Last updated Feb 10, 2023
Is this brand the right choice for the cat you love? Find out in our unbiased I and Love and You cat food review.
The Cats.com Standard—Rating I and Love and You on What Matters
We’ve analyzed I and Love and You and graded it according to the Cats.com standard, evaluating the brand on species-appropriateness, ingredient quality, product variety, price, customer experience, and recall history. Here’s how it rates in each of these six key areas.
Ratings
- Species-Appropriateness – 8/10
- Ingredient Quality – 7/10
- Product Variety – 8/10
- Price – 8/10
- Customer Experience – 9/10
- Recall History – 5/10
Overall Score: 7.5/10
We give I and Love and You cat food a 45 out of 60 rating or a B+ grade.
About I and Love and You
Only Natural Pet launched I and Love and You in 2011. The Colorado-based pet specialty retailer wanted to expand their business and assembled a team to create a new brand of pet food.
Co-creator Brendan Synnott says I and Love and You follows some of the same marketing strategies employed by his other brands, Bear Naked and EVOL. In 2011, he told the Denver Post that “For a lot of the same reasons someone would buy Bear Naked or Evol, they will buy I and Love and You.”
Sourcing and Manufacturing
I and Love and You cat food is manufactured in the United States. The company sources most of their ingredients from the United States and Canada, with some ingredients coming from around the world.
Has I and Love and You Cat Food Been Recalled?
Though I and Love and You cat food has never been recalled, their dog treats have. In July of 2015, I and Love and You issued a recall of their beef gullet dog treats due to potential salmonella contamination.
What Kinds of Cat Food Does I and Love and You Offer?
I and Love and You offers both dry and wet cat food. Their dry selection is broken into three lines.
- Naked Essentials is a line of grain-free dry food.
- Nude Food is formulated for digestive health, featuring prebiotics, probiotics, and digestive enzymes.
- Lovingly Simple is a limited-ingredient product made without the most common cat food allergens.
I and Love and You wet food is available in a wide variety of recipes, including limited-ingredient products, novel proteins, and a range of recipes to suit almost all tastes.
I and Love and You Cat Food – Top 3 Recipes Reviewed
| Product Name | Food Type | Price | Our Grade |
| I and Love and You Whascally Wabbit Pate Grain-Free Canned Cat Food | Wet | $0.46 per oz | A |
| I and Love and You Oh My Cod! Pate Grain-Free Canned Cat Food | Wet | $0.41 per oz | A |
| I and Love and You Naked Essentials Chicken & Duck Recipe Grain-Free Dry Cat Food | Dry | $3.51 per lb | C |
#1 I and Love and You Whascally Wabbit Pate Grain-Free Canned Cat Food
Rabbit appears to be the primary protein source in this wet cat food.
I and Love and You’s Whascally Wabbit paté is primarily made from rabbit meat. The food also contains beef liver as a secondary meat ingredient.
The food also contains some plant ingredients, with cranberries and spinach coming straight after beef liver. These are relatively low-glycemic, but the food also contains some high-carbohydrate ingredients, with sweet potatoes and carrots appearing later on the ingredient list.
A trace amount of alfalfa meal and ground flaxseed contribute minor amounts of nutrients and, according to the company, beneficial omega-3 fatty acids. Since flaxseed isn’t exactly the right source of omega-3 fatty acids for a carnivorous animal, it’s a good thing that the food also includes salmon oil, an excellent source of the EPA and DHA cats need.
The paté is thickened with three binders—guar gum, cassia gum, and xanthan gum. While none of these ingredients are species-appropriate, they’re also not particularly unhealthy or dangerous for cats.
Overall, this food has high protein content, moderate fat, and low carbohydrate content.
Though its inclusion of alfalfa meal and sweet potatoes may raise a few purist eyebrows, this food stays true to the company’s promise of ancestrally-inspired food for pets. It has the generous amount of meat, moderate fat content, and minimal plant material you’d hope to give your carnivorous cat.
