The scores
Rachael Ray Nutrish Cat: C (73/100) — Average. Chicken and chicken meal start strong, but dried peas, brewers rice, and corn protein concentrate fill out the top five.
Iams Cat: C (58/100) — Average. Chicken first, but chicken by-product meal at position two and corn grits at three undercut the formula.
The 15-point gap puts Rachael Ray Nutrish near the top of the C range (55–74) and Iams near the bottom. These are foods that get one thing right — chicken as the primary ingredient — and then fill in behind it with cheap fillers. The grade says “average,” and the ingredient lists confirm it.
How the ingredients compare
Here are the first five ingredients side by side:
Rachael Ray Nutrish: Chicken, Chicken Meal, Dried Peas, Brewers Rice, Corn Protein Concentrate
Iams: Chicken, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Grits, Corn Gluten Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum
Both formulas lead with chicken, which is the right starting point for a cat food. Cats are obligate carnivores, and named poultry at position one is the minimum expectation. After that, however, both brands take sharp detours into cost-cutting territory.
Rachael Ray Nutrish follows chicken with chicken meal at position two — a concentrated protein source that’s roughly 3x more protein-dense than whole chicken after water removal. That’s a solid one-two punch. But then dried peas appear at three, brewers rice at four, and corn protein concentrate at five.
Iams takes a different path. After chicken, chicken by-product meal appears at position two; it includes heads, feet, organs, and undeveloped eggs. While by-product meal does contain protein, it’s a lower-quality source than the named chicken meal that Rachael Ray Nutrish uses. Position three is corn grits — a highly processed corn product that is essentially the starchy portion of the kernel with minimal nutritional value for cats. Then corn gluten meal at position four gives Iams two corn-derived ingredients in the top four — a heavy reliance on corn for a species that has no biological need for it.
Where Rachael Ray Nutrish pulls ahead
Chicken meal at position two: Rachael Ray Nutrish’s second ingredient is chicken meal, which is a named, concentrated animal protein. Iams puts chicken by-product meal, a lower-quality option, at position two. This means Rachael Ray Nutrish has better animal protein near the top of its formula.
Only one corn ingredient: While corn protein concentrate at position five isn’t ideal, it’s a single corn product. Iams uses both corn grits and corn gluten meal in positions three and four, making corn a dominant presence in its formula. For obligate carnivores, less corn is generally better, and Rachael Ray Nutrish wins this comparison.
Where Iams holds its own
Long feeding trial history: Iams has decades of AAFCO feeding trial data behind its formulas. While feeding trials don’t validate ingredient quality, they do confirm that dogs and cats can survive and maintain weight on the food. For pet owners who prioritize that kind of research-backed validation, Iams has a longer track record than the relatively newer Rachael Ray Nutrish brand. Shop on Amazon →
The bottom line
Rachael Ray Nutrish wins at C/73, 15 points ahead of Iams at C/58. Both start with chicken, and both undermine that promising beginning with cheap fillers. Rachael Ray Nutrish has the better protein profile (chicken + chicken meal vs. chicken + by-product meal). Iams leans too heavily on corn, with two corn-derived ingredients in the top four.
Neither food rises above C grade.
The better move is to look one tier up. Wellness (B/78) and Blue Buffalo Cat (B/75) both offer cleaner ingredient lists with named proteins and no corn-heavy fillers — all for a moderate increase in price. The jump to Wellness represents a genuine improvement in what your cat eats every day.
Read our full reviews of Rachael Ray Nutrish Cat and Iams Cat for the complete ingredient breakdowns.
Corrected 2026-10-19: we removed claims we could not support; we corrected factual errors, and grades and score comparisons that did not match our current scores.