What do you do...

When you live in the middle of no where and can't find any good cat foods? My cousin is looking to switch her cat (who had crystals) to a better food (was on Purina cat chow indoor formula then switched to one of the Science diet formulas for cats with crystals). Unfortunately she can't find it anywhere. I've done searches and there are none close to her. I'm going to go over all the locations with her but I think they are all at least a good hour away. How can she get the good stuff?

Have you checked out any of the companies that sell pet food online? www.petfooddirect is one just off the top of my head. Does she live in MA?

Science Diet =
If you're going to make the switch, try something with less grains and no corn or by-products. You can find a good natural cat food online, just do a search, and take your pick. They can get pricey though, but Science Diet is a bad food that is pretty pricey too so it probably won't be much of a difference. Just search around.... some good ones that come to mind are Wellness, Origen, Felidae, Nutru, etc.

Good luck!

no she lives in Maine. I'll tell her about ordering online, how often does the food come? and how much more expensive is it that buying in a store? Also how does a store go about adding a new brand to their stock? Her Dad owns one of the few general stores up there so maybe he could start to sell it.

I'm really not sure because I've never ordered food online, but many of our members have so I am sure one will be along shortly. Her father can probably contact them and get info on how to stock it.

It's usually no more expensive than the stores, but you do have to pay for shipping. Some sites offer a "bottomles bowl" feature when they'll automatically ship it each month. The best advantage is that you can find any kind of food you want on the Internet... but if you buy in stores you're limited to what they have. I tend to order online just because it's more convenient. And if he wants to start selling certain brands in his store, he'll have to contact the company directly. Not a bad idea though!

If you order from petfooddirect, expect it to take about 2 weeks to get there. Other online stores are typically faster (a few days to a week) but also a little more expensive. I always use petfooddirect because they send coupons to your email several times a month, for 13-22% off.

Does she have any feed stores nearby? They often carry some of the better brands. That's an option to look into if she doesn't want to order online.

I had some trouble finding better food here at first. First I visited every "feed" store I could and that turned up a few things but not much. Feed stores may not be so plentiful in Maine as they are in Kansas, though. I looked at all of the store locators on the food company websites and that helped me find a few stores that I didn't know about.

I buy as much as I can locally, because the prices are usually lower. I have found a few foods that I save money on by ordering from Petfooddirect...By Nature and Natural Balance (canned) are 2 that come to mind. The local big box store prices are higher than PFD, even with shipping...especially when you consider that there's no sales tax when ordering online...saves a few more pennies. I wait for the sales, or google for discount codes. I can usually save 20% that way.

DID the VET put you( the one your asking for) on RX ??? if so you talk to the vet they will order in ... If you want off an RX food have a list of foods you like and reveiw it with the vet ... Vets may overall not know about ingrediants BUT THEY do KNOW what is and isnt going to work in % anges of different foods...

RX foods online often need a prescription faxed in

[font= "Comic Sans MS"]I was extremely frustrated when I first began researching feline nutrition when I got Zoey, and realized that my current plan (strictly dry, Purina) was not suitable. I started really searching around, because Mom is very reluctant to order. I ended up finding good stuff around, really. But what I would do is go to any small pet stores that have cat supplies and ask them if it would be too inconvenient to order better foods. Most smaller pet stores are willing, if it means paying customers. [/font]

Originally Posted by KuntryKitty

[font= "Comic Sans MS"]I was extremely frustrated when I first began researching feline nutrition when I got Zoey, and realized that my current plan (strictly dry, Purina) was not suitable. I started really searching around, because Mom is very reluctant to order. I ended up finding good stuff around, really. But what I would do is go to any small pet stores that have cat supplies and ask them if it would be too inconvenient to order better foods. Most smaller pet stores are willing, if it means paying customers.

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I live in a small town and I've found this to be true as well. The local store will order what I want by the case for me.

I fyou can't order online and only have a Wal-Mart, they sell "Maxximum Nutrition" which at least better then Purina cat chow, etc...

entirelypets.com sells science diet online including the special food prescriptions and they have free shipping for orders over $100.

I know this is not the best food but it is the one you asked about, so maybe that will work for your cousin.

I get the special food for my cats through the vet. It is expensive but it works for them.

All the above suggestions from other people sound good too.

I also order food online after I make sure our cats will eat certain brand/flavor of food. Online stores carry brands (Chicken Soup comes to mind) I have trouble finding locally. I also order from PetFoodDirect.com- it is the cheapeast even after shipping.

I drive an hour and buy in bulk. I buy 40 lbs of cat food at a time and 80 lbs of cat litter.