Iams Cat Food Review 2024

Iams is a big name in the global pet food business and ranks as one of the top ten most popular pet food brands in the U.S. In addition to offering wet and dry cat food options, Iams produces recipes for specific health needs, such as hairball control, digestive support, and urinary tract health. 

We rate Iams cat food 3 out of 5 paws up as most of Iams’ cat food recipes list a quality cut of meat as a top ingredient but also include many filler ingredients with low nutritional value. You'll find Iams' recipes also lack protein and flavor variety. 

Read our full 2024 Iams cat food review, where we examine each product range, recalls, considerations, and more!

Iams offers 29 wet and dry cat food recipes across four ranges. 

All Iams cat food recipes are "complete and balanced," meeting the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) nutrient profile guidelines for all life stages, maintenance (adults), or growth (kittens). 

Keep reading for a closer look at each of Iams’ product ranges.

Iams Proactive Health dry cat food

Proactive Health is Iams' main dry food line. Its main range includes two recipes for adult cats and recipes specifically for kittens and seniors.

Both adult recipes list a quality cut of meat as the top ingredient, with lower-quality meat by-product meals as a secondary protein source. Proactive Health recipes lack protein variety, so give this cat food a skip if your cat has an allergy to chicken or salmon. 

Each recipe is grain-inclusive and includes several filler grains, like ground whole grain corn, ground whole grain sorghum, and brewers rice. 

While a source of carbs that provide energy, these ingredients can be considered fillers. For example, brewers rice is a manufacturing by-product unsuitable for human consumption. 

The kitten and senior recipes include slightly higher protein levels to support growth and help older cats maintain lean muscle mass. 

Iams enriches its kitten recipe with omega-3 DHA fatty acids and vitamin E to support brain development and immunity. The senior recipe contains higher calcium and phosphorus levels for healthy bones and joints.

Iams Proactive Health dry cat foods contain 36.3% dry protein matter on average, which is above average for dry cat food. 

Iams Proactive Health dry cat food flavors:

• Iams Proactive Health Adult with Chicken
• Iams Proactive Health Adult with Salmon
• Iams Proactive Health Kitten with Chicken
• Iams Proactive Health Senior with Chicken

Iams Proactive Health specialty dry cat food

Iams Proactive Health range features seven recipes for specific health needs like indoor weight, long hair, and sensitive digestion. 

These specialty recipes use the same base ingredients as Proactive Health's adult foods. Each recipe lists a quality cut of meat as the top ingredient, with a meat meal by-product in second place. Many of these recipes include the same filler grains and ingredients.

The main difference with these recipes is that Iams adds nutrients to support your cat's specific needs. For example, Indoor Weight & Hairball Care recipes include less fat and L-carnitine, which helps support a healthy metabolism. 

High Protein and Long hair recipes have considerably higher protein levels than the rest of the range. The Long Hair recipe has the highest protein, with 43.3% dry protein matter, to help keep your feline’s fur shiny and smooth. 

Iams Proactive Health specialty dry cat foods consist of an average of 37.1% dry protein matter, which is above average for dry cat food. 

Iams Proactive Health specialty dry cat food flavors:

• Proactive Health Indoor Weight & Hairball Care with Chicken and Turkey
• Proactive Health Indoor Weight & Hairball Care with Salmon
• Proactive Health Hairball Care with Chicken and Salmon
• Proactive Health Adult Sensitive Digestion & Skin with Turkey
• Proactive Health Adult Long Hair with Chicken and Salmon
• Proactive Health Urinary Tract Health with Chicken
• Proactive Health High Protein with Chicken and Salmon

Iams Healthy Enjoyment and Advanced Health dry cat food

Iams Healthy Enjoyment dry cat food is a blend of soft and hard kibble specially designed to please fussy felines. 

Like Proactive Health, Healthy Enjoyment includes a quality cut of meat as the top ingredient, with a meat by-product meal second. Many of the same lower-quality grains and filler ingredients are the same in Healthy Enjoyment and Proactive Health. 

Iams says its Healthy Enjoyment recipes are higher in antioxidants than other recipes, providing an immune system boost. 

