Look, I am not a cat man. Forty years in the Navy and I never met a chief who was. Then my daughter dropped off a tabby named Pepper for what was supposed to be the weekend. That was three years ago. Pepper still lives here. I have learned a few things about feeding, toys, and litter setups, and I have learned which catalogs are worth your time and which ones I would not bother with.
Here is the deal. Most of the old cat catalogs I used to flip through have either gone fully online, gotten swallowed up by a bigger company, or quietly disappeared. The companies that are still standing in 2026 are the ones with a real warehouse and a working phone number. That is what I am going to walk through.
Lambert Vet Supply
Lambert has been around since 1994 out of Fairbury, Nebraska. They are still shipping. The website is lambertvetsupply.com and as of early 2026 it is up, the catalog request still works, and the cat section runs the full list: food, beds, scratchers, dental care, hairball remedies, flea and tick, vaccines, the pharmacy stuff. They will fill prescription items if your vet sends the script over.
What I like about Lambert is that they treat cat care the way I treat truck maintenance. Less talking, more part numbers. You order the medication, they ship it, you do not get hit with three follow-up emails trying to sell you a subscription box. The prices are not the cheapest on the internet, but for prescription items they are usually within a couple of bucks of anywhere else and they actually pick up the phone if something is wrong with the order. That is worth something.
Cherrybrook
Cherrybrook started in 1969 in New Jersey. Originally they were known for show-dog supplies, which is a whole world I do not pretend to understand, but they carry plenty for cats too: beds, carriers, toys, treats, collars, the basics. The website at cherrybrook.com is still operating in 2026.
Worth knowing: their old Garwood, NJ store closed a while back. The Bedminster location and the warehouse are the operation now. So if you were planning a road trip to walk the aisles, call first. For mail order it does not matter, the boxes ship the same.
The catalog itself is on the smaller side compared to the giants like Chewy. That is not a knock. Sometimes a hundred-page catalog beats scrolling through ten thousand SKUs online when you just want a decent carrier and a scratcher that will not fall apart.
Pipsqueak Productions
This one is different. Pipsqueak is not pet food and not medicine. It is artwork by an artist named Mary Badenhop, sold on garden flags, ornaments, magnets, prints, and a few other items. Tabby, calico, black cat, white cat, you name it. The website is pipsqueakproductions.com and they are still active in 2026, also on eBay and Amazon if that is your preference.
I bought a black-cat garden flag for my daughter the Christmas after Pepper moved in. She still has it up. I am not going to pretend I have a strong opinion about pet decor, but if you are the kind of person who likes a flag with your cat's breed on it, this is the catalog. Nobody else does it quite the same way.
Drs. Foster & Smith
The original Drs. Foster & Smith mail-order outfit, founded in 1983 by three Wisconsin vets, was bought by Petco back in 2015. The standalone catalog mostly went away after that. The brand still exists as a section on the Petco site and you can find their formulations of cat food, supplements, and other supplies under that label.
If you remember the old Drs. Foster & Smith catalog and you are wondering where it went, that is the story. It is not a separate business anymore. The products themselves are still around, just under a different roof.
Chewy
I will say it: Chewy has eaten the lunch of just about every standalone cat catalog out there. They ship fast, the prices are competitive, and when one of our cats passed two years ago they sent a sympathy card with a hand-written note. Made my wife cry. That is not nothing.
The catch is, it is not really a catalog company. It is a website with a search bar and twenty-five thousand cat products. If you like flipping through a printed book in the kitchen, Chewy is not going to scratch that itch. If you just want litter delivered every six weeks without thinking about it, they are tough to beat.
What I would actually do if I were you
Here is the way I sort it out:
- For prescriptions and serious health items: Lambert Vet Supply, or your own vet if they price-match.
- For everyday food, litter, and toys: Chewy. The autoship saves you a real percentage and you do not have to remember to reorder.
- For carriers, beds, scratchers, and gift-type items: Cherrybrook. Smaller catalog, easier to read, pick what you need and move on.
- For cat-themed decor or a gift for the cat lover in the family: Pipsqueak Productions.
- For the old Drs. Foster & Smith brand: Look on Petco.com. The catalog itself is gone.
One more thing. Be skeptical of any cat-supply outfit that wants a monthly subscription before they will tell you what is in the box. I have seen too many of those pop up and disappear in the last five years. A real company has a phone number, a real address, and ships you what you ordered without locking you into anything. That has not changed since I was a young sailor and it is not going to change now.
Pepper is asleep on my recliner as I write this. I am told this is what cats do. Apparently I live here at her pleasure. Could be worse.
