Heart to Tail Premium Adult Cat Food Indoor Formula

Last Updated on July 1, 2020

EDITOR’S NOTE: You can read our review of Aldi’s canned cat food here. Read our review of Aldi’s cat treats here

Aldi offers a small selection of products for dogs and cats, including dry cat food. Until recently, the store only sold larger bags of dry cat food weighing about 16 pounds. When I visited a newly built store a few weeks ago, I noticed two varieties of smaller 3.15-pound bags of dry cat food. One was a traditional formula and the other was a formula for indoor cats. I appreciate the smaller bags because we strictly control our cat’s portion sizes, and I worry a larger bag of dry food will go stale before we can use it all. I have always fed my cats Purina and had hesitations about feeding a generic brand, but I picked up the indoor formula cat food to try.

Heart to Tail Premium Adult Cat Food Indoor Formula

At around $2.50 for a 3.15-pound bag, the Heart to Tail food is a small cost savings compared to the 6.3-pound Purina bags I usually buy for about $7 to $9.

As far as what’s in the bag, the Heart to Tail package says it contains “balanced nutrition for adult cats” and includes “accents of garden greens” and a “natural fiber blend with wholesome grains.” It is made in the U.S.

I currently feed my cat the Purina Cat Chow Indoor + Immune Health Blend, and the ingredients lists for that and the Aldi indoor formula are similar. The first two ingredients are the same: corn meal and poultry by-product meal. Both brands include corn gluten meal, animal fat preserved with mixed tocopherols, powdered cellulose, phosphoric acid, salt, choline chloride, potassium chloride, parsley flakes, taurine, Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulfate, and a few more things.

Some ingredient differences may or may not be significant. The Purina formula has soy flour while the Heart to Tail formula has soybean meal, for instance. The Heart to Tail formula also has some interesting ingredients such as rice bran, beef and bone meal, fish meal, and chicken liver digest that are not in the Purina Formula.

I found it interesting that the Aldi formula contains no synthetic colors, but the Purina formula has Red 40, Blue 2, and Yellow 5.

The back of the Heart to Tail bag instructs that, when switching to Heart to Tail Premium Adult Cat Food Indoor Formula from another cat food, you should allow 7 to 10 days for the transition. Do this by mixing “increasing amounts” of the new food with your cat’s other food until you are gradually feeding only the new food.

This was certainly good advice for our cat. We tried feeding her the Heart to Tail alone, but she only ate it under protest; she meowed and came back to us as if to say, “where’s the real food?” before finally giving up and eating it. Even when we mixed it, we had to be careful to put the Purina on top, since putting the Heart to Tail on top got a similar reaction. With time, she might come to accept the Heart to Tail, but there would definitely be an adjustment.

The Verdict:

Aldi’s Regular Buy Heart to Tail Premium Adult Cat Food Indoor Formula has similar ingredients to Purina Cat Chow Indoor + Immune Health Blend. My cat complained when offered the Aldi food instead of her usual Purina food, so she obviously noticed a difference, but she ate it with no apparent ill effects. The cost difference between Aldi cat food versus Purina food is small, though, so it may or may not be worth switching brands.

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About Rachael

Rachael is the Co-founder of Aldi Reviewer. When she isn't busy shopping at Aldi, she enjoys cooking, gardening, writing gothic romance, and collecting more houseplants than she probably should. You can learn more about her at rachaelsjohnston.com.

31 Comments

  1. My cats prefer Aldi’s cat food over much more expensive brands.

    • My cat will only eat Aldi’s pate style wet food. He will not eat any other brands pate style. He loves the treats and dry food too. So I just switched from Friskies to Aldi’s brand for all my cat care needs.

  2. I’m using the Grain free for my dog. But it just struck me today that it does not say on the bag where it is manufactured. That makes me suspicious that it comes from China, otherwise it would say where it is from. There are so many warnings about buying anything for your pets from China. So, I’m done buying the dog food. I will try calling Corporate but I’m sure they won’t tell me.

  3. I stand corrected. I just went shopping. There is a Made in USA emblem on all their products. I use the cat litter too. Not sure if that’s Heart to tail. It’s not very good, really dusty and no odor control. But I mix it 3/4 to 1/4 Fresh Step light weight and save so much $$.

    • Linda Osterman

      Do you like the cat litter – I am getting my son’s cat next week and have to get all the kitty supplies. I love Aldi’s products so was interested in the cat things.

  4. My cats absolutely hated it. I was bummed considering I love Aldi’s foods myself and found this to be a great value! Back to Purina it is.

  5. My young cat got extremely sick with diarrhea when I tried the heart to tail food. She’s still grtting over it. What a week I’ve had. She’s ruined a futon and new upholstered chair. I’ve had to rent an upholstery and carpet cleaner. I feel terrible but she feels worse. Please avoid this food. I’m not sure what’s in it that made her so sick.