It looks like nutritionally solid food and on top of that, it’s a customer favorite. This product gets glowing customer reviews and most cats seem to enjoy it.
The food has 89 calories per 3-ounce can or roughly 30 calories per ounce.
Ingredients
Rabbit, Beef Broth, Beef Liver, Cranberries, Spinach, Tricalcium Phosphate, Carrots, Natural Flavor, Sweet Potatoes, Guar Gum, Alfalfa Meal, Ground Flaxseed, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Taurine, Calcium Carbonate, Dl-Methionine, Choline Chloride, Cassia Gum, Xanthan Gum, Salmon Oil (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols), Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Niacin Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Potassium Iodide, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid.
Ingredients We Liked: Rabbit, Beef Liver, Salmon Oil
Ingredients We Didn’t Like: Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Guar Gum, Alfalfa Meal, Ground Flaxseed, Xanthan Gum
Guaranteed Analysis
Dry Matter Basis
Caloric Weight Basis
Pros
- Cats love the way this food tastes
- Low carbohydrate content
- Free of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives
- Contains salmon oil as a source of omega-3 fatty acids
- Rich in animal-sourced protein
Cons
- Contains multiple gums as binders
#2 I and Love and You Oh My Cod! Pate Grain-Free Canned Cat Food
Cod appears to be the primary protein source in this wet cat food.
With nameless mystery fish so common in cat food, it’s special to see a named fish leading the ingredient list. Cod is followed by chicken and chicken liver, both of which are highly-nourishing and digestible ingredients.
Spinach, cranberries, apples, and carrots add to the food’s nutrient profile, but they’re not exactly species-appropriate ingredients for your carnivorous cat. The food also contains sweet potatoes, which are high in carbohydrates and far from an ideal ingredient in your cat’s food.
Overall, this wet food has high protein content with high fat and virtually zero carbohydrate content.
Though the food contains a nice sprinkling of vegetable ingredients, it’s not a high-carbohydrate or a high-plant food.
In fact, this fish-based paté has a lot of the qualities we look for in cat food. It’s meat-rich, low-carbohydrate, and free of any potentially harmful additives. Cats and humans alike seem to love it. It gets great ratings on Chewy and cats seem to love the way it tastes.
This food has 88 calories per 3-ounce can or roughly 29 calories per ounce.
Ingredients
Cod, Chicken, Chicken Liver, Fish Broth, Spinach, Cranberries, Apples, Carrots, Natural Flavor, Guar Gum, Sweet Potatoes, Alfalfa Meal, Ground Flaxseed, Taurine, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Cassia Gum, Xanthan Gum, Choline Chloride, Dl-Methionine, Salmon Oil (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols), Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin E Supplement, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Niacin Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Potassium Iodide, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Rosemary Extract.
Ingredients We Liked: Cod, Chicken, Chicken Liver, Salmon Oil
Ingredients We Didn’t Like: Spinach, Cranberries, Apples, Carrots, Guar Gum, Sweet Potatoes, Alfalfa Meal, Ground Flaxseed, Cassia Gum, Xanthan Gum
Guaranteed Analysis
Dry Matter Basis
Caloric Weight Basis
Pros
- Rich in nourishing omega-3 fatty acids from animal sources
- Contains a mix of muscle meat and organs
- Ideal for cats with food sensitivities and allergies
- Free of potentially-harmful additives
- Extraordinarily low carbohydrate content
Cons
- May contain too many stabilizing gums for some tastes
#3 I and Love and You Naked Essentials Chicken & Duck Recipe Grain-Free Dry Cat Food
Chicken appears to be the primary protein source in this dry cat food.
Does this food do anything differently than other grain-free kibble products? Let’s take a closer look at the ingredient list to find out.
The first ingredient is chicken, followed by chicken meal and turkey meal. After the primary protein sources, the food contains chickpeas, ground peas, pea starch, lentils, and a small amount of sweet potatoes. All of these ingredients help to hold the food together and aid in the extrusion process, but they’re not nutritionally ideal for cats.
