The Independent's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission. Why trust us?
The online pet shops still delivering food and essentials during lockdown
Don't risk running out of your animal's favourite treats
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Throughout lockdown, the government has deemed pet stores as essential retailers and as such, many are still open.
While a trip for food supplies, toys and accessories to some pet shops is still possible, if you’re unable to leave the house online shopping for these items is the easiest way to get hold of them.
Vets are also open and are considered key workers, although practices are only seeing essential appointments to reduce the amount of physical contact between pet owners and vets.
In the meantime, we've rounded up the online shops that are still delivering so you can stock up on what you need, from food and treats to dog collars and dog beds, which can all be delivered to your doorstep.
For more reviews on tried and tested pet essentials, visit our pets section here.
You can trust our independent roundups. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections. This revenue helps us to fund journalism across The Independent.
Pets at Home’s sister vet practices, Vets4Pets, remain open for essential appointments, and you can find your local one here.
Its shops are still open too, but it has imposed purchasing restrictions on some items which vary from store to store.
If you’re an NHS worker that needs to shop, it is offering a 10 per cent discount along with a priority shopping hour on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays between 8am-9am. Vulnerable customers will be able to shop safely on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between 8-9am.
Online orders are expected to experience delays and it has advised that orders may take 14 days to arrive. Delivery is free when you spend more than £39.
The Pet Express has 18,000 products to shop from for dogs, cats, reptiles, fish, birds and other small pets, so it's a one stop shop for owners with lots of different animals.
As it copes with the surge in demand for online orders, home delivery is likely to be as long as 14 days, so bear that in mind if you’re running low on food.
Delivery starts from £4.99, but is free on orders more than £45.
All the meals on Lily’s kitchen menu caters to the dietary requirements for cats and dogs, including organic, grain-free, vegetarian and hypoallergenic dishes.
All of its ranges have wet or dry food options as well as selection boxes if you want to by a variety of snacks and meals all at once.
While there is free delivery on all orders that are more than £29, delivery times are expected to take up to eight working days.
Pet Shop started as a subscription service called bottomless bowl, which it still continues to offer, alongside 10,000 products of pet food and supplies for cats, dogs, horses, chinchillas, ferrets, fish, guinea pig, hedgehogs, hamsters, rabbits and reptiles.
It’s also taken an eco-friendly approach with its packaging, using reusable boxes for deliveries.
If you’re struggling to get to the shops, we’d recommend the subscription service as you'll receive recurring orders of your pet’s diet essentials, which is particularly hand if they’re heavy and hard to carry from a supermarket.
You can decide how frequently and how much is delivered, and the store often offers discounts upwards of 10 per cent on products ordered via the bottomless bowl option.
Catering to dogs, cats and small pets, Pet Plant has everything from food, treats, flea and tick treatments, cat activity centres and toys.
It is still taking orders as normal but advises a two-week delay on top of any standard delivery times while it copes with the high demand and a reduced call centre service as working from home.
Standard delivery is free on most orders over £39.
Here you can buy bulk quantities of everyday food and essentials to keep you stocked up and reduce your time spent shopping in supermarkets.
There is free standard delivery on orders more than £35, but deliveries are expected to have delays of up to seven days.
It has also warned customers that it will intermittently close the website to allow it to fulfil orders, but this is a temporary measure and orders are available once its back up running.
Shop at Monster Pet Supplies now
Zooplus is also offering free delivery on orders more than £35, but recommends allowing between four and six days for your order to arrive as the company adjusts to increased demand.
There’s a wide variety of food for cats, dogs, small pets, horses and birds, including veterinary and specialist diet food such as Purina, Royal Canin and Affinity Advance.
It also runs a Zooplus Magazine with tips and advice on how to parent a pet, the digestive system of domestic pets and how you should be changing walking your bet during lockdown.
With products available for most common domestic pets, Pets Direct offers home delivery from £5.95.
Presently there is no mention of a delayed service due to the coronavirus outbreak, with next day delivery for UK mainlanders, still an option at checkout.
Read our reviews on the best dog toy and bed below:
Sleepeezee basket dog bed, small: £79.99, Sleepeezee – Buy now
Owners of mucky dogs, rejoice. This can be machine washed 60C, something that's hard come by with other beds. Washing it at that temperature gets rid of even the dirtiest paw prints, and ours dried quickly too. There are other styles in the range – a flat version, pillow and travel mat – but our hound made a beeline for this deluxe doggie bed, taking every opportunity to spread out and use the higher sides for resting her head. We had ours personalised with our dog’s name, which is a nice touch. Available in three sizes and colours.
Read the full dog beds round-up here
Chuck it! ultra balls: £8.89, Amazon – Buy now
There can’t be too many dog toys that get nearly 20,000 Amazon reviews, let alone with nearly 90 per cent giving a full five stars, but we’re not surprised this textured rubber ball is such a crowd pleaser. We defy anyone to find a more durable long-lasting, long-distance ball for dogs to fetch.
It bounces impressively high, floats in water, is nice and bright for easy visibility and is very washable – good news for getting rid of all that slobber. Our tester enjoyed squashing it between his teeth too – and it still survived.
Read the full dog's toys round-up here
Read our guides to the DIY stores delivering as well as the wine shops and online food shops still delivering, too