From Clark Meoward*: Free 2-Day Shipping Deals

Buying cat food economically is a heavy proposition. Heavy, as in 15+-pound bags and 9-pound cases of cans. Shipping is expensive, but you can't use a cheap, slow method that has the meat baking in a delivery truck for days this summer. And top-quality brands are only sold in independent pet stores with high overhead.

I've used three sites lately that offer free 2-day shipping no matter how heavy your order! And when you buy online, you save sales tax.

• Amazon. If you haven't checked them lately, their selection will surprise you. Prime members pay $79 a year for no-charge 2-day shipping on everything shipped by Amazon; non-prime members have a $25 order minimum.
• Wag.com. When I commented on the phone that they have Amazon-like shipping, they let me know they are a subsidiary of Amazon. Free 2-day shipping on $49+ orders and their prices often beat those on Amazon.
• MrChewy.com. This new business will grow fast by offering great deals like free shipping on $49+ and by reaching out to rescue groups.

Free Cat Food Lottery: 75% Odds of Winning. I've ordered off Wag.com and MrChewy.com twice each this year. Wag messed up my order both times and MrChewy once. All three times I called and reported the error and they said to keep the cat food they sent by mistake and shipped the correct food the next day free of charge. The inconvenience is annoying, but you can end up getting some expensive cat food free. Today, MrChewy sent two cases of Felidae Grain-Free Salmon instead of the two cases of Felidae pureSEA I ordered.

*With apologies to consumer expert Clark Howard from his biggest fan