I've visited three small, local pet stores in the last week and I was very disappointed with the cat section in each store. The first pet store had a few grain free wet foods but they only had two flavors in each brand. They had no litter boxes and only one brand of litter. They had plenty of food and toys for dogs though and they had a pretty decent selection of fish supplies. The second store just sold small animals so that was a bust. The third pet store had more cat supplies but most of the food was dry. The only wet food they had was Science Diet and I refuse to buy that for my pets. Their toy section was also minimal...only three or four toys to choose from. Does anyone else have this problem? I like to support small businesses but I live in an area that is dominated by dogs and small animals. It's frustrating to go into a store and feel like you're slighted just because you own a cat. I guess I'll have to stick with Petco and petfooddirect.
Lack of cat supplies in local pet stores
tigre86
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I've visited three small, local pet stores in the last week and I was very disappointed with the cat section in each store. The first pet store had a few grain free wet foods but they only had two flavors in each brand. They had no litter boxes and only one brand of litter. They had plenty of food and toys for dogs though and they had a pretty decent selection of fish supplies. The second store just sold small animals so that was a bust. The third pet store had more cat supplies but most of the food was dry. The only wet food they had was Science Diet and I refuse to buy that for my pets. Their toy section was also minimal...only three or four toys to choose from. Does anyone else have this problem? I like to support small businesses but I live in an area that is dominated by dogs and small animals. It's frustrating to go into a store and feel like you're slighted just because you own a cat. I guess I'll have to stick with Petco and petfooddirect.
My vet kept my foster kitten overnight last week and I didn't think to bring any food. The vet is kinda far away and I called every animal related place I could find in yellow pages to try to find some grain-free wet food and no where had any. They had grain-free dog food but no cat food... I ended up just asking the vet to feed her wet Science Diet.
I usually buy from PetFlow.com.
I usually buy from PetFlow.com.
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Alas, it does seem that all pet stores, large or small, cater more to dogs than to cats. And it's always seemed to me that whoever's buying the cat stuff doesn't actually have cats. There's a small natural foods pet place here that has a pretty big selection of high quality wet and dry foods, but the options with treats, litter, meds, furniture, etc. is very limited. I've been ordering food online, from chewy or wag.
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I love Wag! We got our Innova wet food very quickly from there. Here there are several places you can go that have a great selection of cat supplies. However, I will agree that the dog section is so much bigger. But this store in Hollywood has Taste of the Wild, and it is cheaper at that store than on Amazon or Wag. I also go to PetCo or Target for things like Water/food Dishes, collars and litter boxes/litter because it is cheaper and I am on a budget.
If you use Wag, you might want to check out PetFlow. It's always cheaper for me now. I did one order at Wag because it cost less but now they won't let me use any coupon codes. PetFlow almost never restricts them to new customers so I use them on each order. I usually save $8-10 just by doing that and they let me send in manufacturer coupons too. They just refund them once they receive them.
I just ordered 24 Wellness 12.5oz cans (2 cases) and it cost me $53.98 total.
I just ordered 24 Wellness 12.5oz cans (2 cases) and it cost me $53.98 total.
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My store has a very large selection of cat stuff, at least I think so compared to other stores. Lots of high quality dry, wet and raw food for cats. We do cater more to dogs, but have a HUGE selection of cat stuff. Many people are very overwhelmed.
A lady asked me what I fed my cats, as she was looking to go grain free, when I pointed out the grain free foods I rotate between she asked what their health problems were. I told her they didn't have any and she asked "you feed your cats grain free even when they don't have a problem?" I simply said, of course! It was pretty funny. But many people just go for Iams/Euk/Sci Di. Although we do have more informed people feeding EVO, orijen and wellness. So, it's getting better.
A lady asked me what I fed my cats, as she was looking to go grain free, when I pointed out the grain free foods I rotate between she asked what their health problems were. I told her they didn't have any and she asked "you feed your cats grain free even when they don't have a problem?" I simply said, of course! It was pretty funny. But many people just go for Iams/Euk/Sci Di. Although we do have more informed people feeding EVO, orijen and wellness. So, it's getting better.