Flaxseed and dried beet pulp serve as sources of fiber. An additive called “natural flavor”, typically made from hydrolyzed animal tissues, gives it a touch of concentrated flavor.
Later on the list, the food contains duck, dried whole egg product, and pea protein, all additional sources of protein. After a long list of synthetic vitamins, minerals, and amino acids, the food is supplemented with a variety of probiotics.
Overall, this food has moderate protein content with moderate fat and moderate carbohydrate content.
This is your standard grain-free kibble. It’s not terrible. It’s not fantastic. While it doesn’t contain grains, this dry food is loaded with carbohydrates and ultimately isn’t the most species-appropriate choice for your carnivore.
The food contains 359 calories per cup.
Ingredients
Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Chickpeas, Ground Peas, Pea Starch, Chicken Fat (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols), Lentils, Flaxseeds, Dried Beet Pulp, Duck, Sweet Potatoes, Natural Flavor, Salt, Brewers Dried Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Dried Whole Egg Product, Pea Protein, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Biotin, Thiamin Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Menadione Sodium Bisulfate (Source Of Vitamin K), Folic Acid, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Calcium Carbonate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Dl-Methionine, Taurine, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate , Fish Oil, Dried Chicory Root, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Plantarum Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Reuteri Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium Animalis Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product.
Ingredients We Liked: Chicken, Chicken Fat, Duck, Fish Oil, Probiotics
Ingredients We Didn’t Like: Chickpeas, Ground Peas, Pea Starch, Lentils, Flaxseed, Dried Beet Pulp, Sweet Potatoes, Pea Protein
Guaranteed Analysis
Dry Matter Basis
Caloric Weight Basis
Pros
- Appears to emphasize animal-sourced protein
- Made without potentially-harmful synthetic additives
- Free of low-value animal by-products
Cons
- Primarily made from plant ingredients
- High in carbohydrates
What Do Customers Think of I and Love and You Cat Food?
It’s rare that you’ll find a negative comment about I and Love and You. Almost everyone who buys it likes it. Cats like it. People like it. Negative reviews are rare and not extremely critical. Here’s what a few reviewers have to say:
Positive Reviews
“Please don’t change the formulation to make more profit like every other company because kitty finally found a formulation he will eat and with the phos DMB at 1.86 that’s the best for rabbit I have found! Could do with less carrots and spinach throughout.” – Jessica, reviewing I and Love and You Wascally Wabbit Canned Cat Food
“Our cat Timmy is about 16 years old and struggles w bladder issues and hypo thyroid (not hyper) and this food brings out the best quality of life for him. I’ve tried other grain free foods and vet prescribed foods for uti but none have the results of this food. His hair stops falling out and his weight stabilized and he isn’t in pain when he urinates. Wonderful food!!” – Vinky, reviewing I and Love and You Naked Essentials Chicken & Duck Recipe
Negative Reviews
“I ordered cases of Oh My Cod! in both 3 and 5.5 oz cans and what came was like two totally different foods! The 5.5 oz cans were soft and moist and my cat loved it. The 3 oz cans were hard and she wouldn’t eat it. I want to like this food based on the quality of ingredients and my experience with the 5.5 oz cans, but I don’t dare re-order it because I don’t know what I’m going to get!” – BrookylnBlackCat, reviewing I and Love and You Oh My Cod! Canned Cat Food
“To start, I dont feed dry food often to my cat. What I liked about this dry food is that it had both duck and chicken meal, but, on the other hand, it had too many starches. Also minerals are not chelated. My cat eats it. I will not buy this dry food again. I just want better ingredients. This company’s wet food, on the other hand, is very good, in my opinion and I rotate it with other brands my cat enjoys.” – Sugarcanepoet, reviewing I and Love and You Naked Essentials Chicken & Duck Recipe Dry Cat Food
How Much Does I and Love and You Cat Food Cost?
I and Love and You cat food is a little bit more expensive than its neighbors at the grocery store, but it’s not among the priciest cat food you can buy.
