What's the most cat food you've ever bought?

[pinkdagger]

We're taking a trip to my grandmother's birthday this weekend and I'm hitting up a Petsmart on the way since there aren't any accessible ones around me, and my boyfriend isn't willing to take a separate outside trip just to go to Petsmart. So I'm taking advantage of it and buying loads and loads of cat food at a way better price there... like 24 13.2oz cans and 60 5.5oz cans, plus a 12lb bag of dry food for Kismet's treat ball.

I have some other food left, but the food I've bought over the past year is good till 2016 and 2017. Mo eats about 10oz of wet a day, Kismet about 3. I figure if any stuff gets too close to expiration (obviously I'll be spending the hour after I get home organizing them by date

), I can give them to other cat friends or donate them. I feel like the crazy cat lady in me is especially strong this week, and feeling very financially invincible - emphasis on the "crazy" in crazy cat lady. I asked to borrow my brother's dolly so we can get it all into the car and into the apartment in one trip... we have to make a separate trip to get another 80lbs of litter.

Am I going overboard or can I have some reassurance?

 

I'm so disappointed Petsmart is terrible for bird things. I can't indulge my crazy bird lady at the same time. She has to go to another store and wait for the wallet to show up when it's recovered.

 

[catpack]

So, you're essentially looking at five cases of 5.5 oz cans and two cases of 13.2 oz cans...plus a bag of dry?

That sounds like me stocking up for a long weekend, lol! Of course, I work for a rescue; but, no, I don't think it's crazy. Especially if you are saving money and you know your cats will eat it all. Of course, I don't know how much you already have on stock...

 

[pinkdagger]

lol! If I factor in the raw I feed off and on, the stock I have left should last me around a month? I tried to knock it down to 5 cases total, 2 of the 13 oz and a combined 3 of various 5.5oz flavours. I'm fighting myself right now on the basis "it sounds like a lot, but it will be eaten long before it expires, why would you take those other ones out of your cart?" vs "you're insane, get off the internet and get someone else to hide your money".

I usually shop in smaller spurts, like three or four cans in one place, another couple in a different place, so almost every trip I make each week or so I have a can or two in hand. It's jarring to see a big chunk of money go at once even though I know nowhere near me would sell at a price as low as a big chain like that. I found a $10 off coupon code too, so there's more false reassurance there.

 

[jcat]

It doesn't sound crazy to me, but I often buy in bulk to save money. For our last cat, I sometimes bought a mixed case of 240 cans, although he ate 1/2 wet, 1/2 dry. Now I usually order 84 cans of Mogli's prescription food at once, plus around 30 cans of non-prescription. Those are 2-meal cans.

Why not if you have enough storage space?

 

[Norachan]

I always bulk buy. I don't want to miss out on any bargains and it's a two hour round trip to the nearest shops. Also there are so many of them to feed. I always buy as much as I can carry.

Wish I could show you my winter store shed. It's half full already, getting ready for being snowed in through January and February.

 

[pinkdagger]

Haha, I feel a bit better and a bit more enabled now!

Stocking up for remote areas and feeding ferals is definitely very wise, especially if the weather gets bad. Even in a Canadian city, I sure as heck don't want to go out driving in the snow just to get some cat food if I really, really don't have to.

 

[LTS3]

When I had my diabetic cat, I would buy cases of canned food. I think the most I spent at one time was about $200 for a few cases of food (each case has 24 5.5 oz cans) 

It was Innova EVO and NV Instinct. I rotated between the two brands and a few others that I just bought as individual cans so a few cases would last me a few months at least.

Before NV changed their raw formula, I would stock up on raw food whenever I got a coupon in my email. I'd buy 5 or 6 bags at a time. I would have liked to buy more but my freezer is pretty small.

 

[cocheezie]

I buy lots of cans at a time. Some of it is just the basics by the case. Some new ones for picky Cochise to try or re-try. Whatever isn't liked or doesn't get eaten goes to my feral. RX food goes to the local animal shelter. Spending $200 is easy. At the moment though, I'm also trying to stockpile kitty litter for the winter. I hate having to carry heavy boxes of kitty litter from the store to the car, then the car to the house in the winter. Unsure footing, slippery slopes, and the occasional snowbank is not fun when carrying 50 pounds of litter or cases of cat food.

 

[bbdoll22]

Quite a few years ago I bought 50 cases of 24 cans in a case.

 

[starbuk]

My freezer is full of about 25 pounds of cat food at the moment.. So don't be afraid to stock up as long as it doesn't spoil and you have room!

 

[cocheezie]

Check the night temperatures for the area you will be visiting. You may not want to leave the cat food in the car all night. I'm relatively close to you (I think), and the temperature is going down to 4C Saturday night and 2C on Sunday night.

 

[pinkdagger]

Fortunately it's just a day trip - lunch and then back home, so food will be going from store to car to apartment in a matter of an hour or so. I need to stock up on litter too, but the store I'm going to says they're out of stock so that'll have to wait. Fingers crossed it won't snow till after Hallowe'en and I think that will be enough time to get a few loads home to tie us over until everything thaws out in April.

My freezer is full of about 25 pounds of cat food at the moment.. So don't be afraid to stock up as long as it doesn't spoil and you have room!

This is what I like to hear!

