Everyday Cheapskate: Purr-spective Needed, Help Me Find the Best Budget-Friendly Cat Food and Litter

Dear Cheapskate: With all the suggestions you have made for the "best inexpensive" products in your blog EverydayCheapskate.com (which I get in my email box every weekday and love it), I don't believe I have ever seen a recommendation for dry cat food, canned cat food or cat litter. Or even pet products, for that matter. That's where I really need help.

Have you ever been to one of those mega pet products stores? Talk about taking a walk down Guilty Lane! Aisles of colorful bags and cans, each different, for every "stage" of life and condition. Hairball prevention, anyone? Or maybe your cat is a "stay-at-home" type? Some offerings come in tiny containers in order to end leftovers!

There are ingredient lists with enough detail to make a chemist faint. Then there's low-fat, grain-free, high-protein and more. Flaked style or pate? Sometimes I'm cornered by vendor representatives offering the "best" quality food for my cat, at a sky-high price. Buying litter is almost as bad, with clumping and super clumping leading the way, and low-dust, no-dust and so-called natural products following close behind!

I'm not writing about cats who may have serious conditions like food allergies, a new mom with kittens, or a declawed cat, who may need a special litter. I love my cat dearly, but don't want to go broke by guilt. Thanks for listening and for your take on the best inexpensive care and feeding of our pets. -- Barbara

Dear Barbara: The hubs and I have no pets now and haven't for many years. When our boys were small, we had the typical menagerie of hamsters, cats and dogs -- long before mega pet stores and the advent of designer pet food. The closest I've come to pet food in the past 20 years was to suggest, based on the recommendation of an Idaho veterinarian, that pet foods are so highly regulated now, it's fine to feed your cats and dogs whatever is on sale at the supermarket. Oh, my. I hate to even think about the firestorm that ensued. It was harsh.

Here's my take on this: The pet industry has grown from $17 billion annually in 1994 to a projected $143.6 billion by the time we close out 2024. This is big business, folks. How did that happen? I don't think the population of pet owners or the number of pets has quadrupled in 30 years. So the answer has to be -- marketing. Pet owners have been "educated" by an industry bent on growing by leaps and bounds, and in ways that have to be quite amazing.

I could give you my opinion here, but honestly, I don't think I have much standing, in that I am not a pet owner! That would be like a childless couple giving seminars on parenting, or singles teaching the secrets of a happy marriage.

Instead, I am going to open the floor, asking our vast audience of pet owners to weigh in with their best wisdom, suggestions and advice.

Do your pets eat special diets that are quite possibly more healthy than what your kids eat? How do you determine what level of food to feed them? Where do you draw the line, or do you? Is there any limit to how much you will spend?

Where are the best deals? Does kitty litter really matter if it's clumping or dust-free? Do you, like Barbara, ever feel guilty when it comes to providing the best for your fur babies?

Send your comments, advice, experience to mailbag@everydaycheapskate.com. I will compile and report back in the very near future. Thanks in advance everyone, especially any veterinarians or animal nutritionists (is that a thing?) out there. This is a great topic and one that needs expertise beyond what I have to offer. I can't wait to hear what you have to contribute. And I'll be taking notes. Who knows? The day may come that we rejoin the world of pet owners. I could see that happening. I want to be prepared, so ... bring it on!

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Mary invites you to visit her at EverydayCheapskate.com, where this column is archived complete with links and resources for all recommended products and services. Mary invites questions and comments at https://www.everydaycheapskate.com/contact/, "Ask Mary." This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually. Mary Hunt is the founder of EverydayCheapskate.com, a frugal living blog, and the author of the book "Debt-Proof Living."