How to Save Money on Cat Food, Cat Litter, Prescriptions

We’re all wanting to save money on cat supplies, whether on our own cat’s favorite food and litter brands or on products that we’re purchasing for donations. Here’s a rundown of some of our favorite techniques for saving money–without sacrificing quality–on your favorite brands of cat food, cat litter, prescriptions and other cat supplies!

10 Place to Find Cat Food Coupons

Are you a coupon clipper? Although coupons were once the stuff of the Sunday newspaper, today coupons are found more places than ever (and often you don’t even need to pick up a pair of scissors thanks to high-tech coupons!)

As you clip cat food coupons, keep an eye out for brands you don’t purchase as well. You can share these extra coupons with fellow cat lovers, trade them for coupons you’d like, or use them to purchase food at a discount to donate to your local shelter or food pantry!

Search online.

Sites such as Coupon Mom, Rakuten, Honey and Coupons.com have searchable databases of current coupons. Usually you’ll need to download a printer application that permits you to print the coupons.

Once you’ve printed them (and don’t bother to print them with color ink…that’s just extra expense), don’t cut out the coupons but instead take the entire page to your store. If you haven’t used printable coupons at your local store in the past, check their coupon policy on the store website.  (Generally most grocery stores accept printable coupons that include a bar code.)

While you’re online, don’t forget to look for manufacturer’s coupons on their website.

Sign up for newsletters from your favorite cat food and supply companies.

Set up a special email account just for your newsletters and then sign up for free online newsletters from cat food, cat litter, and other pet companies. While you’re on those manufacturer’s websites, take a few moments and sign up for their email newsletters. Keep an eye out for special discounts, coupons, and subscriber-only specials.

Follow your favorite brands on Twitter and Facebook.

Often you’ll hear about special promotions not available to the general public through these social media outlets. Manufacturers’ websites will also have links to their Twitter and Facebook pages, too. Watch for exclusive fan/follower discounts!

Watch for Catalina coupons.

The next time you check out at the grocery store, watch for Catalina coupons printed on the back of cash register tape. These coupons are usually matched to the purchases you’ve just made.

Watch for peelies and hang tags.

Peelies are coupons stuck directly on the product itself. Hang tags literally hang from the product and are often used on cleaning supplies. Don’t expect the cashier to remove them from the product at checkout; be sure to remove them from the product before you head to the check-out line.

Get coupons downloaded to your phone.

Applications like Coupon Sherpa can download coupons directly to your phone. To redeem the coupons, you just show your phone to the cashier for scanning directly from the phone. Take a moment and search for your favorite cat brands then check their websites for downloadable coupons.

For online purchases, coupon aggregators like Honey, Capitol One Shopping and RetailMeNot run as browser extensions and will help you get the lowest price.

Watch for blinkies.

Blinkies are coupons that are contained in a special blinking dispenser on the grocery shelf; the machine ejects the coupons one at a time.

Look for in-store circulars and booklets.

As you enter your grocery store, notice if there’s a circular near the door. These store flyers often contain special store coupons.

The great thing about store coupons is that they can be used in conjunction with (or “stacked”) manufacturer’s coupons on a single item.

Start your own coupon club.

As you’re looking for cat coupons, you’ll run across many coupons you might not need: dog food, baby products, and more.

Join with friends or co-workers to start a coupon swap club or host a fun party to encourage everyone to bring their unused coupons and share.

Check out electronic coupon programs.

Some stores have loyalty programs that offer e-coupons; the coupons are loaded on your loyalty card (no clipping!) The Randall’s Remarkable Card and the Kroger’s Plus Card both allow you to go online and select coupons you’d like to load onto your card. When you check out at the store and swipe your loyalty card, you’ll automatically be “turning in” the coupons.

How to use coupons outside the grocery store

Grocery stores are synonymous with coupon shopping…but that’s just the start!

Use coupons at dollar stores.

Did you know that many dollar stores accept manufacturer’s coupons and some also have their own store coupons? Dollargeneral.com

has printable store coupons on its website. Cat litters and household cleansers can be a very good buy at many dollar stores.

Use coupons at drugstores.

Shopping at drugstores is a saving method that’s known to the most savvy shoppers–and most now have extensive pet sections.

Walgreens and CVS/pharmacy both accept coupons and offer savings programs. The ExtraCare card at CVS/pharmacy earns two percent back on most purchases, money back on every two prescriptions filled (including pet prescriptions you can get filled at the pharmacy), provides coupons on your receipt, and offers “Extra Bucks” you can print and redeem. Walgreens offers “Register Rewards,” basically Catalina coupons that print out on your receipt for use on your future trips.

Use coupons at pet supply stores.

Don’t forget to take your manufacturer’s coupons with you to the pet supply stores! And along with using coupons, of course be sure to use your loyalty card for extra savings and future discounts.

How to stretch those cat food coupons

Let’s look at advanced shopping techniques to stretch those coupons! (And you know your cat will approve of anything that involves stretching…)

“Stack” coupons.

Not every store allows you to “stack” coupons but, if yours does, it can be a real savings. Stacking coupons means if you have a manufacturer’s coupon for Super Litter and your store also offers its own coupon for Super Litter, you can “stack” the two coupons to increase your savings. You can only stack when one is a manufacturer’s coupon and the other is from the store.