You’ll pay around $2.24 and up to $3.08 per day to feed a 10-lb cat their wet recipes and closer to $0.30 per day if you’re buying their dry foods. This puts I and Love and You in the same price league as Rachael Ray Nutrish and Merrick.
Overall, Is I and Love and You a Good Choice?
With meat-rich recipes featuring a mix of muscle meat and organs, splashes of salmon oil, and some of the lowest carbohydrate percentages in the industry, I and Love and You canned cat food is an outstanding option.
Their canned foods are a few heads above most of the other products sold in grocery stores and better than many other products at the same price point.
I and Love and You’s dry cat food isn’t quite as impressive, with ingredient lists similar to those of other grain-free cat food brands.
Where To Buy I and Love and You Cat Food?
You can buy I and Love and You in grocery stores, independent pet specialty retailers, and some big box stores. Click here to search for a retailer near you. You can buy it online through Amazon, Chewy, Target, Jet, Walmart, and Thrive Market.
How about the cans themselves? Is the liner safe for cats? Or does it contain BPA or some other harmful chemical?
Thanks.
Hi Jane! I and Love and You claims that their cat food cans are BPA-free. Hope this helps!
– Mallory
My cats are used to Purina One dry food. I feed 3 cats from a common bowl Usually I fill the bowl w/P1 in the morning, and often must top if off at bedtime. They free feed and it has worked fine. This iandlovenandyou has not worked out at all. I first noticed that they were not emptying the bowl.
Then Christmas eve, I was cooking, and noticed that my ginger tabby was tearing open a bag of treats! I scolded him and went back to cooking. He got another bag! I took that away from him, went back to cooking. Darned if he didn’t get a bag of DOGGIE treats that I keep to give the neighbor dogs! He was NOT eating any more of that food! I gave in and filled the bowl w/Purina One.
I hate to indulge finicky cats! But he was desperate! Trying to tear into those treat bags!
Lately the cod wet food has had an inordinate amount of larger (about 1/2″ & sharp) bones in it. Cod had always been the favorite but now won’t eat it. Tried to eat around the sharper bones, but now just cries for different food. The cod remains in the food dish.
Just fed cats (2) a tablespoon of grain free beef right meow. Within 5 minutes both cat simultaneously began vomiting. I was trying this for first time
But hesitant to give again.
Hi Judith, thank you for sharing your experience with I and Love and You cat food. I’d recommend contacting the company and letting them know what happened.
I bought a bag of the dry stuff for my cats a couple years ago thinking I was doing them a favor after seeing good reviews. I’m surprised it has such a good rating, because both of my cats had adverse reactions. One of them ended up with itchy skin and was gnawing on themselves (which I’d never seen her do) and spontaneously vomiting and the other one ended up with explosive sticky diarrhea. It took me a week or two to consider the food because they’d never had reactions like this to any other brand (expensive or cheap) and I changed it immediately and they never had the problem again with the variations of food I fed them. I’d rather feed them Whiskers brand before this. Both cats have passed on now, but we have 2 new cats and I’ve upped their quality of food and keep hard food to a minimum, but I’d never feed them this brand, I won’t even try the wet food, I’d never seen any of my cats react so poorly to a food before. I’ve posted a number of reviews about this in various places.
Do you have phosphorus and magnesium levels of the whascally wabbit 3oz the reason I ask is my cat was recently diagnosed having stage 4 CKD and I’ve tried just about every K/D brand canned food and it all looks like clay and he will not eat it so I’m looking for something he WILL eat that is still somewhat palatable and not as bad as feeding him some fancy feast garbage or equivalent. I want to have possibly a few more months with him before I know it’s too far along where he’s miserable and I have to say goodbye humanely, but I don’t want his food to totally suck cause that’s inhumane as well.. what good is living if your food tastes like garbage yanno?
Hey Brian, unfortunately, I don’t have that information on hand. You may be able to get it by contacting the company and asking for a detailed nutritional analysis. You can reach the customer support department here: [email protected].
