Whisker’s Holistic Pet Care

First came here to pick up some supplies when we adopted our first cat. The lady behind the counter was very helpful and was knowledgeable about certain foods that shouldn’t be included in our cats diet, like fish. The food prices here costs a little more than where we normally get online, but great place to pick up treats and toys! On our second visit, the staff helped us pick out a harness and leash for our cat. They were more than helpful, but it ended up being a waste of time. For those thinking of walking your cats, good luck with that. We tried once, and now the harness has become an occasional chew toy. The store also has adorable cats available for adoptions regularly.

I had my first experience with Whiskers today after my girlfriend checked them out last week to find a new pet store and I am THRILLED.
I called to see if they would be able to deliver some pet food before I left for work (I only had an hour and a half and I wasn’t counting on it), and the woman on the phone was stellar and set me up on a bi-​weekly food delivery plan so I don’t have to worry about my dog running out of food or getting to the store on the other side of Astoria around my work schedule. In the span of maybe 40 minutes my plan was set up and paid for, and my first two week supply had been delivered! Efficient, friendly, and knowledgable. I can already tell I am going to be a long-​term customer of Whiskers as long as I’m in Astoria :)

This place is a hidden gem! I usually get food and accessories for my cat at other big chains in Manhattan as well as «niche» boutiques with hard to find items. However, I live in Astoria and stumbled upon the Whiskers website. I was thrilled to see that this store carries all of the hard to find brands of cat food such as Ziwipeak, Applaws, and Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Frozen bites! I must say that aside from the plethora of cat food, toys and accessories, the customer service is first-​rate as well!
Since I adopted my cat in October of 2014, I met many salespeople and brand specialists but NONE of them can hold a candle to Chris!!! Chris actually seemed passionate, excited, and happy to help me or mostly, my cat! She knows her stuff and helped me pick the right food for my finicky cat… with directions and tips as well! Chris genuinely loves cats as she basically cared about the wellbeing of my cat making sure his diet is balanced. She also suggested the best treats as well as toys for my cat. All I can say is that I am so relieved to have found a Mom and Pop shop with real experts who care about the wellbeing of pets and the pets’ owners. Nothing was left unanswered and I feel confident in what I’m feeding my feline! I also love the informative brochure and the rewards points system Chris wanted to make sure I took advantage of due to the amount of cat food, etc, I will buy weekly. Furthermore, to have someone in a store advise that I can call for advice or questions sets Whiskers on a level higher than the rest!
I’m glad I found this gem and I lucked out finally to have someone like Chris eager to share her knowledge! Exemplary customer service will keep me returning to Whiskers no doubt! Bravo!

I have to agree with the reviews about the attitude! I came here to support local and buy raw food for my cat– I have a car and can easily drive to Petco or order online so I hope they read these reviews and take them into consideration!
The guy who works is great and nice and helpful I think he’s from the NYC location? He took time with me to price out options chatted welcomed me and signed me up for their frequent buyer program .
The lady (owner?) has not been friendly or helpful or nice the past times I have been — I. e: talking down to me about what I feed (if you don’t recommend fish to cats then UHM WHY ARE YOU SELLING IT!?) doesn’t bother to check on anything or help with prices. I asked a simple question and get an attitude and no help just a sigh of annoyance sorry I used a coupon sheesh!
I will comeback if I can figure out when the guy is working!

Adopted a special needs cat. The staff at Whisker’s were helpful getting me up to speed with cat specifics. I grew up with dogs, so the cat universe is new to me.
A nice selection of foods, equipment and speciality items for your pets. They even gave me a sample of local holistic cat food. Prices were slightly higher than what I found online, but their specialized customer service (they can recommend holistic friendly vets), and knowledgeable staff made up for it.
Whisker’s is conveniently located near Ditmars, so you don’t have to trek all the way into the city for supplies.

We live a few blocks away, and I’m glad that this place is so close, and I’ve had a great experience everytime I’m in there, about once a week or so. Even when we walk by or on the block, our dog gets excited and wants to take a visit, and they love him there.
They have a great selection, and we’ve purchased things from food, leashes, winter boots, etc. Reasonable prices, some may be overpriced (comparing retail to online prices is stupid and unfair by the way, everything online is cheaper!) You go to a store for the experience and knowledge, and they’ve been great with everything.
The staff is very friendly and have NEVER been pushy about anything. Thomas, is great, and everytime we do need something that they may not have, he’ll call their East Village location for us to see if they have it or it’s equivalent, and has it sent over to their location for us.
The female, Chris, was even nice enough to spot me a roll of poop bags, as I was walking my dog and was near there so I popped in to grab a roll because I ran out on our walk, and realized I forgot my wallet. She said just pay her back next time, which we did the next day.
Overall, great place, and I love supporting our local businesses, especially if they’re deserving of it.