Save your coupons for a sale.

Very often, coupons are available when there’s a major promotion of that product such as when it’s new or reformulated. The same promotional efforts behind a coupon also go into putting the item on sale. If you don’t use your coupon until the item is on sale, you’ll really reap the savings. Check www.couponmom.com to find out what your local supermarket has on sale this week or www.shoplocal.com to view weekly ads from local retailers.

Ask about double coupon day.

We haven’t had much luck with this savings technique but many shoppers have; it all depends on your local stores. Some stores still offer double (and sometimes triple) coupon days. Ask your store if they have a special coupon day.

Check your store’s price matching policy.

Some grocery stores have a price matching policy to match their competitor’s sale price! Check your store’s website to see if they have a price matching policy. Most will requires that you bring in a competitor’s flyer that shows the lower price.

Learn if your store accepts competitor’s store coupons.

In-store coupons can sometimes be used at competing stores; once again, check your store’s website (or stop by the service desk and ask.)

How to save money at the store on your cat supplies

Search high and low shelves.

The eye-level shelves at the grocery store contain the most expensive and most promoted merchandise. By checking the upper and lower shelves, you’ll often find similar products at a lower price! This holds true whether you’re buying cat food and supplies in the grocery store or the pet supply store.

Shop with cash.

Whether you’re headed to the pet supply store or the grocery store, go with a list, an estimated total, and cash in hand. Avoiding ATMs, credit cards and checkbooks help you keep an eye on everything you pick up at the store-after all, no one wants to be embarrassed by being short of money at the checkout! Shopping with cash will help you watch prices while you shop.

Go in with a list in hand.

We know that it’s so, so easy to run in the store for a bag of cat food…then suddenly that cute toy catches your eye. If you go with a list of what you’re buying firmly in hand, you’re far more likely to buy those items…and only those items.

Also, compiling that list before your store visit makes it much easier to go ahead and pull the coupons for your purchases and attach them to your list. (We know every time we take the whole file of coupons with us, we get in a rush and run out of patience matching purchase to coupon. Our favorite method is to write the shopping list on an old envelope and put the appropriate coupons inside the envelope!)

Ask for a raincheck.

When there’s an advertised special, whether for cat litter or cat beds, and the store is out of stock, ask for a rain check.

How to track grocery prices? Create a price book!

The price book (which can be as simple as an index card) helps you learn sales patterns on your favorite cat products and helps you recognize a real sale price when you see one. You might use a price book to track your favorite cat food, cat litter, or other products so you’ll know the lowest price (and know it’s time to stock up!)

To make your price book, use a separate page (or card) for each product and make several columns:

• Date
• Store
• Size
• Price
• Unit Price (divide the price by the number of pounds, number of cans, etc. in the product)

You can fill in the information for the first four columns at the store or from your receipt once you return home.

Use a calculator for the last column to determine the Unit Price and find out how much per pound that cat litter or how much per can that cat food case costs. This will be especially helpful in determining if larger sacks and purchases from membership clubs are a good bargain. Write the Unit Price to your page.

You can also download one of several apps available to let you do all the above on your phone. Pricebook, IntelliList and others will perform all the calculations for you. Another option is Google Sheets (or if you’re handy with Excel, that works, too!)

You’ll see that most products go on sale about every two months or so, helping you to identify when you’re finding the best deal on your favorite cat products!

Saving Money on Cat Prescriptions

Years ago we had to rush our cat Felix to the vet’s office for urinary tract blockage. While he was there, he needed a prescription that the vet’s office couldn’t fill so they sent us to a local pharmacy. When the prescription was done, we received a call from the pharmacy that “the medication for Felix the Cat is ready for pickup.”

But even many common pet prescriptions can be filled at your local pharmacy…and often for a lower price than you’d find at the veterinarian’s office.

Just like with your own prescriptions, your veterinarian can write a prescription for many of your pet’s medications. You’ll take the prescription to your local pharmacy; there, you’ll sometimes have the option of a less expensive generic drug.

Also, some pharmacies offer prescription clubs for customers not covered by prescription insurance plans.

Ask your local pharmacy about prescription plans that can include your cat and ask your vet about prescriptions, especially for chronic conditions, that can be filled at your pharmacy.

We use Walgreens for our pet prescriptions

Did you know that many cat prescriptions can be filled at your local pharmacy…and if that pharmacy is Walgreens you could also enroll your cat in the Prescription Savings Club at Walgreens for extra savings?

The Prescription Savings Club at Walgreens covers all your whole family, both two-legged and four-legged. If you, like us, have a cat with a chronic condition that requires daily medication, you can save money on his medication (and save time as well by just running by the pharmacy as you’re out running other errands. Walgreens has the largest number of 24-hour and drive-thru pharmacies in the country.)

When your cat is covered by membership, you’ll save money on any of your cat’s prescriptions that are able to be filled from the 8,000-plus brand name and all generic medications available.

The Walgreens Prescription Savings Club is a great deal for cat lovers who need to regularly purchase medication for their cats, and the extra savings for memberships this month is definitely something to purr about!

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