I put some of the Naked Essentials chicken in a paper coffee filter while cleaning my cat’s bowl and noticed an excessive amount of grease absorbed by the filter. Is it normal for dry cat food to be so greasy?
Hello Luka, that’s a great question. Unfortunately, I don’t have the answer for you. I’d recommend taking a photo of the greasy coffee filter and sending it to I and Love and You. They may be able to tell you whether or not this amount of grease is typical for their foods. Other than that, I can’t tell you whether or not the amount of grease you saw is normal. I and Love and You is not a particularly high-fat food, but something in their processing methods could potentially lead to increased greasiness. Again, this is an intriguing question and I hope you get some more insights soon.
Best,
Mallory
Needed to mix some medicine in with wet food to hide it. Settled on this brand and I created a monster. My two year old female screams demanding this stuff at meal time. I only give her one 3 oz can a day and free feed her Hills dry. She can be finicky but absolutely loves this stuff… especially the Cod.
She’s well over her sniffles but now I’m stuck with a spoiled kitty that loves her wet food.
Came across the reviews and was relieved to see its relatively nutritious.
I just recently purchased I and Love and you Naked Essentials Grain Free with Salmon and Trout dry food for my teenage cattens (they will be a year old the end of April) and was wondering if you had any opinion/feedback on that line.
Hi Pam, thank you for commenting! As mentioned in the review of the Naked Essentials Chicken & Duck Recipe on this page, I can’t find that much to say about the Naked Essentials line that would be different from my take on most grain-free dry foods. The food does seem to do a nice job of offering high-value protein sources and doesn’t seem to take too many “shortcuts”, i.e. including potentially lower-value sources of protein like plant protein concentrates or animal by-products. The inclusion of prebiotics and probiotics is nice, though you always have to bear in mind that viability is not guaranteed. But in spite of its good qualities, it’s still just a pretty good grain-free dry food. It’s high-carb, low-moisture, and generally not the most species-appropriate choice on the market. So while I do think it could be a relatively good choice for your cattens (love this term, by the way), it’s not the absolute best choice. I hope that this helps! All the best. – Mallory
My cat loves this food, but I was concerned and found your article after reading some of the wet food reviews on Amazon showed pictures of the wet food turning red and they claimed there was “red dye” in it. But it doesn’t say that on the ingredients. What is your stance on this? Do you think it contains “red dye” which is known to be harmful or is this just heresay?
Hi there. This is very interesting—I would like to contact the company and ask about this color change. If they are including dyes without proclaiming that on the ingredient list, it would be illegal and a serious problem. That said, I think that reviewers, especially of cat products, tend to be a little bit hasty to assume that the company is deceiving them, and I do wish that there had been more of a rigorous investigation before making this claim. I have heard about other foods oxidizing and turning red, but I’ve yet to find anything definitive on why this happens. In case you’re interested in checking out a few other examples, the picture posted by the Amazon reviewer looks very similar to the one in this image of Friskies food (warning—it’s gross) , which was posted in this thread. A few other people said they had a similar experience.
So overall, I wouldn’t discontinue use of the food based on this report, but I am curious about what is going on. Thanks for stopping by.
What do you think about their treats, are they also a good chose like the wet cat food?
Hi Geneva,
Much like their cat food, their cat food treats are made from real animal protein, with minimal plant protein. Overall it seems like a good choice for most cats. For example if we look at MEOW AND ZEN HEARTIES ingredient list:
Chicken, chicken liver, glycerin, ground flaxseed, natural flavor, guar gum, pea fiber, salt, inulin, pumpkin, dandelion greesn, cranberry powder, broccoli, sweet potatoes, mixed tocopherols (a preservative), chamomille, lavender, passion flower.
This participial treat might contain a good amount of salt so it would be best not to overdue it.
Hope this helps!
