Buying Cat Food in Bulk: Prices, Deals, Wholesale Pros & Cons

Are you tired of heading to the store and purchasing cat food over and over again? You’re not alone and may have considered buying cat food in bulk.

But with so many options out there, it can be challenging trying to determine if it’s the right choice for you and how to go about purchasing cat food in bulk. That’s why we came up with this comprehensive guide to walk you through everything that you need to know, so you can decide what’s right for you.

Should You Buy Cat Food in Bulk?

While there are special considerations that you need to keep in mind when purchasing cat food in bulk, there’s no denying that there are perks associated with it if you do everything correctly.

Here, we highlighted notable pros and cons if you’re thinking of purchasing your cat food in bulk.

The 2 Pros of Buying Cat Food In Bulk

1. Cheaper Per Meal Cost

The most notable advantage of buying in bulk is the savings. Companies are willing to cut you a deal if you buy more of their product, and if you’re going to use it, anyway, it means you’re spending less in the end!

2. Fewer Trips to the Store

Not only do you save money when you buy in bulk, but you also don’t have to run out to the store as often to pick up cat food. That’s not as big of a deal in the world of online ordering, but it’s still something to consider.

The 4 Cons of Buying Cat Food In Bulk

1. Less Selection

Not every company offers its product in bulk, which drives down the selection. While more companies are doing it, there’s still a smaller selection.

2. Might Not Stay Fresh as Long

Keeping dry food in its original packaging and storing it in a cool dry location will make it last longer. However, it can become stale if you don’t use it fast enough. Your cat doesn’t want stale food any more than you do, and if you aren’t going to use all of the food before it spoils or it spoils before you can use it all, it’s a waste of food and money.

3. More Expensive up Front

While you might be saving more in the end, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have the money to spend upfront on the bulk product. Getting over that initial hump can be painful if you’re tight on cash from month to month.

4. Might Forget to Reorder

When you have so much of something, getting more isn’t a part of your daily routine. When you’re at the store, you can forget to pick it up even when you need it. However, online stores’ automatic reordering and shipping help mitigate this concern.

Where to Buy Cat Food in Bulk

If you’re thinking of buying cat food in bulk, the next decision that you need to make is where to buy it. Here, we highlighted three of the best options in the industry for bulk buying and included pros and cons for each choice.

Chewy

While Chewy might not have the same extensive history as a company like Amazon or Wal-Mart, it’s been around for over a decade and has taken the pet world by storm.

Pros

Automatic Reordering

With Chewy, you can set up an automatic delivery and get your cat food delivered straight to your door without needing to do a thing. Even better, when you sign up for automatic reordering, you get 35% off your pet food purchase.

Considering Chewy already has great prices on bulk cat food, getting even more savings is a big deal.

Delivered Straight to Your Door

There’s no denying that opening your door and having your cat food waiting for you is as convenient as it gets. You don’t have to remember to place the order before you need it.

Great Selection

Chewy focuses exclusively on pet products and has a larger selection than most other retailers. It doesn’t have every brand, but it does have all the major brands and plenty of smaller family-owned companies, too.

Outstanding Customer Service

Large corporations focus on profits at the expense of everything else. Chewy doesn’t work like that. If something goes wrong, Chewy goes above and beyond to make it right.

Cons

Not Every Brand Is Available

Chewy has a great selection but doesn’t have every cat food. If you’re seeking a small, locally owned company, Chewy might be unable to help you. But for just about every other company, Chewy has you covered.

Amazon

Amazon seems to run the world these days, and there’s a reason it’s so popular.

Pros

Automatic Reordering

Just like Chewy, Amazon offers exclusive deals at low prices if you sign up for auto-reordering. You can also change reorder intervals, which allows you to receive the correct amount of cat food at the right intervals.

Delivered Straight to Your Door

Amazon is the largest online retailer in the world, and one of its primary selling points is that it delivers products straight to your door. That’s convenient, and now that it’s using its own shipping teams, you can get products faster than ever.

With an Amazon Prime subscription, you can get products shipped to your door in just 2 days!

Great Selection

Amazon works with thousands upon thousands of vendors, which gives you more selection than you’ll find anywhere else. Its wide selection and great prices on its Amazon Marketplace are huge reasons it has been so successful.

Cons

Venders Change

When you order a product, you do so through a specific vendor. However, over time, these vendors can change, and the product’s level of support or quality can change with them. You’ll still get the same brand of dog food, but the packaging can end up torn apart, the wrong product can be sent, etc.

Not the Best Customer Service

The level of support you receive through Amazon largely depends on the vendor you ordered through. Sometimes, they will go above and beyond for you, while others will leave you out in the cold.

Amazon Prime Is Not Free

When Amazon first started, Prime was an afterthought. Today, it’s necessary to unlock all the site’s best features. While more people than ever have Amazon Prime, it’s not free. If you don’t already have Prime, there’s a good chance that you’ll deal with roadblock after roadblock.

Wholesale Stores

Whether it’s Costco, Sam’s Club, or another wholesale retailer, the entire purpose is to sell you products in bulk. But while these stores offer great prices for bulk products, the system is far from perfect. Let’s start with the perks.

Pros

Large Packages

The size of products at wholesale stores is legendary, and it’s no different with pet food. You’re unlikely to find larger quantities of cat food anywhere else.

Great Prices

Larger quantities are much cheaper. You will need to find somewhere to store 12 months of cat food, but you’re getting it for a price equal to 10 months or even less.

Cons

You Need a Subscription/Membership

You can’t enter a Costco or a Sam’s Club and purchase anything without a membership. The membership dues come right out of your savings, and you’re losing money if you’re not buying enough products in bulk.

Not the Best Selection

Sam’s Club and Costco might have the largest bags around, but not every brand makes a 35-pound bag of cat food. If a manufacturer doesn’t produce its products in a massive size, the retailer won’t carry them. There are not that many options to choose from when it comes to cat food at these stores.

You Need to Go to the Store

In an age where you can get everything delivered straight to your door, who wants to run to a warehouse store to pick up cat food? Whether you think it’s a big deal or not, it’s still not as convenient.

Final Thoughts

If the cat food you’re using is available in bulk sizes and you have a place to store it and the funds to buy it, there’s no good reason not to switch. However, by buying smaller packages more often, you’ll end up spending more money.

So, even if you have to save up for that first bulk purchase, it is a way to save money in the long run, which makes it a good investment!

See also: How to Save Money on Cat Food (15 Clever Ways)

Featured Image Credit: pedphoto36pm, Shutterstock