Bulk Purchase Or Other Tips For Buying Wet Cat Food...

[phillyman]

Hi All,

I've been shopping around for different brands and lines to see what my new stray kitten likes. Up until now I've mostly done samplers or what the local pet chains offer in single cans.
I read up on some of them and like the instinct brand. I don't mind spending money but I don't like wasting any. Do any of you buy bulk and get volume discounts? I could see myself buying 4-5 different varieties with 24 cans and trying to get a discount, do some places offer any such deals (buy 100 cans get 10% off)? Other thoughts? Also I've noticed that most brand don't seem to have many variety boxes which surprised me.

Do you shop at amazon, chewy or other online retailers?
Thanks for any and all thoughts.
Philly

 

[Vega's Dad]

My local stores offer 5% off on 12 cans or whole case purchase. Big box stores have special sale occasionally. Eyes on the flyers

 

[mizzely]

I just look for sales. Chewy is my main place but I also check Amazon, Petco, PetSmart, and Petflow. Most have a Subscribe and Save feature that you can get steep discounts on at least the first order. Amazon also offers coupons occasionally.

You can also check coupon websites as they sometimes will give coupons. And sign up for emails from the companies. Some also give out coupons on Facebook I recently got $15 worth of Wellness Core for free because of coupons they offered!

I don't stick to just one brand, either. I mix it up to ensure I'm not stuck if a company goes out of business, they change their formula, and/or my cat stops liking that food. Plus, it allows me to get some more expensive stuff that I couldn't feed solely.

Here's my stash from a couple weeks ago. My main diet is American Journey.

My stash ensures that even if I can't find some sales for a while that I have some on hand. It also helps my anxiety lol. I'm always afraid that something will happen and I won't be able to feed my pets.

 

[EmersonandEvie]

You may be able to email Instinct and see if they will send you samples or coupons to see if your kitty will eat it before you commit to an entire case.

Other than that, I second Chewy. They will even refund your money if your cat won't eat the food and tell you to donate the remaining food to your local shelter!

 

[EmersonandEvie]

For what it's worth: I have never fed wet Instinct (way out of my price range) but we do feed the kitten kibble to Dexter in between his wet meals of Fancy Feast kitten and raw. He loves it and it has one of the highest DHA amounts I have seen in a kitten food.

 

[sabrinah]

PetFoodExpress has buy 3 get 1 free on all cans of food. You can't buy from them online though so you would have to see if there's a store in your area.

 

[marmoset]

The only place I've seen a discount was at a high end pet boutique where after you spend a certain amount you get a free can. I really liked the ethics of the shop (no animals just supplies and only sold healthy food) but the price per can was so high. I'm going to follow this thread to get some ideas.

 

[mizzely]

Several people also post in here regularly with sales Cat Food Deals Forum?

 

[phillyman]

Thank you for the suggestions and I’ll also keep an eye on the cat food deals forum!

 

[lisahe]

Almost all the stores where I live have some sort of discount program: either they give you a discount if you buy x number of cans (I think it's often just 12) and/or you get a few dollars in store credit after you've spent x number of dollars.

I used to buy some food and kitty litter from Chewy but found that I wasn't saving much of anything on the foods I was buying (canned and freeze-dried) plus there can be lots of non-monetary benefits of being a regular at local stores. One told me the other day Feline Natural prices are rising (so I bought the last bag of food they had marked at the lower price), there's often great advice and news about new products, plus I've gotten samples and extra discounts. Refunds are easy and some stores will even match prices. Beyond all that, the people are nice so I'm happy to keep them employed. They've bailed me out many times when I was running very low on food. Several of our local stores will deliver (for free), too, for orders of $50.

I live near Portland, Maine, and may be lucky that we have a lot of small, thriving pet food stores!

 

[ailish]

Here's my stash from a couple weeks ago. My main diet is American Journey.

View attachment 272274

My stash ensures that even if I can't find some sales for a while that I have some on hand. It also helps my anxiety lol. I'm always afraid that something will happen and I won't be able to feed my pets.

Oh my gosh! People make fun of my stash and I have about 1/8th of what you have! I'd kill for the space you have for cat food delights.

 

[mizzely]

Oh my gosh! People make fun of my stash and I have about 1/8th of what you have! I'd kill for the space you have for cat food delights.

Haha well I get panic attacks if I have less than 60 days worth of food. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have the space for it!

 

[lisahe]

Haha well I get panic attacks if I have less than 60 days worth of food. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have the space for it!

I hear you! I feel uneasy when there's less than a month's worth of canned food in the cart or no extra bag of freeze-dried in the cabinet!

 

[LTS3]

NV no longer has a "receive coupons by email" thing

Petco, Petsmart, etc often have big food sales and NV is often included.

Independent pet stores may offer discounts on cases of food.

Costco, BJs, etc have variety cases of FF and Friskies. You do need to be a member to buy from those places. There's usually a free 30 day membership you can sign up for if you don't know anyone who is a current member.

 

[catDaddy11]

With same day delivery from so many stores,it's rare that you;d run out.The bulk buying mentally has its downsides.
Courtsey me who purchase 4 huge packs of friskies only for my cat to decide never to eat it again(seriously i tried).
They now sit waiting to be donated once i can figure out how to haul so much food to the shelter.

 

[Juniper_Junebug]

With same day delivery from so many stores,it's rare that you;d run out.The bulk buying mentally has its downsides.
Courtsey me who purchase 4 huge packs of friskies only for my cat to decide never to eat it again(seriously i tried).
They now sit waiting to be donated once i can figure out how to haul so much food to the shelter.

Even if it's not rational, it still makes me feel better. Especially since I feed my kitty brands that are commonly out of stock at one time or other. And most especially since COVID taught us how fragile our supply chains are. Maybe it's just an anxiety tax but I'm still gonna pay it.

 

[game misconduct]

i just buy by the case from petco sale or not. i still grab a case of food for graycie i always try to keep one unopened bag of dry and 2 or 3 cases of wellness or nulo canned food along with cans/mixed case of tester brands to see if she will eat them most those cans go to waste