Owning a cat can be expensive, between vet visits, grooming, and food.
Plus, some cats are picky about what kind of food they like, and you end up having to offer them a few different options before they find one they’ll decide to eat.
Aldi makes grocery shopping for humans a straightforward, inexpensive experience, but the German retailer also sells a few types of cat and kitten food that might interest the budget-driven.
Read on for an overview of Aldi’s cat food selection.
Aldi Cat Food Products
Aldi sells both canned and dry economy cat food under their pet labels Heart to Tail and Pure Being Premium. Each type of cat food comes in various flavors and costs between 39 cents to 49 cents per can or up to $8.29 per bag.
To find out more about the different flavors, prices, where Aldi’s cat food comes from, and whether or not it’s any good, see below!
What Kind Of Cat Food Does Aldi Have?
As mentioned, Aldi sells a few different types of cat food, including two canned offerings and three dries (one of which has a grain-free option for a more premium recipe).
Here is the full run-down of Aldi’s cat food and treats.
Aldi Canned Cat Food Range
Heart to Tail Canned: This canned food comes in three flavors: White Fish & Tuna, Turkey & Giblets or Salmon, and sells in 5.5-oz containers.
For some reason, Aldi prices the larger cans lower than, the smaller ones, so you will only pay 39 cents per can for these flavors.
As with Aldi’s products, there are no artificial flavors, and the packaging states that the food is made with actual protein (e.g., salmon flavor = made with salmon).
Unfortunately, if you look at the labels for both the salmon and turkey and giblets flavors, the first ingredients are meat by-products, water and poultry by-products, or some combination thereof.
So while the food certainly does contain whatever protein it’s named after, that is not the primary ingredient.
Heart to Tail Entrees: The smaller cans from Aldi’s “Entrees” line are flavored Chicken, Beef and Cod, Sole & Shrimp (something for every cat’s palate) and come in 3-oz. cans that sell for 49 cents each.
While Aldi doesn’t state why their smaller cans are more expensive, we believe it has something to do with the cost of manufacturing in larger quantities.
This food’s label also purports that they are made with real <insert protein name here>, and the higher price point might also have something to do with the fact that the eponymous protein does come first on the ingredient list for these cans.
So the Heart to Tail Entrees does seem to be slightly more premium cat food, though it should be noted that less desirable ingredients – an animal by-product, meat by-product – are still listed high on the list.
If you’re wondering what a truly premium cat food ingredient list looks like, the Wellness Natural Pet Food Wet, listed by TheSprucePets.com as the number one cat food recipe, lists turkey, chicken liver, whitefish, chicken broth, salmon, and carrots as its top ingredients.
So Aldi’s wet food is clearly not that, but it’s also much more budget-friendly, and it’s comparable, ingredient-wise, to other less premium wet cat foods with big, recognizable brand names attached.
Aldi Dry Cat Food Range
Heart to Tail Complete Nutrition: The Heart to Tail Complete Nutrition dry cat food comes in a nice-size 16-lb. bag for less than $9. No flavor is listed, but judging by the ingredient list, it’s generally “meaty” in taste.
Heart to Tail Special Medley or Indoor Cat Formula: For pet parents interested in a more specialized diet for their cats, the Special Medley or Indoor Cat Formula options come in 3.15-lb. bags that retail for under $3.
The ingredient list for the Indoor Cat Formula is similar to what you might find in comparable brand-name cat foods; namely, poultry by-product meal among the first ingredients (not an actual protein, unfortunately).
Pure Being Premium: Aimed at cat moms and dads who prefer a higher-quality ingredient list, even grain-free cat food, Pure Being Premium is touted on Aldi’s website as “the best of the best.”
Flavors include Chicken & Chickpea and Salmon & Rice, and these 3.15-lb. bags have even received an above-average rating from the catfooddb.com.
The ingredients, especially for the Chicken & Chickpea formula, received a 5/5 rating by the site.
Aldi’s Pure Being Premium cat food is priced at $5.65 ($1.65 per pound or 11 cent per ounce).
Is Aldi Cat Food Cheap?
Aldi’s price points do compare favorably to the recognizable brand names; however, in some cases, it’s a matter of mere cents.
One example is the Purina Fancy Feast 3-oz. can of wet food; at Walmart you’d pay 64 cents, and the similar Heart to Tail option is 49 cents.
As far as dry cat food is concerned, the Purina Kit & Kaboodle food sells for $3.84 for a 3.15-lb. bag, while the Heart to Tail food goes for well under $3.
Ultimately, Aldi’s cat food is cheaper, and if you’re trying to save your pennies, their cat food is a good option.
However, if your cat really loves its current name-brand food (and you’re not sure if they’d take to a different kind), the price difference is fairly negligible and might not be worth the switch for all cat owners.
Is Aldi Cat Food Good Quality?
Aldi’s cat food varies in quality, depending on what kind you get.
I have pointed out a few different areas of concern, including the ingredient lists for wet and dry foods, with the caveat that, while they might not have the best formulas, they’re also comparable to name-brand cat food.
Many people on Reddit have reported their cats loving the food from Aldi, but one reviewer, in particular, caught my eye.
She said her vet told her that while her cat loved the Heart to Tail label food, it basically had the nutritional quality of fast food for humans.
So that’s something to think about quality-wise when deciding whether or not to opt for Aldi’s budget-friendly cat food on the regular.
Where Is Aldi Cat Food Made?
While Aldi is tight-lipped about the exact manufacturer of their pet food, like all their products, anything not made/manufactured in the U.S. has its country of origin declared on the packaging.
In the case of the Heart to Tail label, the cat food used to come from Canada, or was made of materials from both Canada and the U.S.
Most recently, however, it appears production has been moved to the States, as the labels all bear the phrase “Made in the USA.”
None of it is made in China, a common concern for pet owners.
To learn more, you might also be interested in reading our posts on Aldi brands, who makes Aldi products, and Aldi dog food.
Conclusion
Aldi’s cat food selection isn’t for every cat owner – some can afford more expensive, higher-grade recipes, and some simply prefer the food they like (much like humans).
However, the low prices and comparable ingredient lists (versus name-brand cat foods) make at least trying a switch worth a shot.
If nothing else, you’ll end up with one less trip to make elsewhere, and who doesn’t love being able to buy everything in one place?
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.