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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 – 0.5 Star
- Catological Discretionary Rating – 0.5 Star
Here’s a few important points:
- Meat is the first ingredient
- Recipes utilize liver, which is a quality ingredient
- Some filler ingredients are used, including a protein-boosting chickpea flour, which is not where you want your cat’s protein to be coming from
- Includes added vitamins and quality, proteinate versions of some minerals
Halo’s Seniors product line includes 2 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 Senior Chicken & Chickpea was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.
Halo Senior Chicken & Chickpea
Wet Cat Food
| Estimated Nutrient Content |
| Protein | Fat | Carbs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guaranteed Analysis | 9% | 7% | NA |
| Dry Matter Basis | 41% | 32% | 7% |
| Calorie Weighted Basis | 33% | 62% | 5% |
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Fiber (guaranteed analysis)
2.5%
Calories/100g
117
Is real, named meat the first ingredient?
Yes
Ingredients
Chicken, Chicken Broth, Chicken Liver, Chickpea Flour, Natural Flavor, Cranberry Pomace, Sweet Potatoes, Tricalcium Phosphate, Blueberry Pomace, Agar-Agar, Parsley, Dandelion Greens, Choline Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Taurine, Salt, Dried New Zealand Green Mussels, L-Carnitine, 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 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 second 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 third 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.
The fourth ingredient is chickpea flour. Bad.
An obvious non-biologically appropriate carbohydrate filler, beans are at least potentially better than corn.
They are unlikely to do any damage to your cat.
However, some cats may have trouble digesting them.
They are also protein-rich, which means the actual meat content of this recipe may be lower than the macronutrient profile suggests.
After natural flavors, the fifth ingredient is cranberry pomace. OK, but with reservations.
This is basically a by-product of cranberries after they have been used for sauces or juice.
Some say it’s a useful form of fiber, while some say it’s a pointless, cheap, filler ingredient.
Whatever the case, there’s probably not enough to make much of a difference here.
While cranberry can help with urinary tract trouble, there is likely not enough in this recipe to actually help in that regard.
While not harmful, it is typically a gimmicky addition to cat foods.
The sixth ingredient is sweet potatoes. Bad.
Normally sweet potatoes are a good source of carbohydrates and fiber, with less sugar than beets.
However, cats do not require carbohydrates like this, and while it won’t necessarily hurt the cat, it is not biologically appropriate.
It may be hard to digest, and is unnecessary.
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 Senior Wet Cat Food
From top to bottom, this is an average food.
Meat is the first ingredient, quality organ meats are used, but some fillers are present.
The fillers that are used are not all that bad, but beans are not appropriate food for cats, so there’s really no point adding it to a wet recipe.
While we wish the protein levels were higher and the fat slightly lower, the recipe overall is still pretty good.
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, but the fillers add some carbohydrates, we can assume that this is a mostly meat-based food, which is fairly ideal for your carnivorous feline’s dietary needs.
To review, on a dry matter basis, this food is 41% protein, 32% fat, and 7% carbs.
As a group, the brand has an average protein content of 41%, and average fat content of 31%, and an average carb content of 8%.
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, but there are a few unnecessary fillers, our rating for this brand is 3.5 stars.
Somewhat 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 Senior 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.
