How do I order a bulk supply of wet food?

We have cared for a contained colony of 76 cats (meaning they live in a huge enclosure that we built so they're protected from predators and people and they don't free roam) for a long time and the food bill is usually close to $300 a month.

Does anyone know how I can bulk order wet food? Preferably at a wholesale price if possible? We've lost a huge chunk of our income so we're trying to figure out a way to be able to feed them all wet food without changing the current food bill.

We've always fed dry food but we'd love to switch everyone to a wet food diet to keep them healthier. The cats, who are all spayed and neutered, range in ages from a year or so to 15 yrs old with weights ranging from about 7 to 13 lbs. Plus one of the youngest, Bug-a-Boo, doesn't know how to eat on her own. She'll nibble at wet food but 99% of her nutrition comes from a special cocktail I make for her which consists of KMR, a few capfuls of Powerade, a little water, a full can of food and a little nutrical. I blend it up and she laps it from a bowl 3 times a day. So, there's an extra expense there until I can figure out a way to get her to solely eat wet food.

Sorry for the long post and I hope it's not too muddled but if anyone has any tips for finding a wholesale kind of bulk supply of wet food that's of decent quality or tips for how to get them off dry while staying at around $300 a month we'd really appreciate it!! TIA!

Hi Tia, 

What brand of wet food were you looking to purchase?

Wag.Com has a case of 
not bulk I know but you get 15% off for the first 3 months for orders over 49.

PetDirect.Com has the same 9lives for 11 dollars.

I chose a supermarket brand, only to show the most cost effective.

You can also call the company directly Purina etc, and see if you can order directly from them.

My old neighbor used to do that until they started coming around with the truck with free feral food.

Also, what I've done in the past is ask your local grocer if they can order you cases at cost.  If you have a long standing relationship with them they may be nice enough to do a favor.

Just a few suggestions, sorry not much help.

As you know there are many resourceful members on this site that will chime in.

I hope you get some relief in your monthly bill.  

I'd like to say, wow!  Thanks for caring for these sweet souls.  I can't even imagine what that looks like.  Do you have any pictures?

Best to you, if I find anything online, I'll let you know.

Warm regards, Hope and my 2 sweet angels 

Simon​ & Chestnut

Thanks so much!! Right now we don't have any specific brands in mind. We'd like to go as high quality as we can but given our special situation, that might not be so easy. I didn't think about contacting the companies directly or asking a store like Walmart, for example, if we can buy at cost. Should we go inside and ask to speak directly with a manager about this or email?

And I'm gonna see if there's free feral food we can get. That would be amazing! I don't have any recent pictures but if I remember, I'll try to take some [emoji]128522[/emoji]

I have been going to the same grocer for 20 years, so I have a relationship with them and they get me various items from time to time.

You can call the companies directly and let them know that you're looking for food to help with your local ferals and see if they can even possibly donate food to the cause.  You can also use that excuse with local markets and see if you can get a free case here and there.  Sometimes that works

I'm in New York City, and they take the feeding seriously and truthfully I'm not sure how the free truck got started but it comes twice a month.  I believe the people who feed the ferals are signed up with them.

I'll try and think of more options for you.

I'm sure there are several threads you can poke around in to get some resourceful ideas from.

Glad to give you a starting point.

btw, your post wasn't long.  you should see some of mine, you'd fall asleep. LOL

Be well.

2Cats4everLoved said:

I have been going to the same grocer for 20 years, so I have a relationship with them and they get me various items from time to time.

You can call the companies directly and let them know that you're looking for food to help with your local ferals and see if they can even possibly donate food to the cause.  You can also use that excuse with local markets and see if you can get a free case here and there.  Sometimes that works

I'm in New York City, and they take the feeding seriously and truthfully I'm not sure how the free truck got started but it comes twice a month.  I believe the people who feed the ferals are signed up with them.

I'll try and think of more options for you.

I'm sure there are several threads you can poke around in to get some resourceful ideas from.

Glad to give you a starting point.

btw, your post wasn't long.  you should see some of mine, you'd fall asleep. LOL

Be well.

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Thank you! We've been going to the same Walmart for several years but we don't exactly have a relationship built with anyone who works there but I'm hoping we can still luck up and be able to get cases at cost or dry food bags for a good deal in case we can't feed solely canned. I'm also looking into couponing and finding what deals I can to help us out. I appreciate your advice!

luvfelicia said:

Thank you! We've been going to the same Walmart for several years but we don't exactly have a relationship built with anyone who works there but I'm hoping we can still luck up and be able to get cases at cost or dry food bags for a good deal in case we can't feed solely canned. I'm also looking into couponing and finding what deals I can to help us out. I appreciate your advice!

