Six Ways to Save Money on Healthy Pet Foods

Although pets can be an expensive addition to any household, I wouldn't give up my pets for anything. Like many pet owners, I consider them part of my family so it's important to me to keep them healthy. I learned through painful lessons with a previous pet that feeding them cheap foods full of god-knows-what in order to save a few bucks is not worth it in the long run. Lower-quality foods often lead to weight gain, which--just as with humans--can lead to diseases like diabetes and increased risk of some cancers. Believe me, it is horrible to watch an animal suffer through these illnesses and the veterinary bills and costs of medication can be horrible on your budget as well.

So I now make every effort to feed my animals premium foods. When the recent pet food recalls occurred, I had some concerns about continuing to use these foods, but I'm now convinced that it's the best option. But these foods aren't inexpensive. I budget approximately $50 a month for food for two cats and one bird, but even at that I have to employ some special strategies to keep costs under control. A lot of the same strategies apply here as with the regular food budget (shopping sales, comparing prices between stores, and so on), but here are six tips I've found to save money and keep premium pet foods affordable:

1. Sign up for pet store loyalty cards. My membership card at Petco provides me with occasional money-saving coupons and frequent-buyer discounts. For every 10 bags of cat food I buy, I get another bag free (savings: approx. $22 for an 8.5-lb. bag). I could save even more by buying larger bags, but I don't have space to store the food safely.
2. Get on pet food manufacturers' mailing lists. I use Hill's Science Diet products for my cats and by signing up for their e-mail newsletter and mailing list, I get coupons for future purchases. I just today used a coupon for $5 off my purchase of their cat food.
3. Use canned food frugally but safely. One problem I had with cat food was waste. When I bought the larger cans that were cheaper per ounce, I usually found that much of it would go to waste. My cats absolutely won't eat canned food after it's been opened and refrigerated (even when it's tightly sealed) but I don't think it's safe to leave the opened cans at room temperature for more than a day. In the end it became clear that even though the smaller cans were more expensive, there was less waste when I used them and kept each one in a tightly sealed container on the counter for the day.
4. If you have the time and if your pets will eat it, pet food made from scratch can be healthy and cheap. There are loads of recipes on the Internet for cat and dog foods made from scratch--some good, some bad--so I'd suggest doing some research and consulting your vet before switching your pet to a home-made diet. For a while, I had my cats on a raw chicken diet. They were obviously really healthy from it--they had beautiful coats and were lean and fit. And they loved it--until they stopped loving it. I guess, as with people, animals' tastes can change.
5. Stretch the food when you can. This year I'm going to try growing some sunflowers and using the seeds to supplement the store-bought bird food. There may be some other home-made or home-grown foods you can add to stretch your pet's store-bought diet.
6. If your pet ever requires a prescription diet, be sure to ask your vet if they have any manufacturer's coupons or rebate forms. The cost of prescription foods can really take a bite out of your budget, but veterinary offices regularly get coupons and rebate offers from the manufacturers whose food they carry.

My pets are worth every effort that it takes to keep them healthy. These cost-cutting strategies just make those efforts more affordable.