Iams Dry Cat Food
Iams brand cat food is manufactured by Procter & Gamble. The Iams company was first founded by Paul Iams, in the 1940's. After nearly becoming bankrupt during the 1973 Arab oil embargo, Paul Iams sold the company to Clay Mathile who became the sole owner in 1982. Procter & Gamble acquired the Iams brand of pet food in September of 1999. Iams was involved in the recent pet food recalls, though only their wet food “Iams Select Bites” and “Iams Cat Slices and Flakes” formulas were affected. These products where suspected to contain contaminated ingredients.
Iams Dry Cat Food Reviews
Iams currently has seventeen different specific formulas of dry cat food. This includes formulas for all life stages, as well as specialized formulas designed for cats with specific nutritional needs. Iams claims to use quality ingredients in all of their formulas, and even has a specialized “Premium Protection” formula that is marketed as having “Iams most nutritionally advanced formula ever”.
Most of Iams dry cat food formulas are available in a 4lb and 8lb size, with several of the formulas also being available in a 20lb size. Other sizes include a 2lb, 3.5lb, a 7lb and a 16.5lb bag size, depending on the specific formula. In general, formulas that are more specialized for specific nutritional needs are not available in larger bag sizes. As far as price, Iams brand dry cat food is considered to be moderately expensive, with an 8lb bag sometimes costing up to $18.99, and a 4lb bag costing up to 11.99, without tax.
Iams Dry Cat Food Formulas:
- Iams ProActive Health Hairball Care Cat Food – Designed for cats who are prone to getting hairballs, usually long-haired breeds. Guaranteed Analysis: 32% protein, 21% fat.
- Iams ProActive Health Original with Tuna Cat Food – Designed for cats one year of age or older. Guaranteed Analysis: 33% protein, 15% fat.
- Iams ProActive Health Original with Chicken Cat Food – Designed for cats one year of age or older. Guaranteed Analysis: 33% protein, 15% fat.
- Iams ProActive Health Original with Lamb and Rice Cat Food – Designed for cats one year of age or older. Guaranteed Analysis: 33% protein, 15% fat.
- Iams ProActive Health Original with Ocean Fish and Rice Cat Food – Designed for cats one year of age or older. Guaranteed Analysis: 33% protein, 15% fat.
- Iams ProActive Health Multi-Cat with Chicken Cat Food – Designed for cats one year of age or older. Guaranteed Analysis: 35% protein, 17% fat.
- Iams ProActive Health Multi-Cat with Chicken and Salmon Cat Food – Designed for cats one year of age or older. Guaranteed Analysis: 35% protein, 17% fat.
- Iams ProActive Health Active Maturity Cat Food – Designed for cats seven years of age or older. Guaranteed Analysis: 32% protein, 14% fat.
- Iams ProActive Health Active Maturity Hairball Care Cat Food – Designed for cats seven years of age or older, who are also prone to getting hairballs. Guaranteed Analysis: 32% protein, 14% fat.
- Iams ProActive Health Weight Control Cat Food – Designed for cats one year of age or older, who are overweight or prone to becoming overweight. Guaranteed Analysis: 28% protein, 11% fat.
- Iams ProActive Health Indoor Weight and Hairball Care Cat Food – Designed for indoor cats one year of age or older, who need both weight management and hairball care. Guaranteed Analysis: 28% protein, 11% fat.
- Iams ProActive Health Kitten Cat Food – Designed for cats under one year of age, as well as lactating/pregnant adult cats. Guaranteed Analysis: 34% protein, 22% fat.
- Iams Digestive Care Cat Food – Designed for cats one year of age or older, who have special digestive needs. Guaranteed Analysis: 33% protein, 15% fat.
- Iams Healthy Naturals with Atlantic Salmom Cat Food – Designed for active adult cats one year of age or older. Guaranteed Analysis: 33% protein, 15% fat.
- Iams Healthy Naturals with Natural Chicken Cat Food – Designed for active adult cats one year of age or older. Guaranteed Analysis: 33% protein, 15% fat.
- Iams Healthy Naturals Weight Control Cat Food – Designed for cats who need a natural diet for weight management, one year of age or older. Guaranteed Analysis: 28% protein, 11% fat.
