WholeHearted Cat Food Review 2024: Good Quality, Affordable Cat Food

We all love our pets with all our hearts. Delicious and nutritious food is something that we can provide to ensure our pets’ overall wellness and happiness. As we all have certain budgets to work with, we must find the best cat food we can afford that has the right ingredients.

With this in mind, we have decided to write this 2024 Wholehearted cat food review to take a closer look at a brand that promises to be wholesome, thoughtful, and affordable.

The brand aims to provide wholesome and thoughtfully made meals using high quality natural ingredients. Launched by Petco in August 2016, Wholehearted is a private label developed in-house by Petco nutrition experts. The idea is to provide consumers with a healthy, high-quality products that are affordable.

All of Wholehearted’s products are grain free. Their cat foods do not contain any corn or wheat in the ingredients. The protein sources are from the United States, South America, and New Zealand.

Wholehearted’s cat products are dry food, wet food, and treats. To help you pick the best cat food with the right ingredients for your kitty, here is a review of some of Wholehearted’s best-rated products on Amazon.

Wholehearted Cat Food Comparison

Reviewed WholeHearted Cat Foods

1. WholeHearted Grain Free Chicken Formula
2. WholeHearted Grain Free Salmon Formula
3. WholeHearted Healthy Digestion Chicken and Egg
4. WholeHearted All Life Stages Canned Cat Food
5. WholeHearted Weight Control Chicken Recipe
6. WholeHearted Grain Free Salmon Recipe Pate Senior
7. WholeHearted Savory and Tasty Soft Cat Treats

Wholehearted Cat Food Review: Dry Food

Wholehearted dry cat foods are grain-free, and the number one ingredient is high-quality protein. They offer kibbles for cats of all ages, and even have special needs options.

They have a total of 7 dry cat food products. Here are some of their best cat foods in kibble form.

Wholehearted Grain-free Food for Kittens – Chicken Recipe

Wholehearted Grain-free Chicken Formula food for kittens is made of real chicken for a protein-packed meal. Its antioxidant formula helps support a healthy immune system. DHA is also included for healthy brain development. Feline probiotics promote gut health for better absorption of nutrients.

The first five ingredients: chicken, chicken meal, peas, chickpeas, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols.)

Pros

Kittens love it. Kittens love the flavor of this Wholehearted chicken recipe product. You can see that the young kitties enjoy their meals with this cat food. Having a healthy appetite is very important to kittens as they need a complete and balanced nutrition for their developing bodies.

Good for digestion. This Wholehearted grain free chicken recipe dry cat food is easy to digest. It has even helped tummy issues that several kittens were having, according to their owners. The kittens have stopped vomiting since being switched to this dry food. One rave review states that she no longer needs to add a packet of probiotics to her kitten’s food as this product has already resolved her kitties digestive issues.

Cons

Fruits in ingredients. A handful of cat parents think that this Wholehearted dry cat food has too many ingredients that are not really necessary in feline nutrition. According to them, ingredients such as oranges, coconuts, papaya, blueberries, and other fruits are not part of a cat’s natural diet as obligatory carnivores.

Conclusion

Wholehearted’s Grain Free Food for Kittens in chicken recipe is a good quality kibble to try for kittens. There are no questionable ingredients such as artificial preservatives or colors, and the first ingredient is chicken. Rich in protein from chicken and chicken meal, it has the right balance of nutrients essential to growing cats.

Kittens enjoy having this cat food as their meal. It even helped resolve stomach problems of several kitties. This is an overall great kitten food to try for young cats that are starting to switch to dry cat food.

Wholehearted Grain Free Dry Cat Food – Salmon Recipe

This Wholehearted grain free dry cat food has real salmon as the first ingredient. Salmon is rich in omega fatty acids for healthy skin and coat. This grain free dry food gives balanced nutrition and is fortified with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and probiotics.

The first five ingredients of this cat food are salmon, salmon meal, peas, chickpeas, and pea flour.

Pros

Healthy skin and coat. Wholehearted’s grain free salmon recipe dry cat food has been giving numerous cats healthier skin and coats. Many customer reviews state that their cats have softer, shinier fur since they started feeding them with this quality ingredient product.

Good value. This grain free cat food offers nutritious, high-quality ingredients at an affordable price. Many owners of cats that need grain free food appreciate its affordability as grain free products are typically more expensive.

Cons

Strong odor. Several buyers have noted that the smell of this product is a bit stronger than most cat foods. This is likely caused by the salmon and salmon meal in its ingredients.

