A while back, we reviewed Aldi’s Fine Feline Scoopable Cat Litter. Then, as Aldi likes to do with many of its products, it changed the name and slightly tweaked the formula. Aldi’s sole cat litter option now is the Heart to Tail Scoopable Cat Litter.
In many ways, this litter formula is similar to its predecessor. It is all natural with baking soda, and it claims to have a fresh scent and be 99% dust free. It’s also described as a multi-cat formula.
It’s sold in a 14-pound plastic jug, so it’s the same size as the previously offered Fine Feline litter. The ingredients are natural clay, baking soda, and fragrances, and it’s made in Canada. The jug advertises that this litter features “moisture activated clumping” and is “scoopable to keep the litter box fresh.” It also “contains baking soda for superior absoprtion and deodorizing.”
To use, the jug instructs to pour the litter into your cat’s box to a depth of 3 to 4 inches. If you are using Heart to Tail cat litter for the first time, an empty litter pan may require one or two jugs depending on the size of your litter box. The litter will form a clump around liquid waste for easy removal; use a slotted scoop to remove liquid waste clumps and solid waste on a daily basis. Add the rest of the litter in the jug as needed to maintain the proper depth in the litter box. After starting, the label says one jug should last up to 2 months (less with more than one cat).
Now, on to whether this cat litter is any good or not …
Some common complaints about the old Fine Feline litter were that it was dusty — a big cloud would rise up whenever I filled the litter box, and small clouds would rise when I stirred the litter to scoop it — and it wasn’t as good as name brand Tidy Cats at controlling odor.
This new Heart to Tail formula is still dusty, although maybe slightly less so than the old Fine Feline litter. The Heart to Tail litter also still gets stinky from time to time, although again it is perhaps slightly less stinky than the old Fine Feline formula.
The Heart to Tail litter still feels very dense and heavy when I scoop it, similar to the old Fine Feline litter. My slotted scooper doesn’t move through the litter as easily as it does through Tidy Cats. I also noticed liquid waste didn’t always clump as well with the new Heart to Tail litter, sometimes leaving sticky, moist clumps.
So overall, the new Heart to Tail Scoopable Cat Litter is marginally better than its Fine Feline predecessor in terms of dust and odor control. But name brand Tidy Cats is still far superior.
The Verdict:
Aldi recently changed its cat litter from the Fine Feline Scoopable Cat Litter to the Heart to Tail Scoopable Cat Litter. The formula seems to have been improved a bit, as the new litter is slightly less dusty and slightly better at odor control than the old litter. However, the Heart to Tail litter still has some problems with dust and smell, and liquid waste doesn’t always clump well. I’ll be sticking with name brand Tidy Cats.
I agree-I bought one container of this litter and all of a sudden our litter box, which is used rarely by one indoor/outdoor cat, started to smell. This litter also doesn’t clump correctly. I bought one container of this Aldi litter but, from now on, I’ll stick to the name brand.
In the six months since my old cat died and I got a new one, Aldi changed litter on me! I really liked the Fine Feline litter. It was really good at reducing odor and it clumped beautifully. This new Heart and Tail brand is worse in every way. It does not clump worth a darn and the stink hits me as soon as I walk into the door. Because I was starting fresh, I bought 3 jugs of so I could fill the big box and have plenty to refresh with. I will be returning 2 of them for a refund. Unfortunately, unless or until Aldi goes back to Fine Feline, I will have to stretch my budget to the limit and get a name brand litter.
A friend recommended this product to me and I have no frickin’ idea why. She even later admitted she hated it BEFORE she recommended it to me. Rude. I live in a tiny apartment, and when I first adopted my cat, I went through so many types of litter. My landlord said I’m allowed to have a cat in my apartment. However, there must be no odor, and you especially should not be able to smell it from the hallways. And well, I was smelling her poopies from the hallways despite cleaning out her litter multiple times a day. She can bury her poo and it’ll smell like she didn’t. She can make a tinkle and it’ll smell strongly of ammonia. It’s like they didn’t even try.
