In today’s busy society, online pet food stores have become quite popular. And understandably so, since trips to the store to find the pet food brands that your cat or dog need and love can take lots of time and energy. I personally know what a daunting task it can be. I have a diabetic cat that requires low carbohydrate cat food while his brother needs low protein cat food for his kidney problem. As if that isn't enough, another of their housemates has cardiomyopathy and needs low sodium food. And then there's the other "normal" cats. My options for canned cat food are very limited and the time wasted hopping from store to store is frustrating and is time I need to be spending on other things.
Therefore, when I was asked recently by MrChewy.com, one of the many online pet food stores, to try out their site and evaluate my shopping experience, I was more than happy to give it a try. We agreed up front, and I am disclosing to you, that I could choose to write a review or not and I would certainly be totally honest in my review.
When you visit MrChewy.com, you are greeted with a pleasant, colorful, and very user-friendly website. The shopping categories are clear and easy to find, and the sorting feature that lets you sort the foods by brand, price, form (canned or dry), life stage, and specialty needs make the shopping experience even easier. On the other hand, if you know exactly what you need, the search bar found at the top left of every page provides quick results.The variety of pet food brands offered by MrChewy is pretty consistent with most premium pet specialty stores and other online pet food stores, where you will find organic and natural pet food, like Halo and EVO, as well as the more traditional pet food diets like Fancy Feast. MrChewy also sells prescription veterinary diets from Royal Canin, for which they simply require your veterinarian’s name and phone number. They will contact your vet for a prescription. And, you can even buy your cat litter here as well!
I knew exactly what I needed, since my cats are limited to just a handful of diabetic and kidney friendly diets. I wondered if shopping at online pet food stores would be as easy as stopping by my local store where I know just where everything is located. For the purpose of evaluation, I did both a custom search and navigated through the categories to see just how easy it would be to browse for various other products one may be interested in, and easy it was.
If you are struggling at all, though, to find what you need, the live chat feature works flawlessly, and the staff is very knowledgeable about their product selection, prices, and policies. In the off chance you ask support a question they don’t know the answer to, they seem happy to point you in the right direction to find the information you need.
For example, when I asked support if they could provide the guaranteed analysis values for the food I was planning to purchase, they informed me that they couldn’t. This fact, to me, as both a veterinarian and concerned cat mom, was a definite flaw. However, support quickly directed me to the manufacturer’s website to obtain the information I needed. It would have been nice to get that information directly from the product description page and skip the extra step of visiting the manufacturer’s website, but that was only one small shortcoming and one that most online pet food stores share. In fact, it can be downright impossible at times to even get that information from the manufacturers.
Support can also easily guide you via the live chat feature through finding the products you need and completing your transaction if you have any trouble. They can also be received via a toll free phone number. But I doubt that you will struggle with the actual shopping part, since adding and removing items from your cart, signing up for an account, and completing the billing, shipping, and payment information is all very straight-forward.
During the checkout process, you will be asked to set up an account if you are shopping for the first time. Sign-up is easy, and you won’t need to confirm your email address before completing the transaction, which, as we all know, is often just a hassle. Having an account has many benefits, including being able to easily track your shipments, reorder your frequently purchased items, and even set up an automatic delivery schedule of the pet food or cat litter you need. You never have to be caught short again!
Price wise, MrChewy.com meets or beats most other online pet food stores and premium pet specialty stores in your neighborhood. And, you don’t have to worry that if you shop online, you will pay a higher price due to shipping. If your purchase totals more than $49.00, you qualify for free shipping. It's easy to spend $49.00 on pet food so you never need to worry about a shipping charge. According to the policy stated on their website, they ship to most locations throughout the US within 1-3 business days. I can’t verify the shipping time for the rest of the country, but my order arrived, carefully packaged, just two days after the purchase was made.
All in all, my shopping experience with MrChewy.com to purchase pet food online was a positive one. The variety of pet food brands they offer could be larger and may not be as large as some of the other online pet food stores, but is certainly a high-quality selection. And, with the prices and free shipping over $49, you’re sure to find something that fits the bill for your cats.
As I said previously, the pet food brands and flavors I have to feed my cats are so limited and hard to find that shopping and driving from store to store is frustrating and time-consuming to say the least. MrChewy.com carried exactly what I needed, at better prices than I was paying at the local pet specialty stores, and shipped quickly (and for free). It was a time-saver, a money-saver, and ultimately a worthwhile shopping experience! So much so that my next purchase of cat food is going to come from their site and I am seriously considering setting up an automatic delivery schedule. Shopping at online pet food stores is quite likely going to become an addiction for me.
I highly recommend you give MrChewy.com a try. If your shopping experience turns out to be anything like mine was, you will be glad you did!
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