Conclusion

This salmon recipe dry cat food product is loved by a lot of cats because it is packed with real flavorful salmon meat and meal. These are good ingredients to have as they are rich in omega fatty acids. The cats have shown a noticeable improvement in their skin and coat since being switched to this brand. It offers healthy yet affordable grain free food for sensitive cats. However, some find the smell just too strong for their liking.

Wholehearted Grain Free Healthy Benefits – Chicken and Egg Recipe

Wholehearted Grain Free Healthy Benefits Easy Digestion dry food is specially-formulated for cats with sensitive tummies. The first ingredient is chicken.

It is made with highly-digestible egg product and multiple fiber sources. It is gentle on your kitty’s stomach, and has live active cultures in its ingredients to help support the digestive system.

The first five ingredients: chicken, chicken meal, peas, pea flour, and chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols.)

Pros

Better digestion. True to its promise, Healthy Benefits Easy Digestion dry food has helped improve the digestive health of many cats that had various stomach problems such as vomiting, diarrhea, hairballs, etc.

Small kibble. This dry food has the perfect kibble size. It is small and easy to chew. Perfect for cats of all life stages, and for those that have less teeth. This also helps in making it more digestible.

Cons

Small bags. Cat parents who love this Wholehearted product wish that Healthy Benefits Easy Digestion also comes in a bigger bag. This product comes in bags of 2.5 and 5 lbs only.

Conclusion

This product has received great feedback from owners of cats with different gastrointestinal problems. It has pea flour as a better carb source compared to wheat or corn.

The cats have shown improvements since being fed with this kibble. It is easy to chew because of the small kibble size, and easy on the tummy due to highly digestible ingredients and probiotics. We definitely suggest trying a small bag of this kibble if your cat is having stomach problems.

Wholehearted Food Review: Wet Cat Food

Wholehearted’s wet cat foods are also grain free, just like their dry counterparts. The first ingredient is always animal protein. Made with high-quality ingredients, this product line comes in multiple variants of various protein sources and textures.

Texture options are flaked in broth, flaked in gravy, morsels in gravy, minced, and paté. The products are packaged in cans and pouches. Check out the reviews below for Wholehearted’s best food for cats in wet form.

Wholehearted Grain Free All Life Stages Canned Cat Food 

This wet cat food product is made of flaked chicken served in savory gravy. Chicken is the number one ingredient. It has no by-products or artificial colors. It is enriched with omega-3 fatty acids for healthy skin and coat.

The first five ingredients are chicken, chicken broth, water sufficient for processing, tapioca starch, and sunflower oil.

Pros

A hit with the kitties. This wet cat food is loved even by picky felines. You can see the flakes of real tasty chicken in this Wholehearted product. The sauce is extra flavorful from the chicken broth. Cats of all ages from kittens to seniors love this product.

Good value. Another hit among cat parents, this wet cat food is packed with high-quality meat and does not have grain fillers, yet it is not expensive. Your feline buddies get all the goodness of chicken at a low cost.

Cons

Packaging. The lid of the can this cat food comes in is hard to open, according to some cat parents. Some find that even with the pull tabs, the can is still difficult to open.

Conclusion

The Wholehearted All Life Stages Canned Cat Food in Chicken Recipe Flaked in Gravy is enjoyed by many cats. They like licking the gravy, which gives them hydration. Their owners like that the shreds of meat are visibly made of real chicken. Most of all, cat parents love that it is sold an affordable price point. However, the can could use some improvement in terms of the ease in opening the lid.

Wholehearted Grain Free Weight Control Chicken Recipe

This Wholehearted wet cat food is specially-formulated for kitties who need a bit of help in keeping a healthy weight. The first ingredient is chicken. This calorie reduced recipe has multiple fiber sources to help keep cats feel fuller for much longer. It has L-carnitine to help metabolize fat. This product contains no grain, corn, or wheat.

The first five ingredients are chicken, chicken broth, chicken liver, turkey broth, and fish.

Pros

Helps with weight management. A lot of overweight cats who have been switched to this Wholehearted grain free product were able to shed some excess weight. It is able to keep them full for longer. This is great news for cat parents who have been searching for food that will keep their feline friend fit.

Cats love it. Luckily for cats, diet food does not need to taste horribly. Wholehearted Weight Control Chicken Recipe is enjoyed by cats. It is rich and meaty with chicken, chicken liver, fish, and chicken and turkey broth. It really is no wonder kitties love this product.

Cons

Carrageenan. This product has carrageenan as an ingredient. This is an additive commonly used in pet foods. Some experts claim that carrageenan may be a possible contributor to certain medical conditions in cats.

Conclusion

Wholehearted’s Weight Control Chicken Recipe wet cat food has been proven by a lot of cat parents to help in reducing excess fat, or preventing weight gain in their fur babies. This high-quality diet food is loved by cats so putting them on this “diet” has been a breeze for many customers.