Let us know if you have any additional questions
Was there a typo in the % of carbs on a dry matter basis for the wet foods? It says they’re low carb, and the “oh my cod” product is described as having “virtually zero” carb content, but I scroll and see in the pie charts that their carb percentages are in the 30s. I’m not sure if it was here on the site I saw it but wasn’t it under 12% carbs in wet food more like what we like to see? For example, in the Fancy Feast review, the first product reviewed is described as low carb and is 10.45% carb on a dry matter basis. I ask because I’m considering this brand and want to be sure first. Thanks!
Hi Erika, thanks for bringing this to our attention. I did some poking around in my email history and found that the carbohydrate values in the written part of the article were based on information provided by I and Love and You. They sent a typical nutrient analysis, which gave me information not provided by the guaranteed analysis. In contrast, the pie charts were based solely on the GA values, and they’re not as exact. This is an issue we’re still working to resolve, but I hope this answer helps to give you some clarity! I’ll send you an email with the nutrient charts I referred to when writing the article. Thanks!
Hi Mallory,
You rated the I and Love and You wet foods an A, so like the comment above this one, I’m concerned about the dry matter basis carbohydrate values considering they add a lot of unnecessary veggies and “gums” to their foods. What is the difference between a typical “nutrient anaylsis,” and the guaranteed analysis, and which do you prefer we trust as our go to numbers? I can’t afford expensive canned foods and I was looking to add some healthy ones into my cats’ rotation. They got tired about Weruva, and did not like anything Wellness except their Signature Shreddred.
Do you have any of suggestions for a gravy based canned food that’s economical for three young males? (They eat pate all the time.)
Thank you.
I’m looking for a fairly good quality chicken free, grain free and low carb dry food. Any suggestions? I have 1 kitty with a chicken allergy and 1 kitty with leukemia so she needs a low carb formula. They are extremely picky and I’ve spent hours and hundreds of dollars trying to find something they will eat and meet their needs. Please help and email me some suggestions.
Hey there! You might find some suggestions that work for you and your two kitties in our article on the best cat food for sensitive digestion.
So sad to hear that you changed your ingredients and no longer have a fruit and veggie formula for purky turkey. My cat has bad food allergies and has high protein and elevated liver enzymes from high protein grain free wet food that he has eaten prior. He has been feeling so much better that I switched to this food, now I have to shop around again to find a single protein turkey and veggie ingredient food with out peas. It breaks my heart to know he might be sick again till I find another food.
Thank you for the comment. I’d recommend contacting I and love and you directly as well—this could give you a better chance of being heard by the company.
unfortunately they changed all their recipes and my cats will no longer eat it. looks and smells bad too. so disappointed. cat has cancer and eats very few things.
I’m very sorry to hear that, Carrie. Your cat might like some of the foods on this list—I find that fresh/homemade style foods tend to be very palatable.
First you said the dry is moderate carbs and then in cons you say it’s high !
What really is it ! I need to know !
Thank you
Compared to other dry foods, the carbohydrate content would be considered moderate, but according to the All About Cats standard, we would view this as a high-carb food and not a particularly species-appropriate choice for your cat.
Hi Mallory I need your advice choosing between a few options as I’m on a budget of about 40 dollars for 10-11 pounds of dry food.
the options are Earthborn Holistic Wild Sea Catch,
I and Love and You Nude Super Food Surf ‘n Chick Grain-Free Dry Cat Food, Fussie Cat Market Fresh Chicken & Turkey Recipe Grain-Free Dry Cat Food & By Nature Pet Foods Chicken & Turkey Meal Recipe Grain-Free Dry Cat Food I’m hesitant of the earthborn & Aussie cat because of the peas and chickpeas and even though the By nature has those similar ingredients it has coconut oil and antioxidant ingredients. The I & love & you seems to be the best bet of the options but I’m still unsure. I really value ingredients like fruits and extracts that seem helpful but is it less important than the high protein in the I&L&Y option? Please let me know my 5 kitties depend on you!!
Check current prices. I pay about $2.27 per 3 oz. can. But I do live in Waimea, HI and prices are higher than average here.
Thanks for the info, Joy!