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Reviewed / Amber Bouman
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Credit:
Reviewed / Amber Bouman
Reviewed's mission is to help you buy the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of product experts thoroughly vet every product we recommend to help you cut through the clutter and find what you need.
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The PetFusion ToughGrip mat was impressively easy to shake out, vacuum or wash to keep clean. Read More
The Fresh Kitty Jumbo Foam mat was surprisingly effective at capturing litter and looked good on the floor. Read More
The iPrimo mat uses honeycomb holes to contain litter then opens like a book to easily shake out material. Read More
A double layer mat with a honeycomb pattern, the Pieviev opens like an envelope to shake litter out. Read More
The Gorilla Grip comes in a variety of colors and sizes, and did well during our real-world testing. Read More
No matter how much you love your cat, you probably don’t love stepping in litter that’s been kicked out of the box. Even the staunchest cat lover likely still employs a cat litter box mat to help trap bits that escape whenever kitty exits the box. And while there is no best litter mat in existence that’ll collect every grain of litter, there are some that are much, much better at the job than others.
The main goal of a cat litter mat is to get your cat to walk across it after exiting the box in order to collect litter; the material used for a mat is often designed to get your cats to spread their toes or wipe their feet to release errant granules of cat litter.
When looking for a new litter mat for your cat, keep in mind that some cats are willing to walk across any mat you place in front of them, while others may jump entirely over a mat they don’t approve of.
The perfect type of litter mat is one that is a good size for your cat litter box, can easily be cleaned with soap and water, is great at cat litter trapping, and, more importantly, is one that your cat will actually use to wipe their small cat paws.
After researching thousands of products and user reviews, we found the best cat litter mats for pet parents and their pets.
Of all the mats we tested, the PetFusion ToughGrip was the easiest to clean.
The Fresh Kitty Jumbo Foam Cat Litter Mat was effective at collecting litter and looked good on the floor.
Effectively collects litter
Waterproof
Easy to clean litter and liquids
Not great for gunky messes
Prone to spilling
Can absorb a lot of litter
Waterproof
Easy to shake clean
Not great for gunky messes
Easy to spill
Tends to curl up at the sides
Effective at collecting litter
Available in many sizes and colors
Not good for gunky messes
Backing material is subject to tears
Cat testers did not like
Effective at collecting litter
Impressively comfortable for loop enclosure
Backing material is flimsy
Difficult to clean
Effective at containing litter
Waterproof
Multiple sizes and colors
Hard to clean gunky messes
Flexible rubber is awkward to move and clean
Creases
Natural fibers
Great for scratching
Small sizes
Not waterproof
Doesn’t contain litter well
A close-up of how litter collects on the Pieviev, CatGuru, and Gorilla Grip litter mats.
Cats are at least as picky and individual as people, so finding an across-the-board, perfect top pick among litter mats is difficult. Some cats will avoid certain textures or materials without any real reason, while others seem amenable to put their paws on almost anything.
A cat’s preferences towards a given litter mat can change for health reasons, or be the result of other changes in their environment. When shopping for the best cat litter box mat, consider the size of the mat, the materials, and how easy it might be to clean.
The ideal mat should be large enough to guarantee your cat will walk across it after exiting the kitty litter box; for front access, that’s going to be directly in front of the opening, while open-top boxes will get placed in the middle of a mat. Some mats are available in a variety of sizes or shapes, such as a half-circle for boxes in corners.
Most materials we've examined do at least a decent job of collecting litter, so much of this will come down to your—and your cat’s—preference. Cat litter mats are often made from PVC, plastic, silicone, or rubber, but there are also ones made of microfiber, sisal, jute, or polyester.
The materials themselves determine the method by which the mat collects litter; many of the mats made from PVC feature thousands of tiny loop enclosures to trap litter granules, while silicone and rubber mats often have a pattern of cups or ridges to capture litter. Plastic mats have tapered holes to collect scattered material.
One of the most important factors to consider is how easy the cat litter mat is to clean; if your cat only kicks up a bit of litter, you might be able to simply shake the mat out. But if you have an older cat or a cat with health issues, you may want something that rinses with soap and water and then dries quickly.
Microfiber mats can often be washed in a machine, but also may need to air dry, while other materials can usually be washed with soap and water or hosed down.
Amber Bouman
Parenting Editor
Amber Bouman is the Parenting Editor at Reviewed. She has twin toddlers and has tested everything from smart breast pumps to leather backpacks.
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