Wholesomes is a US-based family-run business producing foods made with natural preservatives for felines and canines. This brand's affordable prices and attractive packaging may have caught your eye while grocery shopping — but are these recipes good for your cat? And will your feline friend eat them? 

Read on for Wag!'s full Wholesomes cat food review, where we bring answers about the brand's recipes, ingredient quality, recall history, and quotes from real pet parents with first-hand experience with these products. 

Wholesomes Cat Food comes in just two dry cat foods for all life stages: a wholegrain recipe and one specifically made for sensitive skin and stomachs. 

Wholesomes Whole Grain is a dry recipe made mainly from chicken meal, brown rice, peas, rice, and rice bran. Off the bat, two things stick out to us about this recipe — first, that a low-quality meat meal is the leading ingredient, and second, that there is some evidence of ingredient splitting. We always prefer to see a named meat source as the first ingredient, whether that's chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, etc. While meat meals are high in protein, they are also heavily processed and made of lesser-quality products like leftover meat and bones.

Secondly, anytime we see three different versions of the same ingredient (in this case, rice), it raises a concern that there may be more of this ingredient than you would initially think. In the pet food industry, this is called ingredient splitting, and it's speculated that this technique alters the order of the ingredients on a pet food label. By breaking one ingredient into several different parts or preparations, companies can make it appear further down the list. This can coincidently make the recipe seem to have more meat (or other high quality ingredients) than it does.

That being said, there are several things this recipe gets right. We appreciate the use of natural preservatives like vitamin E and the exclusion of common allergens like corn, soy., and wheat. Wholesomes also fortify these foods with omega fatty acids. Plus, at 35.5% protein and 15% fat as dry matter, this is a fairly high protein, lower fat option with 380 calories per cup. 

The first few ingredients in Wholesomes Sensitive Skin & Stomach recipe are salmon meal, brown rice, oatmeal, barley, and pea protein. The added fiber from the whole grains is certainly great for digestion and sensitive stomachs; however, adding multiple different grains near the top of the ingredients list could also indicate ingredient splitting.

Like the Whole Grain recipe, a named meat meal (salmon meal) is the leading ingredient, whereas we would prefer to see a whole protein source like salmon or whitefish. This food has the same amount of protein as the Whole Grain recipe but slightly less fat (13.3% as dry matter) and slightly fewer calories, at 325 calories per cup. 

The addition of salmon and whitefish meals and flax are excellent sources of omega fatty acids, which can make the coat more glossy and help with some skin conditions.

While Wholesomes cat food might not be the highest quality brand, there are several things that this company gets right. Let's talk about them.

If your kitties are like most, they will turn their button noses up at kibble that is too big or hard. Not Wholesome products, though! Many reviewers shared how impressed they were with the kibble's shape, stating it is perfectly sized for persnickety cats.

Wholesomes Cat Food is very affordable, making it a popular pick for rescues and people who manage cat colonies. The Whole Grain recipe is the most budget-friendly at just under $25 for a 15 lb bag. The Sensitive Skin & Stomach recipe is the same price; however, it's only available in a 10 lb bag, making it significantly more expensive per ounce (but still very reasonable).

A portion of every Wholesomes purchase goes to support the Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation, which, according to the website, "provides assistance in college scholarships and educational counseling to over 2,000 military children who have lost a parent in the line of duty since 2002."

Lastly, these recipes don't contain any artificial additives, instead relying on natural flavors, preservatives, and colors. These recipes also are free of low-quality fillers like corn, soy, and wheat.

Now that we've discussed the pros of choosing Wholesomes cat products, let's address some of our concerns.

While meat meals are an adequate protein source, we prefer to see real meat as the leading ingredient in a recipe. Meat meals are heavily processed and are comprised of the lower quality parts of the animal, including bones and byproducts from the meat industry.

Both Wholesome recipes have evidence of possible ingredient splitting. The prevalence of a lot of grains and plant proteins means these recipes might not contain as much animal protein as the ingredients list might lead you to believe.

Wholesomes only has two recipes. While we appreciate that they are both suitable for all life stages, we would prefer to see more targeted recipes for weight management, urinary health, allergies, and growth. We would also like to see wet recipes since many cats will not tolerate dry food, and wet food can help ensure proper hydration.

Recipe changes were a repeat topic in Chewy reviews, with consumers complaining that the food didn't disclose recipe changes and that it wasn't until their pet started reacting to the new formulation that they realized the recipe had changed. 

One reviewer stated that their cat has a known sensitivity to peas and that they had chosen that recipe originally because it did not contain peas. Unfortunately, the reviewer didn't catch the ingredient reformulation until after their cat became sick.

“I'm thrilled with this food! One of my cats has digestive issues, so I have to be extremely careful about what I feed him. Until now, I had only found two brands he could tolerate, but both were quite expensive. While I budgeted for them because his health is important, it was becoming a financial strain, and I needed an alternative. I chose Wholesomes Cat Food because of its simple ingredients and affordability. I anticipated a big mess, as he typically doesn't handle dietary changes well. To my surprise, not only did he handle this food well, but it actually improved his digestive issues! I plan on purchasing this food from now on, especially since it's suitable for all life stages, making it perfect for my kittens and seniors as well. As an added bonus, all the cats love it. The overweight cats are losing weight, and the underweight cats are gaining weight. Definitely a plus!”

"This has worked well for our barn cats, but I feel like the formula may have recently changed? Sometimes the kibble is shaped different and looks more dry. One of the cats might be allergic now."

Read more reviews on Chewy.

Wholesomes cat food dates all the way back to 1926 and the founding of pet food manufacturer Midwestern Pet Foods. This family-owned business out of Evansville, Indiana, has been producing pet foods for four generations and nearly a century. 

Midwestern Pet Foods has four separate pet food plants across the US and has birthed big-name brands like Earthborn Holistic, Sportmix, and, of course, Wholesomes pet products. In contrast to some of Midwestern's premium brands, Wholesomes was introduced as an affordable, no-frills alternative for budget-conscious consumers. Several major retailed have stock Wholesome products, including Tractor Supply and Chewy.

There have been no recalls specifically of Wholesomes cat food as of April 2025. However, select lots of two different Wholesomes dog food recipes were recalled in March 2021 due to possible Salmonella contamination.