# Why no pork cat food? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 6, 2003, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-cat-food/147040 "2003-01-06T23:24:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-cat-food/147040/1 "2003-01-06T23:24:14Z")
Cat food is available in fish, chicken, duck, lamb, venison, and beef flavors (plus probably more that I’m not aware of), but I’ve never seen pork-flavored cat food. How come? Is pork bad for cats? Ours will certainly beg if we have pork chops for dinner, and they got a tiny bite of bacon on Christmas day, which they devoured. 🙂 (I didn’t give them much because I was worried about the sodium content). For that matter, how come no one makes mouse-flavored cat food? ---
**Author:** ![SC\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@SC\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SC_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-cat-food/147040/2 "2003-01-06T23:35:59Z")
Maybe it’s not kosher? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jpeg\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@Jpeg\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jpeg_Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-cat-food/147040/3 "2003-01-06T23:38:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ENugent \* > \*\*how come no one makes mouse-flavored cat food? \*\* You ever had a Jack-in-the-Box taco? ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-cat-food/147040/4 "2003-01-06T23:43:47Z")
It’s quite obvious that it’s because cats in the wild have no hope of downing a pig, therefore catfood only comes in meat flavours that cats could catch and kill in the wild, ie chicken, fish, duck, sheep, cow, deer… or would that be moose? And mouse is less a main course than an appitiser. It’s important to avoid mixing up the courses and offending your cat. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-cat-food/147040/5 "2003-01-07T00:02:29Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever seen duck-flavored cat food. And they make beef, I don’t think a cat could take down a cow! To be realistic, it should be mouse, rabbit, sparrow, fish and occasionally squirrel flavored foods. Maybe cricket and June bug, too. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-cat-food/147040/6 "2003-01-07T00:10:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cazzle \* > \*\*It’s quite obvious that it’s because cats in the wild have no hope of downing a pig, therefore catfood only comes in meat flavours that cats could catch and kill in the wild, ie chicken, fish, duck, sheep, cow, deer… or would that be moose? > > And mouse is less a main course than an appitiser. It’s important to avoid mixing up the courses and offending your cat. \*\* If my kitty cat is taking down sheep, cows and deer and/or moose in his spare time I’m thinkin’ he can have whatever kind of cat he wants. ---
**Author:** ![Davebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Davebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Davebear)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-cat-food/147040/7 "2003-01-07T00:12:02Z")
That’s a good point! Why not pork? My guess would be that it would be too expensive. We humans eat pretty much every part of the pig, so there probably isn’t a ready supply of scraps, unlike with other animals that we waste significant parts of. > [@](#): > > \*\*\*For that matter, how come no one makes mouse-flavored cat food? \*\*\* Because it takes a fairly skilled surgeon to skin and butcher a mouse? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-cat-food/147040/8 "2003-01-07T00:14:34Z")
cat **food** he wants ---
**Author:** ![raygirvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@raygirvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raygirvan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-cat-food/147040/9 "2003-01-07T00:14:59Z")
All I can say is, you’ve hit on a question I’ve asked myself many times. The best answer would be an enquiry to the manufacturers. You’ve inspired me to make it, and I will report back. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-cat-food/147040/10 "2003-01-07T00:18:50Z")
**Boscibo** , [Wysong](http://wysong.net/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=WOTTPWS&Category_Code=AMV6) makes duck, rabbit, and venison cat food. And I expect that venison and duck are substantially more expensive than pork, so I wouldn’t think that that would be the reason. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-cat-food/147040/11 "2003-01-07T00:19:51Z")
ENugent, what a damned interesting question. And I’ve never thought of this before. Betcha I’ll be up nights wondering from now on, though. This may tie with my all-time frustration stumper that lasted for two years. Namely, if they call residents of Nigeria Nigerians, then what do they call residents of Niger? I eventually found out they’re called Nigeriens (note the frenchish e instead of a) But lord did I wonder in the meantime. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-cat-food/147040/12 "2003-01-07T00:27:48Z")
Don’t know, but also don’t recall any pork (or mouse) catfood either. ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_Scene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Bob\_Scene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_Scene)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-cat-food/147040/13 "2003-01-07T01:03:02Z")
According to [catchow.com.](http://www.catchow.com/search_mentor.asp?combinedID=21222&TidyCats=no) it’s just because market research has shown that there’s not much demand for it. > [@](#): > > There is no reason from a nutrition standpoint not to use pork for pet foods. However, market research studies indicate that there isn’t a lot of consumer demand for dog or cat food products which contain pork as a primary ingredient. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-cat-food/147040/14 "2003-01-07T01:15:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ENugent \* > \*\ ***Boscibo** , [Wysong](http://wysong.net/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=WOTTPWS&Category_Code=AMV6) makes duck, rabbit, and venison cat food. > > And I expect that venison and duck are substantially more expensive than pork, so I wouldn’t think that that would be the reason. \*\* In the UK you can easily get duck and rabbit catfood – I occasionally send some rabbit back to my inlaws’ cats as a treat. You can also get salmon flavor (as opposed to tuna or generic ‘fish’ flavor). I think the deal with mouse flavor is simply that mice, being small creatures with not a lot of meat on them, would be expensive to raise and process in sufficient bulk, considering what a can of catfood costs and how many mice you’d need for each one. Besides, let the fat kitties go catch their own damn mice. ---
**Author:** ![stockton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@stockton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stockton)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-cat-food/147040/15 "2003-01-07T01:17:48Z")
They use it ALL in the hotdogs. Even the oink. Nothing left over for catfood. (I know, there was a recent thread that said they were actually NOT all lips and assholes) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-cat-food/147040/16 "2003-01-07T01:25:45Z")
By fderal law, Most hot dogs do not contain non-skeletal meats since they are required to state this on the package and it grosses out consumers. However, this is not true of some brands of chorizo and meat loafs (e.g. pickle loaf, pimento loaf, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-cat-food/147040/17 "2003-01-07T02:21:00Z")
Because all the leftover bits go into Spam. Peace, ~mixie ---
**Author:** ![justthefacts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5a626/32.png) [@justthefacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justthefacts)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-cat-food/147040/18 "2003-01-07T02:31:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jpeg Jones \* > \*\*You ever had a Jack-in-the-Box taco? \*\* I liked JITB tacos. They will never taste the same.:mad: ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-cat-food/147040/19 "2003-01-07T03:43:39Z")
If the poster was refering to all cats including large one, Lions, leoopards etc eat Wart hogs and Jaguars eat boars all the time. ---
**Author:** ![SandWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8491ac/32.png) [@SandWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandWriter)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-cat-food/147040/20 "2003-01-07T05:26:54Z")
I was scanning to the end hoping to not see what was contained in Stocktons and Dr\_Paprika’s posts. So anyway, what they said. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-cat-food/147040.md?page=2)