- Iams Premium Protection Cat Food– Marketed as a specialized formula to provide complete nutrition for cats one year of age or older. The first five ingredients are Chicken, Chicken Meal, Corn meal, Corn Grits and Chicken Fat. Guaranteed Analysis: 32% protein, 21% fat.
Iams Dry Cat Food Consumer Ratings
In general, Iams brand cat food has been subject to mixed reviews by consumers. While some cat owners report feeding Iams brand dry cat food to their pets without any problems, some cat owners have health problems develop in their cat. This includes weight gain, allergic reaction, poor digestion, and general lethargy. However, it seems a general consensus that most cats like the smell, taste and texture of Iams brand dry cat food. Some veterinarians recommend against feeding your cat Iams brand cat food, since it may at least cause a significant weight gain in your cat. By looking at the ingredients label of many of Iams dry cat food formulas, corn or corn products are commonly seen high in the first five ingredients, which does not represent an ideal cat food formula for most consumers.
August 10th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Our cats regurgitate their IAMS dry cat food. It seems to upset their tummies. So we have switched to Avo Ancestral dry food which they love, which has ingredients we prefer but which costs a bit more and isn’t available at Costco, as IAMS is. However, our cats love the Ancestral and it doesn’t upset their digestion. We had a cat grow overweight on IAMS, but not on Ancestral!! To us it is worth the price differential.
September 6th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
After 7 years on Iams dry kitten, then cat food, my cat developed an allergy I believe. She vomited very often after eating. She was a bit overweight at probably 16 lbs, and over a month dropped at least 4 lbs. She lost so much muscle mass along her spine, it was so bony. I have started her on fancy feast salmon feast, & ocean whitefish feast and she has not vomited in nearly a week. She has energy again and her personality is coming back. It is such a relief after the mystery of her vomiting & weight loss.
I never would have guessed Iams could be bad for her, but it seems the case — the corn product and inferior quality ingredients. I feel fooled by the package labeling & marketing that Iams is top notch.
October 18th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
Fancy feast is, like Iams, also like the cat equivalent of McDonald’s. Might want to go more natural…? Feeling fooled is not a nice feeling, I know from personal experience. Sorry
Hope your cat’s been feeling better.
November 6th, 2009 at 4:03 am
In my honest opinion as a groomer. I see all kinds of skin and fur problems. All come from the food you feed. If a cat or dog is in the wild hunting their own food they are not going to find dry kibble. This food was manufactured and marketed by some very smart people. Dogs and cats should not even have dry food as they are not genetically conditioned for it. We are forcing them to eat it.
Cats and dogs love chicken, tuna, salmon, sardines, liver, tukey. Wet protein is what they all need. WET PROTEIN. NOT DRY. It would be the same if all we ate was dry cereal and nothing else. What would happen. We would eventually become unhealthy with all kinds of problems.
All I am trying to say is forget the dry food and stick with just canned. If you give your cat a canned food that they don’t like, open a can of tuna and pour some of the juice over their food and watch what happens.
Never feed your cat people tuna as a main feed as they need the cat vitamins in their food especially taurine.
Forget they dry!!!!!!!!! It’s a waste of money. A can of good food in the morning and a can at night and you are done and they are happy and will not gain weight.
January 2nd, 2010 at 2:40 am
IAMS dry has been very good to my cats, one is a bit overweight, but that is due to the fact that she likes to eat all the food before the other cat gets a chance at it.
Wet food stinks up the house, makes a mess and caused dental problems in one of the cats. Since switching him to dry with an occasional can of food as a treat has improved his teeth a lot. A friend was caring for him for a year due to military deployment, she fed him only wet food, when I got the cat back he was missing several teeth and had poor coat condition.
Wet food only has a higher fluid content than dry, my cats drink enough water because I don’t give them unfiltered tap water.
I have experimented with foods available at normal groceries, IAMS has been my best option.
January 12th, 2010 at 10:01 am
My 2 cats have been eating IAMS digestive care for a few months now, after I switched them from IAMS Healthy Naturals, and the both of them have been losing teeth only since they have eaten the Digestive Care. I am setting out to Walmart today to get them either their old food or a different one completely. They are both totally healthy other than that they are losing teeth and they are only 3 & 4 years old. My vet couldn’t tell me anything about why they are losing their teeth at such a young age. So if I were you, I would stay away from IAMS Digestive Care completely. Hope this helps.
