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Rating
- Meat is the first ingredient – 1 Star
- Uses some unnamed meats – 1 Star
- Above average protein content – 0.5 Star
- Less than 4 controversial ingredients – 1 Star
- Catological Discretionary Rating – 1 Star
Here’s a few important points:
- Meat is the first ingredient
- Recipes utilize liver, which is a quality ingredient
- Most recipes have very minimal filler ingredients
- Quail and guinea fowl are novel proteins and may be good for cats who are allergic to, or have issues with, too much chicken or other common meat products found in cat foods
- Includes added vitamins and minerals
Halo’s Impulse Sensitive Stomach product line includes 3 wet recipes/flavors.
Each recipe below includes its related AAFCO nutrient profile when available on the product’s official webpage or packaging: Growth (G), Maintenance (M), All Life Stages (A), Supplemental (S) or Unspecified (U).
The star rating is a rough average of all of the flavors in a single line of food. If an individual recipe scored lower or higher, we will mark that below, next to the flavor.
- Halo Impulse Sensitive Stomach Quail & Garden Greens (M)
- Halo Impulse Sensitive Stomach Chicken, Egg & Garden Greens (M)
- Halo Impulse Sensitive Stomach Guinea Fowl & Garden Greens (M)
Halo Impulse Sensitive Stomach Quail & Garden Greens was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.
Halo Impulse Sensitive Stomach Quail & Garden Greens
Wet Cat Food
| Estimated Nutrient Content |
| Protein | Fat | Carbs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guaranteed Analysis | 10.5% | 7.5% | NA |
| Dry Matter Basis | 48% | 34% | 2% |
| Calorie Weighted Basis | 36% | 62% | 2% |
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Fiber (guaranteed analysis)
1.25%
Calories/100g
118
Is real, named meat the first ingredient?
Yes
Ingredients
Quail, Chicken, Chicken Broth, Chicken Liver, Water, Eggs, Natural Flavor, Agar-Agar, Tricalcium Phosphate, Barley Grass, Dandelion Greens, Parsley, Choline Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Taurine, Salt, Zinc Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Magnesium Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid.
Ingredients in red are controversial or of questionable quality.
Ingredient Breakdown
The first ingredient in this cat food is quail. Good.
A high quality source of protein, quail, like other game birds, is low in calories and high in protein.
It is a very good source of protein, and very close to what cats would eat in the wild.
It is also a “novel” protein, which can be good for cats who are allergic to, or have a hard time digesting, the more common meat proteins found in most foods.
The second ingredient is chicken. Good.
While quality of the individual ingredient can vary, chicken is a very good protein source for cats.
It’s also important to note that chicken contains about 70% water, so when it is processed and cooked for use in cat food, it will become a smaller part of the total recipe.
The third ingredient is chicken broth. Good.
Instead of using water for processing, chicken broth is added for moisture.
Broth may contain vitamins and nutrients from the original animal (chicken, in this case), that water would lack.
This is usually a sign of a high quality food.
The fourth ingredient is chicken liver. Good.
Liver is an important organ meat that your cat would eat in the wild to get extra protein, vitamins, and minerals.
This is usually a sign of a high quality food.
After water, the fifth ingredient is eggs. Good.
Even though eggs are not meat, they are a highly digestible form of protein.
In fact, they are one of the most complete, bioavailable forms of protein for both humans and cats.
As long as it is not the main protein ingredient, the addition of egg is a quality ingredient
After natural flavors, the sixth ingredient is agar agar. Good.
Agar agar is derived from a red seaweed, but is different from carrageenan.
It is used as a “gelling” substance, which helps keep food together.
Although they are both red seaweeds, it seems agar-agar does not suffer from the same potentially carcinogenic qualities as carrageenan.
Until we find research to prove that they are the same just because they both come from red seaweeds, we believe agar is a better gelling agent than most others used.
This recipe includes a number of other ingredients, but once you get down this far, none of them will be in large enough quantities to make a real difference, except for the added vitamins and minerals.
To read a more in depth article about any of the ingredients listed here, check out our Cat Food Ingredient Wiki (currently under development).
The Catological Verdict on Halo Impulse Sensitive Stomach Wet Cat Food
From top to bottom, this is an above average food.
Meat is the first ingredient, quality organ meats are used, and almost no fillers are present.
The “fillers” that are used are grasses and other light greens that your cat might eat in the wild anyway, to obtain certain nutrients or settle her stomach.
While we wish the protein levels were slightly higher and the fat slightly lower, it’s hard to argue with the quality of these ingredients and this recipe.
This is a good example of a wet food you should be feeding your cat.
Since it’s clear that meat products make up the majority of this food, we can assume that this is a mostly meat-based food, which is ideal for your carnivorous feline’s dietary needs.
To review, on a dry matter basis, this food is 48% protein, 34% fat, and 2% carbs.
As a group, the brand has an average protein content of 50%, and average fat content of 35%, and an average carb content of 1%.
Compared to the other 2000+ foods in our database, this food has:
- Average protein.
- Above average fat.
- Below average carbs.
Because meat is the first ingredient, quality organ meats are used, and there are basically no fillers, our rating for this brand is 4.5 stars.
Recommended.
Halo Cat Food Recall History
We do not believe that a recall indicates a low quality food or company, and we respect the fact that sometimes things happen that cause a manufacturer to recall a food.
Usually these things are non-life-threatening, and we think it’s important to take a moment to be thankful about just how few recalls there really are in the industry, considering the enormous volume of food produced.
However, we do believe that a history of recalls may point to a larger issue with a company, and that discerning consumers want to know who they’re buying from, especially when it comes to something as important as the food you feed your beloved cat.
Here is a list of recalls that have affected the Halo brand in the past:
- October 2015 – Potential mold – 1 product affected
If you want to stay up to date on the latest recall information affecting your cat’s food, sign up to our email list and receive an email every time a recall is announced. We’ll also let you know about any updated ratings, recipe changes, or new cat foods on the market. (Our alert system will be launched shortly, check back soon.)
Where To Buy Halo Impulse Wet Cat Food
We recommend purchasing your pet products from Chewy.com. They continually prove that they walk the walk while talking the talk, and I’ve never dealt with a more dedicated pet-parent base of people than those who work at Chewy.
Plus, they offer 20% off and free shipping on lots of orders.
Not Convinced?
Check out our ratings and reviews of the best cat foods in our comprehensive, data-backed guide right here.
