Is pork often a problem?

I have three cats.  Jack is allergic to everything.  Henry has irritable bowel.  Sophie has never had any health problems.

They used to eat this


Royal Canin

Peas, rabbit meal, coconut oil, pea protein, hydrolyzed soy protein, natural flavors, calcium sulfate, vegetable oil, sodium bisulfate, DL-methionine, monocalcium phosphate, fish oil, salt, taurine, choline chloride, monosodium phosphate, vitamins [DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), niacin supplement, biotin, riboflavin supplement, D-calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin A acetate, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement], trace minerals [zinc proteinate, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite], rosemary extract, preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid.

They were all doing very well, but I wasn't crazy about the soy in there, so I looked for other alternatives, and started them on this about July 1st.


Nature's Variety Limited Ingredient

Rabbit Meal, Peas, Tapioca, Canola Oil (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Rabbit, Natural Flavor, Montmorillonite Clay, Coconut Oil, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Salt, DL-Methionine, Vitamins (Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement), Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Sodium Selenite), Taurine, Green Tea Extract, Rosemary Extract

The ingredients are nearly identical, so it doesn't SEEM like this should have been an issue, and I did do a gradual switchover. 

I also got a few cans of the Nature's Variety wet rabbit formulas, which also have pork in them.  They ate some of this most days between 7/15 and 7/27.  On 7/28, Sophie, the one who has never had problems, started having what I can only describe as explosive diarrhea.  She also had an ear issue that I originally thought was maybe an injury from getting into a spat with one of the others.  Took her to the vet today and the vet thinks probably the pork is the issue.  I also have been giving her wet food nearly every day where before she had it maybe twice a week, and hadn't had it much at all the past month, so maybe that is part of the problem too? 

The kicker is...tonight I saw Jack get into the litterbox, and also have diarrhea.  They have not had any of the wet food since at least Monday, maybe Sunday, so now I'm questioning if the kibble may be a problem too?  It seems unlikely since they ate it for 3-4 wks with no problems and it is so similar to what they had before!  I got more of the Royal Canin kibble and wet today, and will definitely not give them any more NV wet, but I have a lot of the NV kibble left and I really hope I didn't waste all that $!

Unfortunately IBD is a very finicky and annoying problem. Pets with IBD have some of the most sensitive systems I have ever seen. 

The issue with food allergies is that the animals develop their allergies over time. We usually start seeing allergies in dogs and cats between the ages of 2 and 8 if they are going to get them. (Cases can be seen earlier and later in life, but this is the common age gap). These allergies show up in one of two ways: either the IBD issues, or horrible skin issues.

The most common allergens are Beef, Chicken, Corn, Wheat and Lamb. More times than not it's either the protein or the grain source. That being said, the annoying part about them developing the allergies is that they can become allergic to other proteins that were mixed in their previous foods.

For instance, hypothetically, let's say your kitty cat was eating a Merrick brand that was labeled "Chicken and Rice", but the contents (like the Instinct food) also included some form of pork in them. Pork liver as an example. If chicken is a protein that your cat is originally allergic too and he was exposed to pork in the same food - his body can also be sensitive to that by association/developing the protein allergy because of how their systems break down the proteins.

Is there any chance that one of Jack's previous foods (whether it be months or a couple years ago) had some sort of pork or pork by product in it?

If so, the pork could definitely still be the problem. As for your other cat, I'm not sure. Perhaps the food is too rich for her or she is having the misfortune of developing an IBD protein based allergy as well.

Can I ask what your aversion to soy protein is? I'm just curious. I'm a Veterinary Assistant and I hear clients say they would prefer to stay away from soy also, and I haven't really figured out the true worry about it.   

The weird thing is that it's the cat WITHOUT any previous problems that is having the most issues with it!  And I think tonight was the first night Jack has had diarrhea and they haven't had any wet food for at least 3 days.

I am not aware of any previous pork products but they haven't had anything other than the RC Rx food for a couple years so I really don't know.

I have gotten the impression reading these forums that soy is not great for cats.  At any rate I am definitely going back to the RC Rx products, just trying to figure out if I can use up the NV kibble I already have or if that is part of the problem.

Waddle said:

 
The weird thing is that it's the cat WITHOUT any previous problems that is having the most issues with it!  And I think tonight was the first night Jack has had diarrhea and they haven't had any wet food for at least 3 days.

I am not aware of any previous pork products but they haven't had anything other than the RC Rx food for a couple years so I really don't know.

I have gotten the impression reading these forums that soy is not great for cats.  At any rate I am definitely going back to the RC Rx products, just trying to figure out if I can use up the NV kibble I already have or if that is part of the problem.

