Where do you shop for your cat’s needs? We know the usual retail outlets generally come to mind: superstores, pet supply stores, grocery stores, and online retailers.
But there are numerous other places to shop for your cat. Here are nine non-traditional place to shop for your cat’s needs:
- Membership Clubs. If you don’t already have a membership, do your research to find out if it’s worth the investment for you and if shopping at a membership club will be a good fit for your household. Do they carry your favorite cat food and litter? Do their pharmacies carry discounted medication that you need for your pets?
- Drugstores. Cat food, litter, toys, treats, and more are found at drugstores. The most competitive chains run frequent specials and offer discount programs. Also, pharmacy plans can cover your cat as well if you need medications that can be filled in a human pharmacy (and MANY pet prescriptions can!)
- Garage sales. Bring along some patience and a sense of adventure for garage sale searching but you can find good pet deals at garage sales. Watch for everything from bowls to old towels and bedding for your cat at bargain basement prices. At many garage sales, you can snag an extra good deal late in the day and it never hurts to ask if a lower price will be accepted.
- Thrift stores. Thrift stores are our favorite place to shop both for the good prices and for the ease of shopping (much easier than driving from garage sale to garage sale). Our favorite pet purchases include stainless steel and ceramic bowls, bedding (we just bought Linus a softer than soft baby pillow last week), and much more at our local thrift stores. If you’re crafty and have some basic carpentry tools, you can also find all kinds of low-priced furniture that can be transformed into innovative cat litterbox enclosures, cat trees, cat condos, and more.
- Livestock feed stores. Think they’re just for cattle and chicken needs? Think again. Feed stores, common in small communities to serve area farmers and ranchers, sell cat food and litter. If you tend to a feral cat colony, you’ll find great options for making insulated cat enclosures, Havahart traps for TNR, and more.
- Hardware stores. You’ll find some pet food at some hardware stores such as Ace Hardware; look for bedding as well. Hardware stores are also a must if you’re considering building a catio. We lived at our Home Depot during construction of our catio.
- Craigslist.org, Freecycle.org, and eBay.com. Don’t (ever!) purchase pet medications on these sites but non-medicinal, non-edible purchases can be good bargains. Look for carriers, Havahart traps, and other large items that can easily be cleaned.
- Dollar stores. Cleaning supplies are usually good buys at dollar stores (and did you know most accept coupons, too?) You’ll often find cat toys, some food and treats (be sure to check the dates), stainless steel and ceramic bowls, and other supplies here, too.
- Animal shelters. Many larger shelters operate stores selling everything from flea prevention to cat toys, with proceeds benefiting the shelter.
Founder at CatTipper
Paris Permenter is an award-winning author of 35+ pet and travel books. Along with her husband John Bigley, Paris is the founder and publisher of CatTipper & DogTipper. Paris and John share their home with three cats and two dogs.
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