This post contains affiliate links.
I’m a pretty inexperienced cat owner (we’ve only had ours for about a year), so we’ve just been buying our cat’s supplies at places like Petsmart or Target.
Several readers encouraged me to check out Chewy.com and my goodness, I’m so glad I did! I can’t believe how inexpensive their prices are.
I placed my first order and I got two 19 pound boxes of litter and a $22 pound bag of cat food for a total of $35. Sweet.
(For this order, I got a 30% discount for doing my first Autoship order, plus a $2.55 regular Autoship discount, plus free shipping.)
Even without the Autoship discounts, the prices are so much cheaper than what I’ve found at any brick and mortar store, and I am totally sold.
The same goes for cat toys; at Chewy, they are half the price as compared to the pet chain stores.
So. If you have a cat, dog, fish, hamster, reptile, or even a horse (!), you really should give Chewy a try.
You can save 30% on your first Autoship order with Chewy just like I did.
Plus, you can save an extra 5% – 10% on every future Autoship order with Chewy.
Thank you, thank you to readers that suggested Chewy to me!
P.S. We really, really love the Arm and Hammer Slide litter. It’s very easy to scoop and it keeps our house from smelling. I was really worried about home odor when we adopted our cat, but this litter really, really does the trick.
P.P.S. Chewy has a hand deals page, so be sure to check that when you order.
WilliamB says
Dog owner here. I agree that the pet chain stores are rarely the cheapest place to buy anything. Here are two more ideas for good deals:
1. Your first purchase from any website that sells pet supplies. I got a great deal from Amazon for dog food this way. The price included shipping[1], which is non-trivial for a 40 lb bag of food.
2. If you adopt your pet (as opposed to buying it), you’ll probably get several good deals from the shelter and maybe the vet as well. For example, in my area, adoption comes with first vet visit free, vaccinations and spay/neuter as part of the adoption fee[2], and steep discounts from several websites.
Thanks for the tip about Chewy. When I run out of the adoption-related good deals, I’ll check it out.
[1] “Free” shipping is a bit of a chimera. You pay for it one way or another. I know plenty people recommend “never pay for shipping!” But it’s not the shipping price that matters; it’s the overall price that matters.
[2] There are deals to be had on adoption fees, too. Military vets, over-50’s, over 65’s, adopting older pets or gimpy pets, pets that have been in the shelter a long time…
Misty says
In November or December I happened to place an order when they had 30lb bags of dog food buy one get one free. That saved us $55! I love Chewy!
Deb W. says
Interesting… I just looked at all their pricing for the brands I normally buy for both our cats (we have 4) and our dog. Their autoship pricing is still more than I pay picking things up from WalMart.
Live and Learn-Toss and Turn says
I use Chewy and like every place else, you have to watch the prices. The litter we get (Dr. Elsey’s–no dust, we learned the importance of this after a few years) jumps back and forth between Chewy’s and Amazon for the best price. We have older cats, who are on prescription food, and the price doesn’t vary a lot between places but sometimes Petsmart has a $5 or $10 off next order coupon. However, you can’t beat the convenience of Chewy or Amazon and your time has value, too.
Karen says
For an odor free home, I love, love, LOVE “The World’s Best Cat Litter,” multi-cat formula (red & black bag). We have 14 indoor-only cats in our home now and it doesn’t smell (with 9 cat boxes). I HATE cat box smells and this really does the trick. Well worth the expensive price tag., especially if you live in a small space or have a lot of cats. Like other natural cat litters, when it goes bad (starts to smell), it is a instant thing not a slow growing odor. But this has not been a problem as long as we stick to a regular schedule for changing out all the litter and scoop daily.
Kat says
The customer service team is excellent! I ordered multiple top entry cat boxes when we adopted our boys, Calvin and Hobbes, last year. One box was missing a lid. I emailed on a weekend and a replacement was at my door within 48 hours.
Gina says
My daughter uses Chewy all of the time, since she doesn’t have time to do a lot of in-person shopping. When we are dog-sitting for her during busy season, she has Chewy ship directly to us and she’s able to get very high quality products. Plus, the customer service is great!
Julia says
I love the price and quality of cat food from Costco. And buying the car litter their is a good deal too.
Julia says
Cat litter! Not car litter.
Jennifer says
Actually, mechanics use cat litter to soak up excess oil on concrete flooring so you were still kinda right…lol.
