Lola, the only way to become comfortable feeding home-prepared raw is to actually do it.
When I first started, I tried all sorts of things, some of which worked and some of which didn't. One of the later was attempting to break down whole chickens or quail - for some, this is a great way to save money, for me, it's a huge and aggravating waste of time. I hate it and will never, by choice, do it again. Learning what fits into your schedule will be somewhat trial and error and once the dust settles, your choices and methods will be unique to you.
It only took a couple of months before I settled into a routine, and now it's old hat. Even so, I keep a schedule on my fridge to make things that much easier for me:
With the variety of items I'm feeding, I've scheduled it so the cats don't get any given product more than twice a week. I also set breakfast as the most standard meal - it's always chunky meat and it's always ten ounces. Dinner is the meal that fluctuates the most - three bone-in meals, two liver and meat meals and two kidney and meat meals every week. Bone-in meals were measured out when I first began raw feeding, but no longer (it's always six chicken wings, three large ribs, etc.), and organ meals are balanced 50/50 with meats I only feed with those organs (chicken breast and gizzards).
I deliberately set it up that, with the number of cats I have and their total weights, plus feeding 10 ounces for breakfast every day, I can feed chicken quarters and turkey drumsticks as their final meal four nights out of the week, even though the quarters and drumstick vary, sometimes considerably, in weight. One chicken quarter per meal, one turkey leg per meal, peeled off the bone and separated into mostly even amounts between the six cats - no weighing necessary! (The chicken quarter is also skinned.)
Exactly the same thing with the six drummettes separated from the six chicken wings - they make one meal for all six cats, regardless of their weight.
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I wrote all this out to show you that you don't have to be exact. Raw feeding is a very flexible practice and can be tweaked in whatever manner best suits your lifestyle. The ONLY constant is that you do have to ensure your cats eat what you give them, so their meat / bone / liver / organ balance remains fairly constant... and there are many ways to support this (like crating for security and sprinkling with Whole Life treats when necessary).
Hope you find some of this encouraging! Please know, however - you can't wait for the confidence to come before you jump in... you jump in and your success will breed your confidence.
AC