Whiskers is the closest pet store to me by a long shot and I’ve been in a few times to purchase food for my own kitty and toys for new pet owners. I’ve put up with the pretension of the staff for years, thinking that the convenient location outweighed the off-​putting lectures I received every time I went in there (not to mention the steep price tags). I held out hope that maybe I just caught the on-​duty staff person on a bad day, but soon it became clear that the culture of this particular establishment is to preach at customers — even when they do not solicit advice — and try to shame them into thinking that they are not properly taking care of their pet.
My most recent visit, was the final straw and I must further emphasize how strongly I feel about this by making mention that I have never written a negative Unilocal review until now. I’ve been a proud Astorian for over ten years and I love to patronize local, small businesses, especially those in my immediate neighborhood.
My advice to the staff of Whiskers is to tone it down, considerably. There are plenty of ways to offer pet care advice without being condescending and overly critical if you want customers to be receptive. In fact, if this store cares as deeply about pets as they claim to, then it would behoove them to figure this out, as no one deserves to leave there — after spending money, at that — feeling like a deadbeat pet parent.

Whiskers was recommened by a friend of the family. The store has tons of great stuff at totally inflated prices. My cat is 16 years old going on 17. She’s having trouble with her kidneys and was given me medication by my vet. After trying to get the cat to eat every renal formula cat food on the planet the vet and I decided that we’d rather see her full with the medication than not eat anything at all (which was the case with the renal formulas) So we went back to her regular cat food with the meds mixed in and she ate it and the meds.
. They sold me a bunch of stuff one of which was $ 75 per bottle (had I seen the price before I bought it I wold have turned it down). The cat wouldn’t touch it. They also sold me the same pills that my vet gives me for $ 30 their [price was $ 50). I returned the bottle unopened. Then they told me to make a mixture of the meds and force feed her. No way am I going to force feed a 16 year old cat and have her run from me everytime I go near her.
The canned food I found at
for anywhere from 30 cents less a can to 50 cents less a can with free next day delivery for orders over $ 50.
I was supposed to have two bags of feline pine litter delivered to my home but my fios was out of order and the next day when I called to explain that I was home but the phone was out of order the guy copped an attitude with me. I might go back for little things but as far as for the care of my old girl, I’ll trust my vet (who practices wholistic medicine) and just use them for the incidentals. Should I need anything small.
I don’t appreciate being spooken to like I’m an idiot. The condescending manner of the guy on the phone just put me off. My advice, check other sources before you jump in to buy stuff. I’m retired on social security and that $ 75.00 fiasco was half my food money for the next week. Good luck and beware.

Good products, negated by super rude staff and severe overpricing. Every time I go in there I say to myself «I hate coming here.“I decided I would no longer patronize this place and head to specialty stores in the city when one worker told me I couldnt pet the cat living in their window display unless I «filled out an adoption form.» My god, get a grip.

Is is just me or is the newest person there who takes orders over the phone often sounding rushed and stressed out. Everytime I call it seems they must always put me on hold to check what they have in stock… then they don’t have this or that… I suggest a replacement… they must put me on hold again… I sense the stress… and then inevitably I don’t want to ask anymore questions so I just say ‘fine, whatever you have I’ll take it’, even though I DO want to explore other options… I DO want to price compare. But it’s become such a stressful experience and I can tell the guy himself gets irritated because I think they are understaffed. It’s almost making me want to take my business elsewhere because ordering delivery from them has become so complicated and difficult.

What a GREAT store!!! Yesterday I went here in hopes they had a special product for my kitties; a product no one in NYC has seemed to have in stock and nothing I wanted to order online and YUP! They had it! Along with a ton of other awesome stuff!!! The man at the store was super friendly as well recommending the best catnip for fun high times for my kitties! Love a pet store like this; it’s the real deal, good products, good people and aligned with a local rescue group to adopt out kitties! My cats and I approve.

I appreciate the free delivery, but I also enjoy dropping in to check out the community board and say hi to the kitties up for adoption. The fact that the kitties get a room of their own and not a tiny cage like most pet stores & vet clinics speaks to Whiskers’s passion for pets’ general quality of life.
Big selection of food, toys and treats for cats, dogs and littler pets.
Chris in particular is awesome — very attentive and knowledgeable. She informed me that I shouldn’t feed fish to my cat due to a past urinary blockage emergency — something my vet didn’t even clue me into. Props to you, chica!

So I’m giving this store 2 stars because they get credit for having a good selection. Other than that, I have to rant. This store is wayyy overpriced. They wanted almost $ 100 for Cosequin when I got the same exact thing online for $ 38. The owner of all people, is very snippy and not friendly at all. Ask a reasonable question, expect to get a smartass answer. Customer service is very important to me and this store is really lacking. I will not be going back because I don’t want my blood pressure to spike again!

I can be antisocial at times. Sometimes I just want to keep to myself. The sales people at this store don’t really let me do that. Then I turn into socially awkward penguin and I have a whole rambling odd conversation with them because I don’t want to be rude. That is my main experience at this store.
I love their selection though — absolutely great food, toys, treats, products, etc. I really couldn’t ask for a more convenient location and quality of products for my pet’s food and needs…
Just prepare to be friendly and you’ll be fine.