Athena says
We do the same. For the quality of the food you get at Costco you can’t beat their prices (we get the Kirkland brand)! We also get cat litter there and it’s almost always the best price. The best thing is that we stock up and buy several extra bags when it goes on sale so we save even more. There are never sales on their pet food but we still buy it and our pets are healthy and happy!
Clara B says
Love chewy.com! We use prescription cat food, and it is much cheaper then the vet. They are really flexible with their auto ship, but my favorite thing about them is that when you call, a human being answers the phone! When does that ever happen anymore?!
PBE says
I love your robust cat! So pretty
Jennifer says
Cat lover here…I don’t have any comments on buying cat supplies since my husband takes care of that for us but I love that your cat naturally looks like it’s wearing a tuxedo in one of the pics….so cute
seachicago says
When you shop brick & mortar (Target, PetSmart, etc.), don’t forget to price match! I needed a special type of harness for our puppy (she’s big, strong and not well-trained yet, and I actually have elbow pain from how hard she pulls on walks). I wanted it right that day, so I looked the price up online at PetSmart, but when I got to the store it was over twice as much! They happily price-matched it for me, and told me they will price match other stores, including Chewy (which I think the cashier told me is owned by PetSmart). Sometimes you need something right away, and just can’t wait for delivery, so price matching is great for that!
Marianne says
Love Chewy. Great customer service, easy to reach via phone or online chat. Their prices have gone up in the last 2 months but so far are still cheaper than my vet (prescription food) and one of the few places that sells Merrick dog food. I always bought Kirkland dog food it gets high ratings on DogFood Advisor but with 1 that has pancreatitis I no longer buy it. Huge plus that I don’t have to go into a store to buy it. That alone is worth a million bucks to me…
Kim says
I love Chewy. There customer service is great and shipping is fast. I have always received my order within 2 days.
Lacy says
There’s one item that I can only usually reliably find at Petsmart. The online price is almost always cheaper than in the store and if buying in the store you can ask the cashier to price match the online price. They occasionally have a deal where you get an extra 5% off if you order online and pick up in the store.
I’ve found a local pet supply store that has very reasonable prices. I give them a lot of my business to help keep them here. The small chains and single store businesses are disappearing. Check out your local small businesses and give them a chance to earn your business. You might help somebody in your neighborhood keep their job as well as finding what you need at a reasonable price.
Jennyy says
Yes, this is REALLY important! Sadly, around here, they are all gone.
jenny rose says
I love Chewy, if you every want to buy your cat a gift (crazy cat lady over here) check out their heated cat bed. I have an elderly kitty and it was the best $20 I ever spent!!
One thing I would love to discuss, or hear discussed, is your thoughts on the environmental impact of ordering very heavy items like litter shipped to your door, vs buying at where ever you buy groceries.
Thanks–love your blog!!
Marianne says
I hate that the delivery truck is out there because of my purchase. Normally its a small Chewy van. That being said I make sure I order all I need for both dogs & my feral cat at the same time and I buy the largest bags so I only order about every 3 months. Mine is on script food so I can only get it at my vets or on Chewy. I have RA so on a good day I have zero energy so I really appreciate that this is available!
Karen says
I, too, but cat litter on-line and have it delivered. I really need to because (a) the local stores don’t carry my brand, (b) the big box pet stores which are 1hour away don’t usually have as much as I want to buy on hand on those times I do get to ‘the big city’ and (c) it is difficult for me to lift the bags and the UPS guy leaves boxes of it on my back porch for me!
Jenny says
I have used local pet shops when they existed, buying food and stuff from the vet, big-box stores, big-box pet stores, and now online stores. I, too, would love if you (Kristen) could explore in detail the prices, convenience factor, the environmental issues, etc. about pet supplies!
One question that comes to mind, not really related to frugality (well, plumbers are expensive)
Two people I know dispose of “clumps” down the toilet. One is a homeowner and one lives in an apartment. I put the clumps in plastic bags and put in the trash. Any thoughts on this?
jenny rose says
You should not flush any animal poop down the toilet. I used to work for a company that was trying to develop flushable poop scoop bags for dogs and cats and our local municipality and research online said that due to bacteria in the animals feces, it should never be flushed. Oh, and I can’t imagine flushing clumping clay down my toilet! Methinks they will learn the hard way eventually.
Kristen says
Oooh, I agree with Jenny Rose…this doesn’t seem like a good idea, just on a plumbing front. We scoop and dispose with the garbage.
