other additives as well, including but not limited to MSG, injected fats, and flavorings.  This is often revealed only by reading the fine print, and reading all over the package.  Sometimes the information is hidden in small print on the back!  The brand that mickey mentioned is one that I am familiar with, and it all contains the brine solution.  Believe me, I have checked.

The amount of salt in these turkey parts is not healthy for humans, let alone cats.  Turkey is often promoted as a "healthy" meat by the processors, but the lower-fat benefits are ruined by the extremely high added sodium content in most cases.

If you read the whole package carefully, you will be able to find which turkey has additives and which does not.  The brine solution may be referred to as "moisture-retaining solution" or some such.  Trader Joe's may be a good bet to find some without any additives, but do check closely.  Don't be fooled by the term "minimally processed", either.  Sometimes even those contain the solutions, I have found.  As with any food, it pays to study the label.

Since most of this thread has turned out to be a discussion of turkey, I am going to re-title it as such, and re-start mickey's thread with the question about Wild Kitty as a separate thread.

I hope I can return the ground turkey, as I don't eat turkey.

Makes you wonder what's in the turkey that the PFC put in food. Even if we feed the most expensive canned food, I find it hard to believe they use organic turkey and chicken, and no brine, etc.

I'll try Trader Joe's, but there's probably something other than just meat...they need to add something to keep it on the shelves, no?

mickey,
     I'm not sure if anything I say will make you feel more reassured, but if your kitties are liking the wet food you are feeding them, I would say just continue feeding that food and don't worry about who supplied the pre-mix. The pre-mixes in question were custom mixes for Nutro.  Making the same mistake for another custom mix is highly unlikely.  In fact, there is about the same chance of that happening as there has always been in the past.  I don't think we can totally paralyze ourselves with fear.  The potential for errors exists for every product, every day, for both human and pet foods.