I went here to pick up a bag of Orijen for my pups. The place is moderately sized but it carries a lot of great products and brands. I love the stock here but the staff is something else. They can get pushy not about selling product but about how you raise your animals! Although the sentiment was appreciated, the way they went about it was completely uncouth and will prevent me from ever coming back to this Whiskers. The subject was transitioning your puppy to new food which is part of every Puppy 101 pamphlet/​book/​magazine/​forum out there. They’ll tell you how to raise your puppies with bulging eyes and gritted teeth, even though you’ve only innocently mentioned two words (new food) before they’re gnawing on the bloody stump that was your neck.
So if you do go here, mum is the word unless you want to hear an earful, it’s worth treading dark waters to purchase product here.

Whisker’s is great! They have the best brands of pet foods available as well as some great toys and gear.
The last time I was here they didn’t have the size of a bag of food that I wanted in stock, so they had their Manhattan store deliver it to me, gratis.
Nice people who know the inventory.

3.5. I’ve been mulling over what to say in this review for a very long time. I come here because I don’t want to give all my hard earned money to Petco. I support small businesses — especially pet stores that don’t double as puppy mill store fronts. I’m just worried I’m going to get the evil eye the next time I come in with my wolf pack.
The thing is, shopping at Whiskers reminds me of a trip to Grandma’s. I am bound to hear nagging about something. When I call for food delivery, and they ask me what I want I’ve been known to respond with, «What’s the cheapest?». Inevitably the response I get is, «You can’t switch around his food, last time you got XYZ.» Then I respond with «Yes, but that’s because you were out of his normal brand.»
A scenario that occurred during this past Saturday’s visit unfolded like this: Man asks about a toy for his bird. Staff responds by saying something about the toy, and then lecturing him that he had better have planned out what to do with his bird after he dies because his bird is going to live longer than he is. Ouch. But, they’re totally right. Another customer came in needing advice about what toy to get his Puggle puppy. He explains the dog is destroying his apartment when left alone. He then receives a lecture on getting a dog walker because the lack thereof is why his puppy is destroying everything in his apartment. Agreed. What I’m trying to say is the message is all good– the transmission of it not so much.
I also believe that they have to practice what they preach. I bought a toy made from ‘New materials’ in China. If this is a holistic pet store should there really be toys on the shelf that aren’t natural?
I know it’s not easy running a small business when there’s Petco’s being erected as often as Joan Rivers face gets a lift. I also think there are way too many irresponsible pet owners. But, you have to wonder if there’s a way to transmit the message in a more friendly method that’s better for business?
To end on a positive note; I appreciate the free samples, the overall quality of their products, the option for delivery, and the fact that at least no one is nagging me to settle down and get married.

I love this store!!! It’s better than a lot of holistic pet stores I’ve been to in Manhattan.
First, the products are fantastic. My cat really likes Halo crab, shrimp, and chicken… not the most common or easy flavor to find. They not only have this exotic flavor, BUT they always have it on stock and deliver it to my apartment.
The delivery can even be timed… if you ask for them to deliver the food, litter, toys, ect. at 3:15 they will be there at 3:15 on the dot. Top notch!
The staff is very helpful and informative. They understand crazy pet lovers.
Definitely worth the trip.

Are you tired of feeding your pet (s) Purina or super market brand name food with chemicals and food coloring? If you actually care about your pet (s), this is the place to come in Astoria. Prices are great (ignore those cheap complainers-​shame on you!!). I get a bag of Stella and Chewy freeze dried duck treats for $ 10.99 when another store in Astoria (not mentioning name here), sells them for $ 17.99!!! Yeah, that’s a 7.99 savings. Not only do they have great prices for quality food and items, but they have free deliver with a minimum order of $ 15. My lazy fat ass loves this! They’re also open late til 8PM or 9PM. If you’re a 9AM-​5PM kinda person, you don’t have to come rushing home to go and buy food. You can also call in advance and place your order. Also, for every $ 100 you spend, you get $ 5 towards your next purchase.
As far as the staff goes, they are freaking amazing and extremely knowledgeable. They’re filled with great advice and tips. I actually just like coming here and chatting with the ladies. ;)
Please be good to your pet (s) and come and buy them some good food and treats. Believe me, you’re pet will be so much happier!
Oh yeah, this is kinda of unrelated, but check out
for nutritional advice on dogs.

This is the closest Pet store to me, so this is where I shop, but every time I leave I feel terrible.
They are condescending about pet care, and everything is so expensive. I think it is reasonable to buy the cheapest brand at a organic, fancy upscale pet food supplier, but when I ask they are reluctant to help.
I’m thinking of resorting the the cat food crack Friskies just so I don’t have to deal with their attitudes.