Halo Spot’s Stew Adult Cat Food (Wet) Review And Nutritional Analysis

Our review process is unbiased and based on extensive research. If you buy through the links on our site, we may earn a commission.

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
• It’s important to note that while the Guaranteed Analysis shows 0 carbohydrates, Halo’s website provides an example of a lab test done on one of it’s foods. While not meant to be representative of the whole lineup, the lab tests do show a small amount of carbohydrates (8% Dry Matter Basis in the Chicken recipe, for example)
• Includes added vitamins and high quality, chelated versions of some minerals

Halo’s Spot’s Stew Adult product line includes 6 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 Adult Chicken (M)
• Halo Adult Salmon (M) 3 stars
• Halo Adult Chicken & Beef (M)
• Halo Adult Chicken, Shrimp & Crab (M)
• Halo Adult Lamb (M)
• Halo Adult Turkey (M)

Halo Adult Chicken was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.

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 carrots. Good.

The beta carotene in carrots turns into vitamin A, which is a useful antioxidant compound.

However, cats can’t turn much beta carotene into vitamin A like we can, so much of it is stored for growth or cell reprouction.

Therefore, carrots are most useful for kittens or senior cats.

The fifth ingredient is turkey. Good.

While quality of the individual ingredient can vary, turkey is a very good protein source for cats.

It’s also important to note that turkey 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 sixth ingredient is green beans. OK, but with reservations.

Cats don’t need green beans.

They are a source of fiber, but they are not something your kitty would eat in the wild.

However, this recipe is obviously mostly made up of meat, so the actual green bean content is likely very low.

As such, it’s a fine, fiber-filled ingredient.

The seventh ingredient is peas. Bad.

Peas are a quality carbohydrate, but cats don’t need much in the way of carbohydrates.

They are full of fiber, but also contain a fair amount of protein, which we should keep in mind when judging the meat content of this food.

There probably aren’t many peas in here, but there really doesn’t need to be any.

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. 

However, there are still a few things you should know.

Guar gum comes from guar beans, and is a thickening agent.

In small quantities, like those in cat food, it should be a harmless ingredient.

However, some research has shown that including guar gum in a commercial cat food “had a significant negative effect on apparent protein digestibility in many of the cats and tended to depress apparent fat and energy digestibilities.”

While not heavily substantiated beyond this study, it might mean your cat needs to eat more protein to make up for the lower digestibility.

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 uses xanthan gum as a binding agent. While this is usually a harmless ingredient and is used in plenty of cat and human foods, some research suggests that cats with inflammatory bowel disease should not consume xanthan gum.

This recipe uses the chelated form of minerals, which means that they should be easier to digest for your cat, and be more readily available for her body to use to maintain her health. This is usually a sign of a quality food.

Garlic powder, while not in high enough quantities here to be harmful, can be highly toxic to cats. While we are sure the company has taken steps to ensure a very small amount of garlic enters the food, it is unnecessary and why take the risk?

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 Adult Wet Cat Food

From top to bottom, this is an average food.

Meat is the first ingredient, quality organ meats are used, and very minimal fillers are present.

However, as mentioned above, the real lab analysis from Halo’s website shows that the carbohydrate levels are not quite at 0%, as the Guaranteed Analysis would have us believe. 

That’s not Halo’s fault, it’s just the best way we have to judge all of the cat foods. It’s good of them to provide an example of a lab test, but it does show that carbohydrate levels may be around 8% on a Dry Matter Basis.

Unlike the Indoor wet cat food, this recipe does not use carrageenan, yet has a similar recipe, so if you are worried about that ingredient, this food may be a better option.

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 56% protein, 38% fat, and 0% carbs.

As a group, the brand has an average protein content of 59%, and average fat content of 40%, and an average carb content of 0%.

Compared to the other 2000+ foods in our database, this food has:

• Above average protein.
• Above average fat.
• Below average carbs.

Because meat is the first ingredient, quality organ meats are used, and fillers are fairly minimal, 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 Adult 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.