    • I just tried it with my cat today and she’s been throwing up all day. If it keeps up I’m taking her to the vet. Thanks for posting, now I know to watch for diarrhea too.

      • Just gave my cat some. Five minutes later throwing up all over the place. Hungry so I gave him his regular dry. Still throwing up. Throwing all the heart to tail away. 🤮

  6. When changing cat food, unless done properly, the consisting of your cats stool will change. Diarrhea is normal. You should gradually transition your cat over to the other food over the period of 7-10 days. Doing 10% new food and 90% old food, increasing the old new food by 10% each day.

  7. Neither of my cats liked this cat food. They are normally don’t beg when we eat, but since I’ve given them this food they have been begging constantly as if they are not satisfied with what they have been given. I’ve also noticed their bowls staying fuller for much longer, meaning they are not eating as much or as often as normal. I’d say spend the few extra bucks and get a different brand of cat food to keep the fur babies happy!

  8. It is true you have to transition like it says. It is an adjustment. My cat loves Aldis cat food both wet and dry. I did have to transition but everything is wonderful . My sisters three cats have adjusted very well also. However we did it the right way as we did not want to shock our cats and make them sick.

  9. Pet food store employee

    So it sounds like it is also a low quality food like Purina. You want to avoid corn meal and other grains whenever possible since for the most part cats are obligate carnivores, depending on the brand it can get kinda expensive but usually with the higher protein they dont need as much food. No matter what you switch your pet to you may experience diarrhea and vomiting if you dont transition them slowly. Best of luck finding the best fit for you fellow pet owners

  10. People if you truly care about your cat do some research. Catinfo.org or catnutrition.com. if you choose not to feed a raw diet ( freeze-dried raw is very easy) then at least feed a quality wet food. Meat should be the first ingredient and no carbs. Cats live a longer healthier life (less vet bills) when fed species appropriate food.

    • Just FYI, catnutrition.com came up as an available domain. It’s possible the page only disappeared in the 2 months since you posted.

    • Catinfo.org says wet cat food should have more than 50% of calories from protein, less than 40% of calories from fat, and less than 10% of calories from carbs. Aldi’s Heart-to-Tail Ocean Whitefish and Tuna is a great cat food according to these metrics. And fortunately my cats love it! Prices does NOT always equate to quality!

  11. Is Aldi cat food grain free

  12. The fancy feast is really expensive; I have 6 rescues, and can’t afford the price any longer; have purchased the heart to tail wet food but after reading some of the replies, I am reluctant to use it.

  13. My 7 year old cat loves it and i mixed it with her Purina for 8 days, not sick at all. My cat loves also the liquid from a tuna fish can poured on her dry food, a tblsp. I put on< not all the time as she does have canned food and the tuna juice is a treat.

  14. I have 4 cats and they all refuse to eat the heart to tail dry cat food. I just wasted 12 dollars on this product. Not happy at all!!!

  15. My cat will only eat Aldi brand wet food and dry. I tried other brands and wasted money. And now Aldi is all out of the wet and thats what she prefers

  16. I have to say that I have bought a LOT of super high end cat food at Petsmart in my day and many of them (and I had eight at the time- I have more now since someone dropped off a pregnant stray in the neighbourhood) refuse to eat cat food X and cat food Y. When one doesn’t eat you figure they have the issue but when all eight didn’t, you figure something’s not right with the food.

    So, please don’t discount Aldi…I’m going to go and buy a bag right now as it’s way too expensive to feed ten cats. The kittens and her mother refused to eat the more expensive kitten food, by the way, even Blue Buffalo which most of my cats would gladly gobble up. The only kitten food they like is Purina kitten food and it’s only $13 for a ginormous bag. Beats buying a bag for $36 at Petsmart.

    And just for everyone’s info – Aldi had a cat food recall back in 2019…maybe that was why everyone’s cat here was throwing up. Cat food from nearly every brand gets recalled periodically, so it’s not just the cheap ones involved in these recalls.

  17. Linda Osterman

    I read all these comments. I will try the Aldi’s food but do it gradually as instructed. I think each cat is like each human, a little different, so the ones with issue may have an allergy to something in the food. Just like some humans have allergies.

  18. Feeding your cat corn or any other grains is never acceptable as they are pure carnivores. Just b/c companies offer a product doesn’t mean you (or your cat) should consume it. Carbohydrates only increase the risk of diabetes.

  19. We have been feeding our cat for about 5 years now, the Heart to Tail Salmon Entree and he loves the taste. It seems to be the most beneficial of all canned cat foods that we have tried him on. He is 18 years old and still gets around good.

    The only problem that we are having with this cat food is supply. Aldi does not stock enough supply to meet the demand in our area for it. When restocked, it usually runs out within a day or two, then, it takes weeks, if not months, to restock. Accordingly, we have to buy months worth of cat food in order that our cat does not run out or have to eat a less nutritious diet.

    This supply problem has been brought to the attention of Aldi several times now, with no detectable response.

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