Are there medical reasons why pork isn't a common protein in cat food?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I am so sorry to hear about Anano. Although the royal Canin renal diet is ideal, it’s more important that he eats SOMETHING. So go ahead and feed him the meat. Then contact your vet to see if he or she has any other testing or treatments to try. Best wishes to you and Anano.

Fully-cooked pork should be fine to give in moderation as a treat and with any fat cut off and bones removed. However, as with any people food, it is best to only give it as a treat and feed your cat a regular balanced diet for her meals.

Renal diets are very effective for cats with kidney disease -by reducing the amount of toxins the kidneys are required to excrete many of the symptoms can be reduced; they are also naturally antiinflammatory and enriched with vitamins etc and are proven both to extend life expectancy and quality of life. The larger proportion of the diet that is made of of kidney food, the more effective it is however calorie intake is very important and tempting or supplementing the diet with easy to digest protein sources such as egg, boiled chicken or fish is ok (for some clinical diets this is not appropriate but for kidney patients it is better than not eating the special diet)

If your kitties are on their current diet because of suspected allergy, and the current foods are well tolerated, i would not switch. If they are both balanced diets then you don't necessarily need different protein sources. It they like the food and are maintaining weight with no tummy upset then it's a great diet for them. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

I think both these diets are an acceptable choice for your cat. The most important thing is that your cat continues to eat well. So, if he prefers the Purina then stick to that! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! What exactly is in the hypoallergenic diet is somewhat dependent on which one you get. However, generally the idea is using a smaller protein that it is easier to digest. There is usually a good amount of antioxidants and vitamins as well. All in all these types of diets can help tremendously in patients with food allergies. There are many of them out there. My favorite is Royal canin's ultamino diet. Good luck and have a great day!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Yes, the protein content or the TYPE of protein may be causing an upset stomach. I would change food brands or change to a different protein, for example if the current food is chicken based change to an all fish or venison or duck or beef. I would not feed a food that is causing diarrhea. Ask your Vet for a prescription gastro-intestinal food to feed until their stool is normal then purchase a different food to start once their stools are normal. I hope this helps and I wish you all the best!