The most practical cat feeding mats have to be non slip. The mat and the food bowl must stay on the floor without sliding around. The best mats are silicone, which is non slip or microfiber, or a fabric which has a non slip backing.
Silicone cat food mats often have a slight raised edge around the top. This prevents food from being pushed over the raised edge to the floor and also contains any liquid spills. Silicone mats are made like this because the mats are molded.
Why Do You Need A Cat Feeding Mat?
We have not always used a cat feeding mat. In retrospect, I don’t know why as it so much easier keeping the cat’s feeding area clean and tidy using cat food feeding mats.
- When using a cat feeding mat, bowls don’t slide across the floor.
- It is far easier to pick up and clean a feeding mat than getting down and cleaning the floor.
- Chunks of wet cat food that have hardened can be difficult to pick up and also get stuck to the floor surface. Eliminate food messes.
- A cat feeding mat protects the floor surface when food bowls are always placed in the same location.
- If you are away from the home during the day and have an automatic self feeder
for your cat it makes sense to have a cat feeding mat under the feeder. So much easier to clean up any messes when you get home.
- If your cat is a senior it is essential to have a decent cat feeding mat/placemat or whatever you like to call it. Senior cats are messier and are definitely more prone to dropping bits of food that then get stuck to the floor. So much easier to pick up a mat. Either throw mat in the machine or wipe clean depending on the material used to make the mat. Some silicone mats cat feeding mats even go in the dishwasher.
Does It Have To Be A cat Feeding Mat?
You can use any placemat which wipes clean, OR if you do choose a fabric mat, ensure it can be machine washed.
A hard, slippery, plastic surface may be easy to wipe clean but will skid around the floor. That is not going to work. Been there, done that and it was backbreaking repeatedly picking it up.
You can see the anti-skid, water resistant bottom layer of the mat we are using at the moment.
It stays in place and there is no chasing the bowl.
Another option is to use a disposable placemat. There are times when they are useful, for example when someone else is caring for your cat for a period of time.
It makes life easier for a cat carer and when someone is doing a favor, it’s nice to make the chore as easy as possible.
What You Need To Look For In A Cat Feeding Mat
The most important features are
- The cat feeding mat needs to be non slip.
- The dimensions – will the cat feeding mat fit the space, so that no one will be tripping over it.
- Is the cat food mat easy to access for the cat?
- The material used in the mat’s construction. The most practical cat feeding mats are silicone or microfiber or synthetic fabric. The mat has to be easy to clean.
- Is it reasonably lightweight? You don’t want to wrangling with a big heavy mat.
- The color may not be important to you but there is a huge choice of cat feeding mats. They come in super bright colors and neutrals plus mats with funny kitty sayings.
The photos below show the pet feeding mat we are using. It has been machine washed or spot cleaned many, many, many times and still looks good.
It doesn’t skid at all.
Our cat loves his mat so much that he is partial to having a little snooze on the mat.
Maybe he is hoping the the empty bowl will be magically filled while he is asleep.
I think the cat has FOMO.
What Are Cat Feeding Mats Made From?
Cat feeding mats fall into two categories.
There are mats made from silicone which are non slip.
There are mats made from microfiber or fabric which have a non slip backing.
There are mats made from polyester, rubber and recycled materials.
Choosing a cat food mat is a matter of practicality of space and personal preference in design.
We have reviewed the different types of pet feeding mats.
Silicone Cat Feeding Mats
One very good design feature of silicone food mats is the rim around the edge.
The rim on the silicone food mats keeps all the food and any liquids, contained on the mat which is helpful when cleaning the area.