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Start with -  Would you please donate a case of food or a few bags of dry to help feed the cats during the winter  or something like that.

Keep me posted.  Good luck - I'll ask my other friends what they do.

2Cats4everLoved said:

Start with -  Would you please donate a case of food or a few bags of dry to help feed the cats during the winter  or something like that.

Keep me posted.  Good luck - I'll ask my other friends what they do.

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In order for them to donate food, would we need to be a nonprofit? Cause we're not.

Do you have a local shelter? If so, go in person and speak with them. My shelter is limited kill, non profit, and you'd be amazed at what they do and their programs for the community. If they can't actually help you, they may provide resources. I'd also speak to the county shelter and your vet. Along with all of that, the internet maybe your best friend. I know there are many feral cat groups and if you connect, they might be able to help in some way. Definitely, talk to your local businesses and the cat food companies. We also have a food pantry in our county, it is open one day weekly to non profits, most of the foods are from local grocery stores. It's kind of pot luck on what is available but the cost was literally pennies on the dollar.

It would be helpful if you were a non profit in most cases. The other hope is if you can reach out to enough local people, someone may tuck you in under their umbrella. If this was me, I'd go in person to as many places as possible armed with pictures of your set up and vet info, references and so forth. You need to assure those whom you contact that you are a legitimate caring person and not a collector of cats looking for freebies. I'd also look into what is involved in getting your non profit status. The paperwork is mind boggling but the cost is not that outrageous. Ask feral cat folks for directions on how to get started. In any case, best of luck and thanks for taking the kitties.

luvfelicia said:

In order for them to donate food, would we need to be a nonprofit? Cause we're not.

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No, you can just tell them that you take care of a colony and see if they can donate or give you a deep discount of any kind.  

The idea that @Greypaws  gave above is fantastic.  I was thinking of shelters but for some reason when you mentioned Alabama (being a city person) I wasn't sure how rural your area is. LOL  I would try that also.

I know searching online can be overwhelming, so I'll keep my eyes posted for savings.

At least you can get started.

And thanks again for taking care of these families.

Enjoy the Holiday Season.

Hope

Is there a Tractor Supply Co in your area? If so, talk to the manager and see if you can bulk order the large cans of either Friskies or Paws and Claws wet food from them. I doubt Walmart will be able to do anything because they're bound to their corporate rules. But TSC managers have more latitude. You could also ask at privately-owned farm or feed stores but, in my experience, they charge more so it probably wouldn't work out.

Also, you can get the 13-oz cans of Friskies at Dollar Tree (for $1 each, naturally ), and order as much as you want online and pick it up at the store for free.

BUT. . .you're going to need around 30 13-oz cans a day, if you feed canned food only. Even if you get Paws and Claws, which I think is about 75 cents per can, that would still be about $675 a month :/. Even if you got some kind of special rate of 50 cents a can, that would still be $450. So probably feeding canned food only is not financially feasible. You might be able to go 50/50 though, without raising costs too much.

What dry food do you currently feed, and how much do you pay?

Willowy said:

Is there a Tractor Supply Co in your area? If so, talk to the manager and see if you can bulk order the large cans of either Friskies or Paws and Claws wet food from them. I doubt Walmart will be able to do anything because they're bound to their corporate rules. But TSC managers have more latitude. You could also ask at privately-owned farm or feed stores but, in my experience, they charge more so it probably wouldn't work out.

Also, you can get the 13-oz cans of Friskies at Dollar Tree (for $1 each, naturally ), and order as much as you want online and pick it up at the store for free.

BUT. . .you're going to need around 30 13-oz cans a day, if you feed canned food only. Even if you get Paws and Claws, which I think is about 75 cents per can, that would still be about $675 a month :/. Even if you got some kind of special rate of 50 cents a can, that would still be $450. So probably feeding canned food only is not financially feasible. You might be able to go 50/50 though, without raising costs too much.

What dry food do you currently feed, and how much do you pay?

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We actually have a TSC in town and we rain check 10 (15#) bags of sportmix every two weeks at their sticker price of $9.99 a bag. It's not great food but it's all we could do with so many to feed. We have tried grain free dry food in the past like the TSC 4Health, taste of the wild, blue buffalo, etc hoping they would eat less of it because of the higher quality but they were eating the same amount as they were with cheaper brands so that's how we wound up feeding sportmix.

So I signed up for an account just to respond to you--I've been looking for the most reasonable cat food since I have 4 indoor cats and 3 barn cats (through a program with the humane society for my farm). I feed them all wet food every day. I've found that the best price comes from the dollar general. There is a 26 oz (I believe) canned cat food there for $1. I think the brand is called EverPet, they have two flavors in the jumbo size. You can't order that size online, but they'll have it in the store. Good luck with all the cats!!