The scores
Rachael Ray Nutrish Cat: C (58/100) — Average. Chicken and chicken meal start strong, but ground corn, wheat flour, and caramel color fill out the top five.
Iams Cat: C (62/100) — Average. Chicken first, but corn grits at position two and chicken by-product meal at three undercut the formula.
An identical score of 58 puts both foods squarely in the middle of the C range (55–74). These are foods that get one thing right — chicken as the primary ingredient — and then fill in behind it with cheap fillers and questionable additives. 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, Ground Corn, Wheat Flour, Caramel Color
Iams: Chicken, Corn Grits, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Dried Beet Pulp
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 ground corn appears at three, wheat flour at four, and caramel color at five. Having an artificial coloring agent in the top five ingredients of any pet food is a significant red flag, and it’s especially jarring in a brand that uses “natural” prominently in its marketing.
Iams takes a different path to the same destination. After chicken, corn grits appear at position two — a highly processed corn product that is essentially the starchy portion of the kernel with minimal nutritional value for cats. Position three is chicken by-product meal, which 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. 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 corn grits at position two and doesn’t reach its second protein source until position three — and that protein is chicken by-product meal, a lower-quality option. This means Rachael Ray Nutrish has more and better animal protein near the top of its formula.
Only one corn ingredient: While ground corn at position three isn’t ideal, it’s a single corn product. Iams uses both corn grits and corn gluten meal in positions two 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 by having half the corn load.
Wheat flour as a carbohydrate source: This is a mild advantage at best. Wheat flour at position four is not a high-quality ingredient — it’s a refined grain that provides quick-digesting starch without much nutritional complexity. But compared to Iams’s second corn ingredient in the same position, it at least provides variety in the carbohydrate profile rather than doubling down on corn. Shop on Amazon →
Where Iams holds its own
No caramel color: Iams’s biggest advantage is what it leaves out. Caramel color is a synthetic additive created by heating sugars with ammonia or acids. It has been the subject of health concerns related to a byproduct called 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI), which some studies have linked to cancer risk. Regardless of where you fall on that debate, there is absolutely no reason for a color additive in cat food. Cats do not select food by color. Rachael Ray Nutrish includes it for the same reason Kibbles ’n Bits uses artificial dyes — to make the food look more appealing to the human buying it.
Dried beet pulp at position five: While not a premium ingredient, dried beet pulp is a moderately useful source of fiber that supports digestive regularity. It’s widely used across many pet food brands as a prebiotic fiber source. Compared to Rachael Ray Nutrish’s caramel color at the same position, dried beet pulp at least has a functional nutritional purpose.
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 and Iams are mirror images of mediocrity — both land at exactly C/58, both start with chicken, and both undermine that promising beginning with cheap fillers and unnecessary additives. Rachael Ray Nutrish has the better protein profile (chicken + chicken meal vs. chicken + by-product meal) but sabotages itself with caramel color in the top five. Iams avoids cosmetic additives but leans too heavily on corn, with two corn-derived ingredients in the top four.
If you’re choosing between these two, it genuinely comes down to which flaws bother you more: an artificial coloring agent in a “natural” food, or a double dose of corn with by-product meal. Neither flaw is acceptable in a quality cat food, which is why neither food rises above C grade.
The better move is to look one tier up. Wellness (B/80) and Blue Buffalo Cat (B/76) both offer dramatically cleaner ingredient lists with named proteins, no artificial additives, and no corn-heavy fillers — all for a moderate increase in price. That jump from C to B 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.