Iams?

[ShawnGremlin]

I am currently feeding my two male cats Iams cat food. One of them has food allergies and the other a sensitive stomach...the only food that has worked for both was Science Diet and now Iams.

I know it's not the best...but is it a horrible diet for my cats to be on?

 

[cheesycats]

What are they allergic too? And what other foods have you tried? It’s not the best but if it makes you feel better my childhood cat who lives with my mom now is around 20 years old and he’s only ever ate Iams and fancy feast haha.

 

[Kirstin@AllBeings]

Hi Shawn! I've actually recently analyzed IAMS cat food (since I'm a pet nutritionist) and here's a few quick things I can tell you about their quality and ingredients from a science perspective:

- Their foods are very carbohydrate-heavy (like almost all canned and dry food) yet cats have the inability to process carbs since they lack the necessary enzymes to do this. The carbs (and all of their chemical additives) they use will cause everything from allergies and digestive upset to weight gain and diabetes. Note that there's a special calculation to figure out exactly what percentage of protein, fat, and carbs are in processed pet foods since what they list under "Guaranteed Nutrient Analysis" does not provide the full picture. Also, never feed dry food since cats can't easily process this leading to early kidney disease, continuous bladder infections, and other serious health problems.

- IAMS, like most processed food, also contains additives in general from Sodium Nitrite to promote color to carrageenan in pates and loaf-style options to thicken it up and give it consistency from one food to the next. Both are reported to cause stomach upset, overall gastric inflammation, cancer, etc.

I could go on but that is probably enough to make you think twice about IAMS these days. Science Diet isn't much better even though it's from the vet. For example, they use so many grains and starches plus poor protein options like soy derivatives.

Based on my nutrition experience and testing over the years on my almost 22-year-old cat, Freddie, I would recommend trying something like freeze-dried raw from Stella & Chewy's. I would promote frozen raw (like from somebody like Darwin's) since it's the ultimate food for our feline friends but what I liked about freeze-dried is that it's easier to handle for pet owners - comes in a sawdust-like form factor you just add warm water to make a soup basically - and offers almost the same level of nutrition that frozen does thanks to the freeze drying process. It's not the very best but it's a great alternative and Stella & Chewy's happens to be the brand my very picky Freddie has enjoyed the most when not eating frozen raw, which she's been on for over 14 years. I believe Stella & Chewy's also offers frozen versions now too. Bottom line is if you want your cats to achieve optimal health and be free of allergies, digestive issues, etc., some form of raw is your best option from a science (and experience) perspective. Just maybe avoid chicken and beef flavours since those are common allergens for both cats and dogs.

Hope that helps! I analyze pet food and match it to pet's health symptoms at my All Beings Nutritional Therapy practice since I just want to see every pet thrive like Freddie has!