His royal highness (our cat) is a typically messy eater where he seems quite content to paw his food out of the bowl only to eat it from the counter top. Whilst he may appreciate it (and possibly decreed that we should all be following his royal example), it does make the counter top very messy, especially as the food dries and grinds in.

So when I saw this mat in Pets at Home with the words 'The Boss' emblazoned across the middle, I knew that it would be ideal for him. It cost me less than £2, so you could consider it to be an absolute bargain. Size wise it is 43 cm by 31.5 cm and is about 1 mm thick.

Basically it is a plastic wipe clean place matt which will accommodate both a feeding bowl and a water bowl for his highness. It is jet black with a series of random paw prints across it and the words 'The Boss' in the middle (just in case anyone should wonder who's feeding area it is!!). So it is quite striking and does look quite stylish wherever you decide to put it and use it. It also seems to stay put on the counter well when the dishes are on it, which means that my cat will not easily be able to shove it off the counter onto the dogs below (it's an ongoing animal target practice thing in our house!)

The wipe clean element is also very useful when he does his usual messy eating routine because it normally all ends up on the mat and not on the counter. A quick wipe with a damp cloth is all it really needs to bring it back to 'as new' condition, but I've also run this matt through the dishwasher a few times to give it a really good clean, and I've never had any problems with it where it still retains its' flat shape and doesn't really warp up at the edges following such a heat treatment.

In summary then, this is a perfect item to keep you animals banquet area clean and tidy. My cat highly recommends it.

Review also on Ciao under Randal1.