Kim from Phila says
Chewy is an awesome company
Megyn says
I foster kittens full time, and I haven’t found Chewy a great deal unfortunately. Costco’s adult cat food is an amazing deal. It’s high quality food for a low price. For toys, Dollar Tree is a great option! I love talking frugal and eco-friendly cat stuff!
Sarahbeth says
I have to say I’m surprised about Chewy! I had thought they were a subscription box of goodies, like Stitch Fix for your pet! We have a cat, and I get tired of her constantly running out of her canned food. And target’s prices on the grain-free dry kibble I buy her are not exactly the best. I will definitely be checking them out!
We have a cool frugal hack for litter though… We buy the compressed pine pellets from a farm supply store… but instead of these being marketed as cat litter, they’re marketed as bedding for horse stalls. They’re the exact same thing as the compressed pine kitty litter for way, waaaaaaayyyyyyy cheaper! It doesn’t clump, but it does absorb odors very, very well, plus it’s a bit more natural.
Reese says
So many thoughts! Let me write you all the things!
1) That is, by far, the best cat litter out there. I’ve tried everything. EVERYTHING. After having cats my entire life, I feel like I’ve become terribly picky since I’m the only one that scoops two boxes. Blargh! Way to find the best one right away!
2) I’ve had really good luck at TJMaxx and Homegoods for animal things. You get items on sale and bam. They beat a ton of prices on stupid stuff that your animals may not NEED to live, but you want to spoil them regardless.
3) Your cat, I notice, is always touching the ground. How is it that a cat THAT cute isn’t scooped up in someone’s arms 24/7?
Seriously adorable fur beast you have there.
4) If you haven’t, please buy one YEOWWW! cat toy for that beast. They average about $5-7 per toy, but it’s like catnip crack with additional kitty freak-out juice added in. I’ve never had my cats react so amazingly to a toy as they have this! You could get yours a $5 cigar (on sale on Amazon right now). https://www.amazon.com/Yeowww-Cigar-Catnip-Toy-Singles/dp/B001MABOQG/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1549999971&sr=8-15&keywords=yeowww+catnip+toys
Kristen says
Thanks for the toy recommendation!
Diane C says
That’s a great idea, Sarabeth, I’ll check it out!
My hack is to buy 5# bags of jonny cat at the 99 Cents Only Store. Periodically, I buy a cartful. It keeps forever and I like having a supply on hand. Love that it comes in paper bags. I use it in a Clevercat litter box and it works great!
Her food comes from Costco, and she’s fine with it. I only have to buy a big bag a couple of times a year. It’s also a paper bag, for the win. The only other thing I buy for our kitty is a flat cardboard scratching box. They’re 2.99 at the dollar store and she goes through about one per quarter. They’re made of…cardboard. I guess my clever cat is also pretty darn frugal too.
Recently, DH had a spill at our flip house. The pet store was closer than home, so he grabbed a bag of cat litter there. He said the cheapest one he could find was 14.99 and it came in a plastic bag, boo! He used about two cups of it. Whomp whomp. At least it worked.
Funny side note: My MIL just got a mailer with coupons from Chewy.com. We chuckled over it, because she has ALZ and lives with us. How they got her contact info is beyond us. She literally never buys anything.
Cosgrove's Cook says
Here’s an amazing story about Chewy — a dear relative of mine was ill, and in her discombobulation she made a mistake on her catfood order. When it came, she asked Chewy how to send it back, and they told her that they would send the right order, and that she should not return the incorrect one, but donate it to a cat shelter. Which she did. She died shortly afterwards, and her cats of course had to go to a new home. But her regular order from Chewy appeared at the door (because we hadn’t known to cancel it) and they told us the same thing — don’t send it back, donate it.
Tina Gehrig says
I do use Chewy for some items that I can’t find locally but I do shop locally, particularly at the Pet Valu where I saw our second cat that we adopted from a local rescue.
Local shops support the local economy. They pay taxes that support your town and state and employ local people. If you need something right away, they are there.
My boyfriend always likes to shop at Amazon. Recently, a local garden place that carried pond fish and plants as well as an amazing selection of garden plants and trees has gone out of business. He was not happy. Those places won’t survive if people always want to save by ordering online.