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Ahh I see, I apologize, I think I read your post too quickly. 

Even though it's been 3 days if they both have sensitive stomachs the diarrhea can still be a reaction to the food. My kitten had a GI reaction to a salmon flavor of Purina and he didn't start showing any symptoms until almost 4 days after I started him on the food. If no other treat or food changes have taken place and they are both experiencing the stool issues (even though it's not at the same time) I would definitely suspect the food. As to why it was a delayed reaction? Not sure. Animals aren't exactly like us with food poisoning where the magic happens within 24-48 hours, sometimes it takes awhile for their stomachs to process it a few times and realize it's just not mixing in their guts well. Just seems like too strange of a coincidence that they are both having some tummy upset the week after trying out a new food.

Did the Vet want to do a fecal sample on them at all?

Waddle said:

 
I have gotten the impression reading these forums that soy is not great for cats.

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I'm sorry your kitty has been having digestive upset.

Soy is a plant based protein - cats need animal based proteins, not plant based.  Soy may also be linked to hyperthryroidism in cats:

http://catinfo.org/?link=felinehyperthyroidism

Soy is a known disruptor of thyroid gland function.  If you have read my Feeding Your Cat:  Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition which outlines what it means to be an obligate carnivore, you will understand that soy has no logical place in cat food.  However, soy will increase the profit margin for pet food companies.  Therefore, it is present in many cat foods - especially those made by Purina.According to one study, soy was identified in 60% of all tested cat foods at a level high enough to interfere with thyroid function.

Knock on wood, I think we're over the worst of it.  No diarrhea today and thank god, nothing outside the box.  I am mixing the new and previous kibble together for now, and will see how things go.  I would rather stick with the NV kibble if I can since it doesn't have the soy.  I may order the NV LID rabbit wet to try out once their stomachs have had plenty of time to settle as it is again nearly identical to the RC Rx wet.

RC kibble has soy, NV has the clay

RC wet has carrageenan, NV has the clay.

Lesser of two evils?!

Waddle said:

 
Knock on wood, I think we're over the worst of it.  No diarrhea today and thank god, nothing outside the box.  I am mixing the new and previous kibble together for now, and will see how things go.  I would rather stick with the NV kibble if I can since it doesn't have the soy.  I may order the NV LID rabbit wet to try out once their stomachs have had plenty of time to settle as it is again nearly identical to the RC Rx wet.

RC kibble has soy, NV has the clay

RC wet has carrageenan, NV has the clay.

Lesser of two evils?!

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I have used Instinct for many years, canned only (and NV's raw) and have never had a problem with montmorillonite clay, it is used a detoxifier.

There are several companies that use MC, here is a link by one of those companies describing MC that may be useful to you:

http://natureslogic.blogspot.com/2011/06/montmorillonite-clay-in-pet-food-fear.html

Instinct canned food is not only carrageenan free but gum free as well (except NV's Pride which contains guar and xanthan gum). Guar gum, derived from the guar bean, can cause digestive upset in some cats, my own cat had IBD and did very well on Instinct canned.

I would avoid carrageenan especially with an IBS cat as carrageenan can cause inflammation of the colon.

And I would never feed a food with soy to a cat.

Waddle said:

RC kibble has soy, NV has the clay
RC wet has carrageenan, NV has the clay.

Lesser of two evils?!

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I'm glad to hear Jack's feeling better! I agree with @LisaMarie12 and would also vote for the clay: our cats eat it, too, in Primal, and don't have a problem with it. And I avoid carrageenan and would never feed soy.

I have an IBD cat and he and his younger brothers have been fed Nature's Variety exclusively (Dry, Wet, Raw) for over the past 2 years.   My IBD cat didn't do well on the Rabbit limited ingredient dry but does fine on the regular Rabbit dry.  I found it odd because supposedly the LI diet is supposed to avoid stomach issues.  

Also one of my younger clowns had a loose stools with Rabbit raw when he was about 9 mo's old but has no problem now.  Go figure.

Didn't read the entire thread, but I have a cat with an extremely sensitive stomach. He eats a small amount of canned NV rabbit (with pork liver) every day with no problem. A few months ago, I purchased the NV LID dry rabbit to supplement. I fed him something like 10 pieces as a snack and he got diarrhea. Each time I fed that food, no more than 10 pieces, he had the same problem. I am able to feed him Orijen Regional Red (~10 pieces) with no problem. And he eats the canned NV rabbit with no problem. After comparing ingredients across all three foods, the only thing I can come up with is the canola oil in the NV dry LID rabbit. I ended up returning that food.