April 5th, 2010 at 5:18 am
My cat loves food- any food! I purchased 2 bags of Iams Healthy Naturals Weight Control at the supermarket on clearance at 1/2 price the other day. I have always sworn by Iams and never had a problem with any type or variety. But when I fed him the Healthy Naturals he vomited it right up. The next 2 times I fed him the same stuff- same thing happened. The bags were not expired and I don’t know why they were marked down, but I’m going to return both bags to the store for a refund. My cat cannot handle whatever is in that food! I fed him his usual (Good Life) this morning and he was just fine.
April 13th, 2010 at 2:34 pm
All three of my cats have recently become ill since eating IAMS Healthy Naturals Atlantic Salmon, nothing new has been introduced to house recently (e.g. cleaners). All were healthy until this recent bag of IAMS, now not a single one can hold anything down. Going to vet Friday for bloodwork to be safe and am switching food in meantme.
April 17th, 2010 at 2:06 pm
My family’s cat ate Iam’s for years. He ended up getting diabetes and dying from it. When I got my own cat I fed him Iams (I thought it was quality cat food), but he kept getting fatter and fatter even though I gave him a very limited amount. I ended up switching to Wellness Core, and even though I fed him the same amount, he now is sleek and healthy looking. Iams has a lot of corn in it, and I don’t think that is good for cats. Iams may have had a role in the death of my family’s cat. My cats loved to eat Iams, but I think it was bad for their health. I keep hearing similar stories about cat owners having diabetic cats. Try switching your cat to a grain-free food if you can.
April 29th, 2010 at 5:38 am
We had a large black cat for 15 years ,( Boots ) all he ate was Iam’s , He ended up getting a tumor on his intestine and had to put down . They called it cancer. His surviving friend ( gizzy ) is now 15 and ate along side Boots , the first cat , all he eats is Iam’s , now he has problems with his intestine . He poops blood occasionally. I took him to the vets the first time I noticed blood in his stool. The vet said he had a doughy bowl. It was a little inflamed. the vet suggested we switch food and put him on a dietary food from the vet . He seem s better now I will mot ever use Iam’s again. I know I can’t prove that Iam’s did it be to be safe , we stopped using it !
May 15th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
I have 4 inside cats. I also fed them Iams but not anymore! I assumed that Iams was a healthy and nutritious food for them, but boy was I ever wrong. My daughter’s cat got CRF and so I started doing some heavy-duty research on cat food and CRF. Iams has too much corn in it!! Corn and wheat are highly allergenic to our animals. One of my cats had hairloss on the inside of her back legs, which the vet said was a bacterial infection. I switched my cats to “Before Grain” cat food and lo and behold the hair loss has since vanished. No bacterial infection but I suspect a corn allergy! Please, please do NOT feed your cats products that contain corn, wheat or soy!! And that includes Science Diet! My cats have been eating Before Grain for about 6 weeks and they look wonderful. Thanks Merrick! Oh, and they DO need canned food. Read on CRF and you will be convinced.
May 17th, 2010 at 6:20 pm
I recently learned about the connection of canned food linings and the epedemic of hyperthyroidism in cats. It seems that what we thought to be a healthier choice for our pets can cause hyperthyroidism in older cats. I’ve had three cats suffer from this. They did eat canned foods often.
I also recently found out that IAMS now uses corn and corn meal as one of the top ingredients in their formulas. This did not used to be so as I bought the food exclusively for a decade or more without rereading the ingredients each time.
Cats are not meant to eat corn as a majority of their diets!! Wake up IAMS folks!
June 12th, 2010 at 7:36 am
I have recently had two cats that were both on Purina Cat Chow for 4-5 years, for whatever STUPID reason, we decided to switch them to IAM’s. We had heard so much good about IAM’s and thought that we should switch them..BOTH cats ended up developing diabetes and dying. NEVER EVER EVER feed your cats IAMS! Of course I called IAM’s and they denied any connection…but that cannot be a coincidence!
August 10th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
I haved used Iams for over 10 years with my two Persian cats. I lost one from Diabetes linked to his diet, stricly of Iams dry food since he was born, as recommended by his breeder. Now my other cat has been vomitting and regurgitating his food and I was just told that Iams used to be tops until Proctor Gamble purchased it. I do not know what type of food to change to but if you love your cats like family….please do not feed them Iams. A very costly and sad learning experience!