I do try to save money but I think where we spend our money has a greater impact. The pet store has a wonderful staff that I love to see and are knowledgeable pet owners themselves. The hardwhere store has a friendly knowledgeable staff that is always there to help. I can see if you live somewhere that doesn’t have
Lorraine says
One of my kittens has had issues with litter box training and so I started ordering Dr. Elsey’s Cat Attract litter from Chewy. It’s expensive but for the kitten in question, she is indeed attracted to the litter. It is $7 cheaper per box on Chewy than PetSmart, and $2 cheaper than Amazon (not available at Walmart or Target) so I have that on autoship. I have also ordered a few toys and things but their food is still slightly cheaper at my discount grocery store so I buy that weekly with my groceries.
I will say Chewy’s customer service was very good when I called to say I got the wrong cat toy at Christmas. The phone rep sent the right one out immediately and encouraged me to donate the wrong toy to a shelter if I didn’t want to keep it.
Kristyna says
I wasn’t excited to pass along the info to my mom (we have no pets), but checked it out to realize they don’t ship to Canada. Sad day.
Cheryl says
New person chiming in here.
First off chewy.com is awesome. I ordered in my name as well as my husband’s name and we both got the autoship discounts, even though the orders are shipped to the same address.
Secondly, no litter should go in the toilet. We bought a litter genie, off of Amazon. Best.thing.ever. We set it right next to the litter box. You simply scoop into the litter genie and when it’s full, you take it out to the garbage. No smell at all. When we used to scoop into a bag and take it out to the can in the garage, it would start to smell before garbage day, especially in the summer.
I love cats and have three right now!
Deidre says
The world is changing so much and e-commerce is a reality, I prefer to shop in-store if I can but often brick and mortar shops don’t sell what I need/want. I think the bigger reality is that if all the small shops close the online shops will be able to charge what they like and not employ many people and the social fabric of society will deteriorate even further. I am trying to shop more ethically, hopefully so the producer or worker gets a fair price too.
Julia says
We buy our pet supplies locally. We are fortunate to have two independent stores near us. One is a family owned feed store where we buy our rabbit food, hay and bird seed (I’ve been going there since I was a child!). The other is an independent pet food store where we buy all things dog! The prices are in line with big box stores and we have made great friends with the owners. At the Feed Store (that’s the name) we buy in bulk and spend way way less then anything we could get at Chewyor anywhere else. At the pet food store (Abrams &Weakly) we earn a free bag of dog food for every 11 we buy. So don’t count brick and mortar stores out when shopping for a deal. You might be surprised AND you might make some new friends!
Annie says
I love tuxedo cats! The deals at Chewy sound good. I will say that I saved a lot of money over the years on cat toys by not buying many, most cats would rather play with empty paper bags, the box your Chewy stuff came in, toilet paper cores, and foil balls made from candy wrappers, (make sure it’s big enough not to be swallowed before you give it to them.) My last kitty passed away a few years ago and we are still finding foils balls under furniture!
Libby says
Chewy.com used to be fantastic, then they were purchased by PetSmart and the prices went WAY UP to match PetSmart’s regular pricing.
At that point I switched to buying cat food at Aldi and litter locally with a coupon.
I do miss the convenience of delivering heavy stuff right to my door with chewy.com though.
Diane says
Kristen, your kitty is adorable. I’ve used Chewy for a couple of years now, and love the company. Shipping is amazingly fast, prices are good, and the people there are wonderful. I get everything pet-related there – for our 2 parakeets, 3 dogs, and 2 cats. The only people unhappy are the ones who have to carry the heavy boxes from the UPS truck to the door. I buy the same cat litter, and am happy with it. Not overly scented, and scoops well. There should be an auto-shipment coming this Friday!
SEA says
All this talk of chewy.com happened at the same time that I got a $15 of $49+ new customer coupon in the mail! My puppy’s food is $12.49/8 lb. bag at Walmart of Target, but Chewy has it for $4+ less! I placed an order for 6 bags, and with my coupon, autoship discount and new autoship customer 30% discount, I’m getting 6 bags delivered to my door for less than the price of 2 at the store! Woo hoo!
The only thing I can’t figure out is why an 8 lb. bag of my dog’s food is $8.45, but the 16.5 lb. bag is $21.49. The math on that doesn’t seem to work out (that’s why I went with the smaller bags!)!
karen says
Petsmart owns Chewy, so watch the prices….
Nothing beats WalMart’s Special Kitty Clumping litter for performance or price.