Iams....mmmmm, i wonder. When i first heard of Iams through media publicity...i thought mmm, seems a new kid is on the block to compete with Whiskers, Felix and Go-Cat. Of what i can remember alot was said of Iams that it'll make your cat more vibrant and so forth. But then i started to hear that not-so good stuff. The main negative point was that it made your cat soooo hyperactive. And so i never brought it once. But Iams is still out there on the shelf, so it can't be that bad cause if it was....Iams would cease to exist right???

I don't really understand the good/bad and the ins and outs of all this Iams stuff, but i am looking to try it as i see soo much of that positive media puplicity about it. Whats your views on it?? Is it ok...good or bad???

And also one of my cats eats mainly dry food. She doesn't eat canned food but once/twice a week she would happily munch down a meat pouch. So for her to be living of all dry food...is that ok???? Or is it advised against??? I've tried several times to feed her canned but she won't have any of it. all my life my cats have lived off canned and dry food, although most days is canned food and 3/4 times a week they get dry food.

Used iams before with my cats but i prefer Hills . Hills is not usually found in the supermarket but usually available from Pets at Home or your vets.

http://www.hillspet.co.uk/

I've heard Iams is tested on animals or something, not to sure what it was now ?

PETA have had a go at IAMs for cruel conditions that they keep animals they used for testing under, whether or not any of the other big pet food makers are any better isn't stated. PETA do list companies that don't test on animals but I have to admit I've never heard of almost any of them.

I guess animals food has to be tested on animals but there is no excuse for cruelty, regrettably I do fed my cat IAMs because she will eat it consistently unlike other foods.

More info - http://www.iamscruelty.com/ though a word of warning it is PETA who are very questionable themselves.

Nothing wrong with a cat living mostly of dried food - my old boy has done so for most of the 12 years I've had him. But, do get a good-quality food, not the standard biscuits.

WRT the Iams Cruely site, I wouldn't trust PETA as far as I could throw them. They are opposed to having companion animals - we are all cruel in their eyes for having pets.

However there are masses of arguments on the Internet about what a good cat food (wet or dry) is. If you start by thinking about a cat's natural diet (mice) then it stands to reason that lots of wheat, corn and so on isn't what they should be eating. Almost all dried foods contain some starch to help bind them, but you are looking for ones with not much starch. To add to the problems, most stuff on the internet is by people you know nothing about (including us!) and much of it is parrotted from other dubious sources.

Good dried food is not cheap, but the cat shouldn't need much of it. Personally i have fed James Wellbeloved for many years - I managed to join the breeder club and buying 20kg at a go reduces the cost quite a bit.

Ultimately, however, the cat determines what it will eat, and the most important thing is that the cat eats something.

I have always put "biscuits" out for our girls as a complimentary food. I.E. it is out all day, so they can have it when they want it.

I do not treat it as their main meal. For that they have a constantly changing variety (fussy buggers) of pouches, foils, luxury tins etc. (They are currently enjoying the Tesco Natural range, don't know how long it will last).

I started them on Iams 2/3 years back and although it is a bit dear, they seem to enjoy it (there is no waste) so I don't mind.

I don't know much about PETA but similar to the RSPCA...many won't trust their word and end of the day the cat decides what he or she wants. I think i'll try Iams for my cats and if they enjoy it then thats the main thing!

For dry food i have always used Whiskers or Go-Cat, but i'd like to branch out try other dry foods. I'm just wondering really if cats can live off dry food. All my life, my cats have mainly ate canned meat and 3 or 4 times a week they get dry food. Of course i give them pouches aswell...so they have a change. and now suddenly we adopt a cat that wont touch canned food. I tried again last night...she didn't wanna know and soon as i put down dry food she yammed it down. So she'll be eating that....mostly....cause she has ate pouches, which is in fact....meat, just like in the can. At the momemt the pouches im using are Purely from Pets at home and Evie will happily eat that...so i wonder if she'll eat other pouch food lol. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

As long as my cats are healthy...thats the main thing. And if living off dry food is ok, then i'm happy too.

My boy appear to really like Iams (esp, the fishy one). He seems to like it more than all other products. It is a bit more expensive, but he always empties the bowl with Iams. No waste, seems to suggest I am doing something right.... Over the years, I have tried all of the main "best sellers" and Iams wins every time. I don't know about the reports from PETA, so have not heard any reason not to buy it. If I can't afford Iams, I buy Whiskas - but he never finishes it off... I refuse to leave out a whole bowl (dry or wet) for more than 8hours as I worry about flies/worms; etc

Never would use lams dry food animal bits which my cat was given elsewhere and vomited up, cats are carnivores, my old cat does not get any old supermarket muck, but only felix seniors which i personally feel is the best.

I don't think the food itself is subject to any animal testing as such, but it's made by Procter & Gamble who are among the worst offenders for cruel animal testing of household products and toiletries.

They make Pantene, Herbal Esences, Olay, Gillette, Ariel, Bold and Febreze to name but a few and they don't care how they test them.

I think what PETA are getting at is that if you buy, Iams, Eukanuba, Pampers, Pringles, Tampax, etc., even though these things may not be tested on animals, you are lining the pockets of Procter & Gamble and enabling more cruel testing of their other stuff.

Mine get Felix As Good As it Looks , Country Recipes , Ocean Feast etc , they get a pouch each in the morning and a pouch each at night and they get some biscuits at lunchtime which they dont dive into but graze on when they feel like it , I alternate the biscuits between Go Cat and Purina One .

They also get the odd treat of Whiskas Temptations and Whiskas Cat Milk which they dive into like crack addicts along with Tescos or sainsburys own brand chew sticks.

There's sooo many choices out there.