Quite a few years ago I bought 50 cases of 24 cans in a case.

Wow! How many cats did/do you have (or feed) and how long did that end up lasting!?

 
When I had my diabetic cat, I would buy cases of canned food. I think the most I spent at one time was about $200 for a few cases of food (each case has 24 5.5 oz cans) 

It was Innova EVO and NV Instinct. I rotated between the two brands and a few others that I just bought as individual cans so a few cases would last me a few months at least.

Before NV changed their raw formula, I would stock up on raw food whenever I got a coupon in my email. I'd buy 5 or 6 bags at a time. I would have liked to buy more but my freezer is pretty small.

Wow, that's pretty pricey! Although I shouldn't be surprised. I actually have Innova EVO pegged as one of the foods I can "splurge" on, being among the more affordable but still good brands. My boyfriend's old roommate had a separate freezer chest for his pizza pockets, meats, and whatnot (boyfriend is a vegetarian) and I joked that when he moved out, he should take the freezer since I could find a use for it for cat and bird food. But for the price you pay for all that food, it lasts and it all gets used/eaten so it all works out.

 

 

[LTS3]

 
Wow, that's pretty pricey! Although I shouldn't be surprised. I actually have Innova EVO pegged as one of the foods I can "splurge" on, being among the more affordable but still good brands. My boyfriend's old roommate had a separate freezer chest for his pizza pockets, meats, and whatnot (boyfriend is a vegetarian) and I joked that when he moved out, he should take the freezer since I could find a use for it for cat and bird food. But for the price you pay for all that food, it lasts and it all gets used/eaten so it all works out.

 

Each case was between $40 to $50 or so , depending on the variety. I did shop around for the best prices and usually ended up buying from one store since they could special order the varities that they didn't have in stock at the moment. EVO and NV were two of the few low carb brands that my diabetic would eat. My cat had a very expensive palate

I occasionally fed one variety of Weruva, one variety of ProPlan, a brand called SOrganics that is no longer made, and Go Natural. And I kept some high carb gravy Fancy Feast on hand just in case I had to deal with low blood glucose levels.

 

[cocheezie]

My local Petsmart (which is none too smart) still has signs up claiming that FF and Friskies are in short supply and there is very little on the shelves. FF and Friskies is not in short supply at any of the other stores in town.

 

[pinkdagger]

@LTS3 Expensive taste indeed! I've found the foods that looked and smelled most delicious to me, also among the more expensive and higher end, my cats have eaten begrudgingly. I still include it in their rotation because to some degree, they'll eat what I want them to eat. The foods they'll inhale? The ones that smell like farts. Figures.

@cocheezie Weird! Is it a big or small city?

I got to the last step of placing my pickup order and after they finalized it on the website, they told me I couldn't have 24 cans of 13oz cans and I got knocked down to 13! One of the 5.5oz varieties I wanted, I asked for 12 and they knocked it down to 11. They were letting me know as I adjusted my cart what they had in stock but I guess it didn't update? Shenanigans. Maybe I'll visit home for Boxing Week and stock up there where I can drive my own car.

 

[rachelinaz]

2 monster Costco bags plus 14 cases of various flavor Friskie cans. It is about time here in the next couple weeks to rebuy. We buy when we have the money... and I buy a lot, or as much as I can.

 

[pinkdagger]

14 cases, wow! Are they 48 packs? If you don't mind my asking, how much are they there and how many cans do you get? Our CostCo here stocks 48 5.5oz cans for about $25, which is a fantastic deal. I figure being in the US, it works out a bit cheaper for you guys. How long does all that usually last you? It seems like a lot of people take advantage of a good time to buy in bulk!

 

[rachelinaz]

Each case has 24 cans. Hubby works contract work and can never be sure we can stalk up and enough (3 cans, 3 times a day), plus dry when they want it and tons of water.

DEAR dh... trained them for 3x a day... trust me, it does not go very far!!! Depending if they get 3x a day, 2x a day or 1x day. Amazing saving 2-4 cans per day... makes a difference. Sometimes they gang up on up on us and we haaaveeee to give them a can or 2. They chase us! Terrorize us . Scary Little buggers... Heheheheeeeee. We gotta love them!!!

I should see if Amazon is cheaper.

14 cases, wow! Are they 48 packs? If you don't mind my asking, how much are they there and how many cans do you get? Our CostCo here stocks 48 5.5oz cans for about $25, which is a fantastic deal. I figure being in the US, it works out a bit cheaper for you guys. How long does all that usually last you? It seems like a lot of people take advantage of a good time to buy in bulk!

 

[AbbysMom]

I usually buy three cases of wet and one large bag of dry at a time. It's prescription food that I have to get at the vet. $$$$$$$$$$$$ That's for one cat. :lol3: I've had people waiting in the reception area ask me how many cats I have. :lol3:

 

[pinkdagger]

Haha, I once sat in a vet's office waiting and saw five people in a row come in and grab giant bags of dry and that was more than I anticipated vet's offices getting in retail sales - I can imagine the looks on people's faces when one person comes in for that much!

I have a friend who went to Petsmart when their Yesterday's News litter went on a big sale earlier this year and she had assistants helping her load 10 bags into the car. They asked if she ran a rescue and she said "no, I just have one cat".