By the way, to anyone looking for a good litter… Arm & Hammer is amazing. It’s the only litter that works on my cats business. My preference is the Slide line. I only tried the one from Aldi because it was cheap and a friend (falsely…) recommended it. But you get what you paid for. I am now reminded of WHY I stuck with Arm & Hammer for so long.
This litter was a huge waste of money. I couldn’t remove the “clumps”, had to use water on them, which made a huge mess all over my bathroom, hence having to clean my bathroom twice in one week. I gotta hand it to them, I’ve never bought a product that made my life harder, this definitely did it. Will not be buying it ever again.
Thank you so much for reviewing this cat litter. I was considering it but wasn’t so sure. Now, I know why I shouldn’t bother. I buy most of our human food at Aldi, but the cats refuse to touch the cat food.
I agree, this heart to tail is junk! Not clumping ,falls apart from jump ,will not buy ever again, luvsome from krogers is good, #40 special kitty from Walmart and PetSmart’s#35 multicat are the best ive found for as many cats as ive had
Bought this litter faithfully but the cost kept increasing so I now buy another brand that fits my budget
Sticky unable to scoop good, looks like used cat litter, nasty
Very dusty. Urine has to be left in litter box for awhile before removing, and still have to use the corner of the scoop to pick out the crumbs. I was hoping for a better product.
i love the Heart to Tail cat litter. I find it clumps wonderfully and is much easier to clean than Tidy Cat. As far as the odor goes, put some baking soda in the bottom of the box to absorb the urine odors. I refuse to use any other cat litter.
I agree,that’s what I do,helps keep dust and odor down
I use another litter…pine pellets. But the baking soda in the bottom of the box does do the trick to keep odors at bay.
I’ve tried numerous commercial litters, and Eevery dang unscented litter makes me want to gag. Now I’m in a teeny, tiny apartment there’s no way I can deal with the ‘gag me’ factor inherent in all the commercial litters.
But a certain amount of dust when putting it into the box is just a given. No matter what brand I’ve used, the dust-up happens.
I haven’t seen any comments about tracking so I’d gather this litter isn’t too bad on that account. And there are not complaints about the syrupy perfume smell from the litter. I always consider those important factors when giving something a go.
If anyone has any feedback on those aspects of the product I’d be most interested in hearing about it. Thanks.
this is the worst litter. the smell is so bad. need to make with NO scent. so much dust, finding it in my kitchen. need to make changes. i stopped using it.
I have to say,I have tried multiple cat litters,and this one by far is the best..does clump well,and doesnt stick to bottom of pan!!
what about the dust and smell?
This is the only cat liter I have used so I cannot compare products. having said that, I find that it doesn’t kill the urine odor completely and the dust it produces is annoying. After reading these comments, I guess i will try different brands.
I have been using the old cat litter and could pick up clumps to remove them and they stayed together.
Now when I try to pick up the clumps, they start to unclump falling back into litter box and now are not scoopable. This makes all the litter wet and smelly. Terrible change.
I have noticed a change in this cat litter . One container had large chunks in it. Also doesn’t clump as well as it did before. I will not be buying it anymore.
The best kitty litter is Chicken Layer Crumbles (yes, chicken food). It’s very much like “The Best Kitty Litter Ever” except the price. When I had 5 cats, I used 1 40lb container of the traditional clumping litter. Using crumbles and TEN cats, I go through about 1 50lb bag (costs now about $14/bag). It clumps naturally, has no chemicals in it and lasts a LONG time. I buy from my county Farmers Co-op but my second favorite is the Dumor brand at Tractor Supply. If you prefer pellets, it also comes in pellets.
scoopable litter – sorry I used 1 40lb container per WEEK (so that’s about $100/month) for 5 cats. Now with 10 cats I use 1 $14 50lb bag of crumbles per MONTH
This stuff is the worst. Clumps LIKE CEMENT to the bottom of the litter box. Used it for one day and that was enough to know, this is a terrible product.
Very Very Very DUSTY!!!!! Cloud of dust covered the room and our furniture and floors whenever I would pour more into the box. Funny how the outside of the box says %99 dust free…LIES