This is my first cat crate. I was a little hesitant ordering one because our current lot of cats can be picky, and because we have 3 largish dogs in the house, it’s debatable if the cats would play with any toys. I took the plunge and bought a box without a subscription. There was an issue with the shipping set up on their Shopify (it only showed local shipping), so after some great communication, they were able to send me a separate invoice for shipping and it arrived a couple days later. Bonus points for fast shipping. My two dog boxes that were supposed to ship immediately are taking their sweet time.
Catoro Cat Crate Overview
Cost: $49.99 CAD + shipping + Tax
Value: ?
Frequency: Monthly
Cancellation Policy: None listed
Payment: Not listed
Focus: “The Canadian subscription box that helps rescue cats.”
Ships From: Vancouver, BC
Established in: ?
Inside the Box
This cute little catnip pillow is already a hit with the kitties here. I stopped trying to keep it in the box before reviewing because they would come along and steal it. I have no idea where it is anymore.
There’s no branding on this so I’m assuming it’s locally made, but no idea by whom.
This pouncin’ prawn from Mad Cat is adorable and already loved by our cats. It is also, unfortunately, loved by our dogs, whom I’ve found carrying it around. It’s much too small for the pups to play with, and they love destroying stuffies. This little shrimpie is filled with both catnip and silver vine, so is doubly effective at attracting the felines.
This toy isn’t listed on Catoro’s site, but you can fetch one at Homes Alive for $9.99! I’m actually surprised at how expensive it is. I thought it would be $6 or under.
I can’t imagine this duck pâté not being a hit with the kitties. It is offered through Catoro for $95.76 for a case of 24 boxes of 182g. You can also get it at Bosley’s for $3.99 for just one. If you do the math, you don’t really save anything by ordering a case, but if you go through a lot of it you can save time.
This looks like a great little product for kitties with sensitive tummies.
I used to feed Acana to my cats consisntently without any issues. Then I had an older siamese dropped off at my house. I was offered $100/month to take care of her, which I thought was a lot, so I suggested the owner just continue to buy food, litter, and take care of any vet bills. I should have gone with the money because she only bought 1 bag of replacement litter and then basically disappeared.
The cat’s name is Yuki. Tony and I call her Pukey Yuki because she has a tendency to vomit. She likes to puke in the most inconvenient places. Sometimes on the bed, sometimes on the bath mat, sometimes on Tony’s contact case. Coco tends to clean it up, and as gross as it is, I’m glad dogs are gross because that means less for Tony to clean up. He’s pretty great.
Anyway, Acana is pretty expensive, and Yuki was puking up so much of it anyway, I opted for a cheaper brand and voila! The puking reduced. She does still puke on occasion, but not nearly as often as she used to. I’ve fed 7 cats this food, and Yuki is the only one to not do well on it. She is also old, apparently coming up 18, so there’s that.
I do think it’s weird to include samples in a subscription box unless they are a bonus item. I haven’t tallied the total of the box yet, so not sure if they are a bonus or part of the cost.
Ah, more samples. Between the four of them, I might save a couple dollars feeding my three cats. I don’t think I’ve ever tried FirstMate before, so we’ll see how it goes. I’ve never found that my cats were picky eaters, but then I’ve never fed cheap food. I like that it’s two varieties, even if I don’t like the smell of fish-based kibble.
I love puns, and the fact that these are the G.O.A.T. and made with goat milk. I love it. Bahaha!
This is a very large bag for so few treats. They easily could’ve halved the bag. If you stand it up, the treats barely come up to the window. Odd choice on bag size, but there you are. Let’s blame covid.
Not all of my cats are big fans of treats, but all three of them ate these. Marty and Oreo ate them where they were given, but Yuki had to have it in her food bowl. Not sure if that’s a quirk of hers or if she just felt safer from the dogs up there.
These treats are also unavailable on Catoro’s website, but you can purchase these on Pets Alive for $7.99.
All of my cats have pretty short hair and none of them seem to deal with hairballs. Even Pukey Yuki just throws up food. I do have a friend whose cats have hairballs consistently, so this will likely be a gift to her. You can purchase this at Catoro for $12.49 (although at the time of writing there’s only one left!) or at Bosley’s for $18.99. Huge price difference there. Or, even better, you can order it through Homes Alive for only $11.99! One of my previous agents orders from Homes Alive quite often. Maybe I need to jump on this train too. Homes Alive is a Canadian company based in Edmonton, Alberta.
Cature is a Chinese company, so if you can read Chinese, you are welcome to do more research. I don’t read Chinese, and their English site is not currently available, so my information is limited.
I had never heard of litter deodorizers before. I used wheat litter for years, and have now switched to sawdust, so smelliness hasn’t been much of an issue. I’m not sure how I feel about the scent of these. It’s a very fake floral scent. It reminds me of scented toilet paper, which I hate. Do not scent my TP!
These are not on Catoro’s website, and in my brief search I can’t find any local listings. You can, however, buy it on Amazon for $14.99 for a .55lb container. The one I got, however, is a sample that expired on November 7, 2022.
This is a cute little picture of cat on waxy paper.
Overall Impression
Um… as nice as the staff at Catoro are, I don’t think it’s cool to include samples as the 8-15 “amazing items”. I can go up to my local pet store and grab all those samples for free (except maybe the Cature litter beads). You’re technically not allowed to sell samples, and getting around it by including them in a box not as bonus items is just… I don’t know… rude? I got this box for 30% off, and would have been really choked to spend $75 (with shipping) on these items. I’m already choked to have spent $55 on it. I know it’s going to a good cause, but… you’re not supposed to sell samples, and it’s a really cheap way to fill up the box. Five out of the eleven items in this box were samples.
I think I’ll keep my eye out for a different Canadian cat subscription box. Let me know if you have a suggestion!
wanderingfawn 