Advanced Health is Iams' premium dry cat food range, catering to your cat's whole body health. It's made without artificial flavors or preservatives, indicating higher quality than Iams' other dry cat foods. Plus, they have marginally higher protein levels. 

One Advanced Health recipe supports the immune system with higher vitamin E levels, while the other is for digestive health and is rich in live probiotics. Overall, the quality of the ingredients in Advanced Health is similar to that of Iams' other dry foods. 

Iams Healthy Enjoyment and Advanced Health recipes contain an average of 36.6% dry protein matter, which is above average for cat food. 

Iams Healthy Enjoyment and Advanced Health dry cat food flavors:

• Healthy Enjoyment with Chicken & Beef
• Healthy Enjoyment with Chicken & Salmon
• Advanced Health Immune Health with Salmon & Chicken
• Advanced Health Healthy Digestion with Turkey & Chicken

Iams Perfect Portions wet cat food

Perfect Portions is Iams' only wet cat food range. Its base foods come in two consistencies: paté or cuts of meat in gravy. All recipes are grain-free. 

While Iams Perfect Portions list a quality cut of meat as a top ingredient, several recipes contain meat by-products. Meat by-products are typically leftover organs that don't include meat. 

Iams Perfect Portions generally have higher quality ingredients and fewer fillers than its dry food offerings. Aside from added vitamins and minerals, recipes mainly consist of meat, meat by-products, poultry liver, dried egg, and some thickening agents. 

Iams enriches its wet kitten recipes with DHA, taurine, and calcium to support development. Its senior wet foods are high in protein for lean muscle mass, as well as taurine and vitamin E.

Iams Perfect Portions wet cat food contains an average of 45.4% dry protein matter, which is above average for wet cat food. 

Iams Perfect Portions wet cat food flavors:

• Healthy Adult Chicken Cuts in Gravy
• Healthy Adult Chicken Paté
• Healthy Adult Tuna Paté
• Healthy Adult Salmon Paté
• Healthy Kitten Chicken Cuts in Gravy
• Healthy Kitten Chicken Paté
• Healthy Senior Chicken Cuts in Gravy

Iams Perfect Portions Indoor and speciality wet cat food

Perfect Portions Indoor is a sub-range specially designed for felines who love lazing around at home. Recipes are similar to the main perfect portions range, with quality cuts of meat and meat by-products in each recipe. 

Perfect Portions Indoor are higher in protein than standard Iams wet foods and enriched with vitamin E to support your house tiger's immune system. 

Iams Perfect Portions also serves up two recipes for cats with specific health needs. Sensitive Skin & Digestion Turkey Paté is high in omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, while Optimal Metabolism Chicken Paté has added L-carnitine. 

Iams Perfect Portions Indoor recipes contain an average of 49.4% dry protein matter, which is above average for wet cat food. 

Iams Perfect Portions Indoor wet cat food flavors:

• Indoor Salmon Cuts in Gravy
• Indoor Chicken Cuts in Gravy
• Indoor Tuna Cuts in Gravy
• Indoor Salmon Paté
• Indoor Turkey Paté
• Sensitive Skin & Digestion Turkey Paté
• Optimal Metabolism Chicken Paté

Here are a few reasons why Wag! rates Iams cat food a respectable 3 out of 5 paws up!

A quality cut of meat as the top ingredient

Iams use quality meat as a top ingredient, which improves digestibility and is a more nutritionally rich protein source than by-products and meat meals. 

Other popular dry cat foods, like Meow Mix, Purina Fancy Feast, and Friskies, usually don't list a quality cut of meat as the top ingredient, especially in dry foods, suggesting that Iams is better quality than some of its top competitors. 

Reasonable pricing

Iams cat food is reasonably priced compared to other cat foods of similar quality. At the time of writing, a 22-lb bag of Iams ProActive Health Adult with Chicken Dry Cat Food costs $39.98 on Chewy, which works out to $1.89 per lb. 

In comparison, a 22-lb bag of Purina One Tender Selects Blend with Real Chicken Dry Cat Food, costs $41.78, which works out to $1.90 per lb. 

