Frugal Pet food and litter

[David James]

I have three cats and two dogs, all of which just kind of showed up and moved themselves in. All have been fixed and get their yearly shots on the cheap. I have a tip for saving money on that - try to find a Planned Pethood in your area for affordable spay/neuter and shots.

I'm fairly good about saving money on flea medicine - kv vet supply website, just in case anyone else needs that tip.

But, I'm spending a fortune on food, treats, and cat litter. We try to buy the good stuff that's grain free, by-product free, fussy, etc. We have to use both wet and dry because the cats have reasons. Really. They, told me so. The dogs are large and can really put away the dry food. They get wet food too, but they honestly prefer dry. Do you all have any tips for me? My wife has tried coupons and signing up for programs at Petco and Petsmart, but it hasn't saved us much at all, except on Black Friday. I'd appreciate any words of wisdom on this topic!


I hope I've posted this in the correct place! I lurked here for months before joining, but never really could tell what went where between the "frugal" section and the "everything else" section.

[scfr]

I have three cats and two dogs, all of which just kind of showed up and moved themselves in. All have been fixed and get their yearly shots on the cheap. I have a tip for saving money on that - try to find a Planned Pethood in your area for affordable spay/neuter and shots.

I'm fairly good about saving money on flea medicine - kv vet supply website, just in case anyone else needs that tip.

But, I'm spending a fortune on food, treats, and cat litter. We try to buy the good stuff that's grain free, by-product free, fussy, etc. We have to use both wet and dry because the cats have reasons. Really. They, told me so. The dogs are large and can really put away the dry food. They get wet food too, but they honestly prefer dry. Do you all have any tips for me? My wife has tried coupons and signing up for programs at Petco and Petsmart, but it hasn't saved us much at all, except on Black Friday. I'd appreciate any words of wisdom on this topic!


I hope I've posted this in the correct place! I lurked here for months before joining, but never really could tell what went where between the "frugal" section and the "everything else" section.

Costco's Kirkland Signature brand is one to look at. Read the ingredient list and see if it meets your requirements. It sounds like it might. They sell canned & dry food. If you don't have a Costco card, ask around and see if a neighbor, friend, or family member has a card and would let you tag along on your next trip.

[msomnipotent]

I get the 3 year rabies shots. It is only a little more expensive than the one year, so there is some savings there. My vet also price-matches online retailers for anything they sell if you bring in proof.

I was just at Petsmart yesterday and they had a lot of super premium food and treats that were about to expire at 75% off, especially the small bags. I bought one bag that was 50% off because it still had a month to expire and my dog is only 50 lbs. I think they do this once a month, but I'm not positive. You could save a lot there since your dogs are large and would eat a small bag before it expired. I'm 99% sure that you can still use coupons on them if you had any, too. I have seen discounts with the cat food, too. I buy a lot of my dog food and treats from Farm and Fleet when on sale. They tend to be cheaper than the big box pet stores and a lot of their treats are made in the US.

I used to buy all of my toys, treats, and shampoos from petedge.com. You need to buy a lot to make it worthwhile, but I would put in one order a year and get everything I needed at once, even Christmas presents for the other pets in the extended family. Yeah, my whole family buys all the pets presents. Christmas gets a little nuts in my family. Thankfully, the dog we have now is terrified of balls and doesn't like toys, so that save me a lot. Our other dog used to need a new toy every 2 weeks or so. She makes up for it with her allergies and need for expensive dog food, though.

[FLA]

I buy the 50lb bag of Iams at BJs. I know it's not the best food on the market but the vet ok'd it. She also ok'd Petsmart's house brand of dry food which I think is called Authority. I look for coupons for BJs.

I've been meaning to look into chewy.com, they say they offer pet food at 20% off and free ship. I'd have to compare that to BJs.

Do you have to give your dogs the wet food? My vet told me that's what caused my dog to need $1500 on dental work because his previous owner fed him all wet food for 5 yrs.

I don't have Costco's but when I go to VT this summer, I'm going to my friend's and stocking up on their food.

for treats, I buy out of the bulk bin little kibble sized treats used for training. I thought my dogs would notice the switch from bigger treats but they didn't.