# Why No Pork in Pet Food? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 26, 2012, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-in-pet-food/638982 "2012-10-26T23:09:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-in-pet-food/638982/1 "2012-10-26T23:09:52Z")
I mean specifically cat food. I haven’t look at dog food labels, not having a dog. There’s beef, chicken, turkey, fish, but as far as I can tell, no pork. Do we process pigs as human food, “using everything but the squeal” as Upton Sinclair’s _The Jungle_ puts it, leaving nothing for the pets? Seems unlikely. I don’t know why I’m wondering this, but I am. Do pets keep kosher, even if their owners don’t? ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-in-pet-food/638982/2 "2012-10-26T23:19:13Z")
According to [PetCo](http://www.petco.com/Content/ArticleList/Article/18/2/190/Dangerous-Foods-for-Cats.aspx), it is because of the fat, or the specific composition thereof: > [@](#): > > Fat is generally beneficial to cats, but the fat globules in pork are larger than the fat globules in other meats, and can clog the small blood vessels of a cat. Avoid any pork products, especially bacon, which contains the hazardous preservative, sodium nitrate. I am not exactly sure what they mean by this statement though; fat globules? Once your body digests it, it won’t be in “globules” anymore and I don’t think cat capillaries (or blood cells, which must fit through them) are smaller than human capillaries. The latter makes sense though ([it is also bad for people](http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/news/20100517/processed-meat-linked-to-heart-disease-risks)), but won’t be present in unprocessed meat (but not limited to pork, which by itself doesn’t need any, only in preserved and cured meats and cold cuts). ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-in-pet-food/638982/3 "2012-10-26T23:21:54Z")
I dunno about cats but too much pork in a dog and you’re setting him for a nice bout of pancreatitis. And it is the fat that does it. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-in-pet-food/638982/4 "2012-10-26T23:28:28Z")
Doesn’t pork taste like human? Wouldn’t want the pets to become… acculturated. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-in-pet-food/638982/5 "2012-10-26T23:31:27Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Doesn’t pork taste like human? Wouldn’t want the pets to become… acculturated. You’re expecting someone to know the answer? eeeeeew ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-in-pet-food/638982/6 "2012-10-26T23:37:00Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > I dunno about cats but too much pork in a dog and you’re setting him for a nice bout of pancreatitis. And it is the fat that does it. But what about lean cuts like loin? ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-pork-in-pet-food/638982/7 "2012-10-26T23:43:49Z")
We want it all for ourselves.