While very nutritious and contains no artificial colors or preservatives in its ingredients, this product has carrageenan. It is a common ingredient in pet food, but more and more pet parents have been looking for carrageenan-free wet food.

Wholehearted Grain Free Salmon Recipe Paté Senior 

This wet cat food is designed to meet the needs of senior cats. Salmon is the number one ingredient. It gives complete and balanced nutrition with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Enriched with omega 6, this wet cat food helps promote healthy skin and glossy coats. This Wholehearted food is in paté form. Senior cats can eat this with minimal chewing effort.

The first five ingredients are salmon, salmon broth, chicken, chicken liver, and chicken broth.

Pros

Great for picky senior cats. Cats of all ages can be very, very fussy about food. But older kitties need a little extra help in finding food that they like as they not only need more nutrition, but also easy to digest food. This Wholehearted salmon paté has been heaven-sent for a lot of senior cats. They love having it as a meal. It is easy to chew and a good source of hydration.

Affordable. This is again another hit for many cat parents. As it is cheaper than most grain free cat food, every owner of cats who liked this product were quite thankful. It gives their senior kitties much-needed high-quality nutrition, and does not cost an arm and a leg.

Cons

Slightly too wet. According to a couple of reviews from cat parents, the consistency is a bit too watery. Instead of a paté as was expected, they find that the texture is more like that of a puree.

Conclusion

Wholehearted Grain Free Salmon Recipe Paté Senior Wet Cat Food is an overall good wet food for older kitties. Highly nutritious and easy to eat, this salmon paté is loved by a lot of picky senior cats. It is again another great value from Wholehearted.

This is a food cat parents find a bit watery. However, this may also be the reason senior cats find this a breeze to chew.

Wholehearted Food Review: Cat Treats

Kitties deserve rewards too! Wholehearted offers various kinds of treats for our feline friends. They have both wet and dry variants in different flavors and textures. There are crunchy, soft center treats, squeezable purees, shreds, filet treats, and even dental treats. Your picky cat is sure to find one that he or she will enjoy.

Wholehearted Savory and Tasty Soft Cat Treats – Whitefish Recipe

These are bite-sized treats; the first ingredient is whitefish. It is fortified with vitamins and minerals. It contains no by-products, artificial flavors or colors in its ingredients. This treat comes packaged in 3 oz pouches.

The first five ingredients are whitefish, potato, oatmeal, maple syrup and vegetable glycerin.

Pros

Truly a treat! Cats come running when they hear the bag of Wholehearted treats being opened. They love the taste and smell of this whitefish recipe cat treat. Kitties can’t get enough of this bite-sized whitefish treats.

No chicken. This is a great treat for cats with chicken or poultry allergies. The only protein ingredient of this treat is whitefish.

Cons

Not soft. These soft treats are not soft enough, according to a few buyers. It requires more chewing than expected. Not the best treat option for older cats.

Conclusion

This is a tasty treat that does not contain grains, artificial preservatives or colors. It is made with real whitefish. This Wholehearted cat treat is also chicken-free which is great for cats who are allergic to chicken. However, as it has the words “soft cat treats” in its label, some buyers were disappointed to find that they are not soft at all for their cats’ liking.

Summary

Petco has been in the pet product and service industry for 50 years, and is one of the most trusted names. When they launched Wholehearted, it was definitely met with high expectations from pet owners.

Did it live up to expectations? Quality-wise, we think they did. Both wet and dry cat foods have real animal protein as the first ingredient. They are all grain free and do not have corn and wheat fillers in the ingredient list. Even the carbohydrates, fiber, and antioxidant sources are of good quality vegetables and fruits.

However, some cat owners feel that ingredients such as oranges, coconuts, berries, and other fruits do not need to be in a cat’s diet. They prefer that the ingredient list be simpler with more protein that carnivorous felines need.

As far the results are concerned, we feel that Wholehearted has delivered excellently. Many cats have personally experienced the health benefits from Wholehearted foods. Their Easy Digestion dry food has received numerous rave reviews saying that their tummy issues have been resolved or improved. Their Weight Control wet food on the other hand has helped cats lose excess weight.

Overall, Wholehearted is a highly recommended brand to try. It is a great grain-free option for those who are looking for more affordable pet food. While their standard cat food products are not all protein, the plant-based ingredients are sources of fiber, antioxidants, and vitamins. These are nutrients that felines can also benefit from.

As pet parents, we are the ones who know our cats better than anyone. We must always be diligent in checking products’ ingredient lists. We hope that this review has helped you in the search for the best cat foods for your fur baby.