Def think they should have asked you first, Bubby, very bad form. I'd have wanted to watch it with them first to discuss it properly, rather than in a class full.
Cat does sound like a traffic incident, hope she is ok. That happened to one of ours when we were growing up :(
Turkey - I've never actually cooked one, but I reckon the way to go is...
Get some butter, at room temp, mix with some herbs (bit of sage, or parsley, lemon zest, whatever takes your fancy). take the breast, and using a spoon, carefully separate the breast skin away from the meat, without pulling it back or tearing it. Basically, you peel it back a bit near the cavity and push the spoon right down. Shove a huge spoonful of butter in, and squeeze it down the breast under the skin, rather like squeezing toothpaste down a tube. If stuffing, shove most of it at the end of the breast under that flap where the neck is (was!), only a bit in the main cavity, spread along the bottom, so that there is room for air to circulate and the bird to cook through.
Then, salt all over (not pepper cos it burns - add that tw the end if you like) bit of olive oil rubbed all over. Whack the oven up absolutely full blast, put the turkey in, leave it blasting for 10 mins, so it has a really good colour, then turn it down to 180 for the rest of the cooking time, and baste every so often with the juices. I like the trays with the racks, and then it isn't sitting in it, and the skin crisps up but you can baste. Actually, what I normally do is make a trivet out of carrots, celery, half onions, and plonk the bird on them. Then afterwards, when I make the gravy I attack them with a potato masher, to get some of the veg juices in the gravy!
This makes the best chicken or duck ever, and should give a lovely turkey!
For duck or goose, I stuff a pierced orange in the cavity and dust with 5 spice - yum! Can't do the butter under the skin with goose though, it's fatty enough already.