If you know what you want...ask them to order it for you. If they have the brand in dog food, they can get the cat food. If no one shows interest, then it won't get better.
Yes, it's a dog centric business, but that's because most people treat their cats as second class citizens. Show the store owner that there's money to be made with cat products and they'll start carrying them.
BTW, I have a 40 linear feet with 5 shelves dedicated to cat food. So 200 ft total. And another 20 linear feet with treats, toys and litter.
Yes, it's a dog centric business, but that's because most people treat their cats as second class citizens. Show the store owner that there's money to be made with cat products and they'll start carrying them.
BTW, I have a 40 linear feet with 5 shelves dedicated to cat food. So 200 ft total. And another 20 linear feet with treats, toys and litter.
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Doodlebug, any plans of opening a second branch in southwestern Virginia? 
As I said, my local natural pet store has a big selection of high quality wet food, but not much in the way of treats or other stuff. I was there looking for cat shampoo and/or pet wipes today and couldn't find any. Then I wandered over to the dog section and there were a ton of shampoos and health products, many of which were for both dogs and cats. They should have a little notice in the cat section directing people to the dog section.
One of the biggest advantages of a local store is that you can buy just one can of food. At the big online retailers like wag and chewy, you can only buy by the case, so you pretty much have to know that your cat likes the food. I did just find onlynaturalpet.com (thanks to those who posted links to Little Big Cat - I got some great info and also found my way to Only Natural from there). They have some brands I've never heard of that I'm going to try, because I can buy by the can. Yay! Plus, they're the only place I've seen that carries the catnip used in Yeoww catnip toys.
One thing I've learned not to buy online is bags of dry food. This may be obvious to others, but the bags get squished, and half of the kibble turns into crumbs.
As I said, my local natural pet store has a big selection of high quality wet food, but not much in the way of treats or other stuff. I was there looking for cat shampoo and/or pet wipes today and couldn't find any. Then I wandered over to the dog section and there were a ton of shampoos and health products, many of which were for both dogs and cats. They should have a little notice in the cat section directing people to the dog section. One of the biggest advantages of a local store is that you can buy just one can of food. At the big online retailers like wag and chewy, you can only buy by the case, so you pretty much have to know that your cat likes the food. I did just find onlynaturalpet.com (thanks to those who posted links to Little Big Cat - I got some great info and also found my way to Only Natural from there). They have some brands I've never heard of that I'm going to try, because I can buy by the can. Yay! Plus, they're the only place I've seen that carries the catnip used in Yeoww catnip toys.
One thing I've learned not to buy online is bags of dry food. This may be obvious to others, but the bags get squished, and half of the kibble turns into crumbs.
What is Wag? Can you supply a link? I tried a google search with no luck.
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I get everything at Amazon. Amazon Prime free 2 day shipping FTW! Pipin will eat just about anything (typical Hobbit cat) so I have no doubts that if I get any kind of really good protien based wet food.. he will devour it. Only problem with getting Cat supplies mail-order is.. the big boxes. geeze, those huge Precious Cat bags are heavy in the box!
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It's seriously just called wag.com: Cat Supplies - Free Shipping at Wag.com
They carry all sorts of brands, from Friskies to the top quality stuff. chewy.com doesn't carry a whole lot of the cheaper stuff, and I think they have a bigger selection of high-quality foods. Pill Pockets are way cheaper at chewy, as it World's Best cat litter. Cat Food & Treats - Free shipping at Chewy.com
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I mainly buy the 3oz cans/pouches of Wellness but I also like to pick up random grain-free brands to keep the variety in Tucker's diet. They can only order cases of food, right?
Right...but mention it to them anyway. If know one ever says they're interested in a brand they have no idea there's interest. I've brought in several brands based on people saying they'd be interested but that they don't want a case of one flavor.
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I don't know what stores everyone has looked at, but I work at Pet Supplies Plus and we have a very large selection of grain free food and many cans. I am not sure what states this store is in because it started in Michigan, but I just thought I'd mention it.
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