At my request, when my neighbors gut out a deer, they bring me the heart and liver. Sometimes I come home to find them hanging in a plastic bag on my door knob. I cut them up, freeze them and then feed them out a little at a time to my barn cats. Is there anything I need to be concerned about in doing this, both for me and the cats? I'm well away from the area where some deer/elk can have Chronic Wasting Disease - the deer/elk equivalent of MCD, but worry about maybe passing worms, etc. on to the cats.

Things I have noted about deer blood is it very thick, very dark, very strong smelling and harder to wash off of something than blood from other critters, including myself, I am familiar with.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), February 08, 2001

Answers

Nothing scientific here, but I'm guessing it can't be any worse than what's in most processed pet food. Or, for that matter, in whatever the cats are catching and eating for themselves. I would sure wash my hands and preparation tools and surfaces very thoroughly afterward, but I'd do that with beef or chicken, too. I think you are wise to feed small amounts at a time. Probably avoids gastric upsets.

-- melina b. (goatgalmjb1@hotmail.com), February 08, 2001.

Ken, I assume you are feeding these raw? I have fed a lot of the organ meat from not only deer, but the sheep we had butchered. I do cook it and can it, however, just for the convenience of keeping it longer. I've never encountered anything in any of the livers or hearts we have had, I think you are pretty safe, if you take the normal resonable precautions as mentioned above, just as you would do for yourself. They do eat some pretty rank stuff on their own, and seem to do ok. Jan

-- Jan in CO (Janice12@aol.com), February 08, 2001.

My dad is a hunter and always saves the heart & liver for the dogs. Mom always boils it first just in case. Never had a sick dog.

-- elle (eagle-quest@juno.com), February 09, 2001.

I don't know about your part of the country but my husband and son love deer heart and liver for themselves the heart tastes like gizzard. I just cut it open while turning from chamber to chamber until I have as fairly flat peice of meat then I cut it into strips flour and fry the heart. The liver I cut into strips and flour and fry with onions and alot of salt and pepper, this is a delicacy I usually pass on. You might check around in your area to make sure that the deer are carrying no diseases.

-- ronda (thejohnsons@localaccess.com), February 11, 2001.

Good Lord! You are feeding heart and liver to THE ANIMALS???? There are few delicacies better than deer heart and liver! Do you eat those from your domestic animals? ie., when you butcher the steers, piggies, lambs, goats, turkeys or chickens, do you consider the delacicies DOGFOOD?? These are all very good, very tasty, very safe, very nutritious gifts. Do you also make "Martha Stewart" things out of walnut shells and throw away the innards? Please educate me! Old "Uncle Brad" - the weird saver! GL!

-- Brad (homefixer@SacoRiver.net), February 14, 2001.