Recipes for specific health needs

Nearly half of Iams wet and dry cat foods are for cats with specific health needs. Iams makes seven recipes with indoor cats in mind — ideal if your kitty is housebound. 

You'll also find recipes for urinary tract support, digestive health, and hairball care. Iams is a good choice if you're looking for a budget-friendly cat food for your little lion's specific health needs.

Thinking about feeding Iams to your cat? Here are a few things to consider before you buy. 

Potentially controversial ingredients

Iams includes several potentially controversial ingredients in its recipes. 

Brewers rice is a common ingredient, which is a manufacturing by-product unsuitable for humans and considered less nutritionally valuable to cats than alternatives like brown rice and whole oats. Cats don't need grain in their diets, and grain-inclusive cat foods tend to be lower quality. 

Beet pulp is another manufacturing by-product. Despite being a good fiber source, beet pulp has low nutritional value for cats. Caramel color is an ingredient in many recipes with little to no nutritional value and is added purely to improve the appearance of cat food. 

Unsuitable for cats with specific allergies or sensitivities

Every Iams cat food recipe includes fish or poultry, making them unsuitable for cats with chicken, turkey, salmon, or tuna allergies or sensitivities. 

Plus, Iams warns that trace amounts of grains may be found in its grain-free cat foods. Grain allergies are rare in cats, but you'll want to avoid Iams cat food if your fur-baby has a grain sensitivity.

"I have a diabetic cat who needs pate food, no gravy, no veggies--too much starch. My other cat doesn't like salmon. (Go figure.) I prefer the plastic break-apart cups so I don't leave half-cans of food in my refrigerator. Chewy online chat helped me find options, and I ordered the Iams. One of them barfed it for a couple of days, but that seems to have settled down. I think--hope--we have a winner."

"I use this for my 7 year old cat, I have used this brand and type for 7 years... she loves it, she's a grazer, so it sits out alot, but she'll come and munch whenever she wants. It always smells good, as shown by my dog wanting to take her food. She's been a healthy, happy cat for all her life, I don't plan on changing her food any time." 

Read more reviews on Chewy.

Iams takes its name from its founder, Paul Iams. The son of an animal feed store owner, Iams graduated from Ohio State University in the late 1930s. After seeing the low quality of the pet food sold by his father, Iams became confident customers would pay more for premium pet food products. 

After a stint selling soap for Procter & Gamble (P&G) and four years in the Navy, Iams set up his own premium dog food company. He established the Iams Company in 1946 in Dayton, Ohio. The Iams Company released the world's first animal protein-based dry dog food, called Iams 999, in 1950. 

After becoming convinced dogs need higher protein diets, Iams released an improved dog food recipe called Iams Plus in 1961. In 1969, Iams founded another well-known pet food company named Eukanuba. 

After nearly going bankrupt due to price freezes by Richard Nixon during the 1973 Oil Crisis, Iams sold half of the Iams Company to long-time associate Clay Mathile. Mathile became the sole owner and president of the company by 1982. Iams launched its first cat food range in the 1980s. 

After overseeing 20 years of rapid growth, Mathile sold Iams to P&G in 1999. In April 2014, P&G sold several dog food brands, including Natura, Eukanuba, and Iams, to Mars, Incorporated for $2.9 billion in cash. 

The deal included all of P&G's markets, excluding Europe. P&G sold its European pet care market share to Spectrum Brands in December 2014.

The FDA has recorded five recalls of Iams cat food as of May 2024. 

On August 14th, 2013, P&G voluntarily recalled Iams and Eukanuba pet foods due to potential Salmonella contamination. The lots of food affected by the recall constituted roughly 0.1% of annual production. Pet parents affected by the recall were advised to stop feeding the product to their pets and contact P&G.

On June 9th, 2010, P&G recalled Iams ProActive Health cat and kitten food due to low thiamine (vitamin B1) levels, an essential nutrient for cats. 

On July 25th, 2010, P&G recalled two lots of prescription renal dry cat food due to potential Salmonella contamination. On July 30th, 2010, P&G expanded its previous recall to include several lots of veterinary and prescription dry cat foods.