Paws Pals Cat Litter Mat Scatter Control
Why you should trust us
I'm a lifelong pet parent, and I have several years of experience volunteering at animal shelters. For this guide, I spoke with Mary Molloy, an accredited pet behaviorist with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, about the litter mat types that cats prefer. I also contacted Dr. Ann Hohenhaus, at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center veterinary hospital, to learn about safety considerations when cleaning litter mats. And I sought the professional opinions of both staff and felines at Meow Parlour, a cat café in New York City.
Who this is for
A cat litter mat is for anyone who has a cat litter box—that is, everyone who has a cat. These textured mats act like a doormat: Even the best-behaved cat tracks litter granules out of the litter box, and a good litter mat catches most of those bits before they spread throughout your house. But no litter mat is a perfect catchall, so don't be disappointed if you use one and you still see a bit of litter scatter.
Some cats also just make a mess out of doing their business: missing the litter box entirely, coughing up hairballs, or sprinting out of the litter box and sending litter flying. A litter mat is an easily cleaned surface to help limit these disasters, so they don't happen on your floor. You can also invest in dust-free cat litter or buy a higher-sided litter box to reduce the effects, but nothing will entirely eliminate litter scatter.
A good cat litter mat helps contain messes, and it's definitely better than having your litter box on a bare floor. But we found only small differences in how much litter they trapped. So think about what other characteristics—easy to clean, comfortable for paws, aesthetics—matter most to you before purchasing a mat.
How to clean a cat litter mat
Cleaning a gunky litter mat is probably the last thing any cat owner wants to do after giving the litter box a good scrubbing. But you have to do it to prevent your pet from spreading bacteria as it walks on the mat and then, for instance, hops on your pillow. Before removing crusty crud, run a handheld vacuum over the dirty litter mat to remove loose litter scatter. Some Wirecutter staffers keep a handheld vacuum stored near their litter box so it's within easy reach. We like the Black+Decker 20V Max Lithium Pivot BDH2000PL because it has strong suction that efficiently picks up cat litter scatter, and its pivoting nozzle easily reaches into tight crevices behind litter boxes and between litter mat indentations. Alternatively, take the litter mat outdoors and give it a good shake into a garbage bag to prevent fecal matter from contaminating waterways.
We've found that it's easiest to run a dirty mat under a hose or a bathtub faucet to remove gunky messes. The ASPCA recommends cleaning a litter box and litter mat every week with warm water and unscented soap. (Cleaning with unscented soap ensures that your cat won't develop an aversion to the scent.) If your cat hovers over the litter box edge while doing its business and makes a mess, clean that up with a good enzymatic cleaner that neutralizes pet odors; Wirecutter staffers are big fans of the Nature's Miracle lineup of urine destroyers and advanced stain removers. And never use an ammonia-based cleaner on pet accidents: Urine contains ammonia, and cleaning a spot with ammonia may encourage your cat to pee there again.
How we picked and tested
We looked at cat litter mats of all shapes, sizes, and litter-trapping designs across manufacturer sites, as well as on Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, Chewy, and Walmart, among others. We noted their price, materials, and design, and we narrowed the group down to our contenders based on long-term positive owner reviews. From those, we selected mats that were square- or rectangle-shaped and came in large enough sizes to accommodate most litter boxes.
As Wirecutter's pets writer, I've been testing our picks for five years with my own cat, and I used that data to inform this guide. In 2022, I compared the performance of Wirecutter's picks against new contenders by rotating their use every few days over two weeks. I paid attention to their litter-trapping capabilities, how easy they were to clean, and their comfort, traction, and durability.
In 2017, I evaluated the contenders using expanded criteria (outlined below) and then tested the finalists with Wirecutter staffers' cats as well as with 13 resident cats at the Meow Parlour cat café in New York City.
- Trapping litter: I spilled a tablespoon of our cat litter pick on each litter mat and rubbed it in, taking note of how well each mat trapped both large and small particles.
- Easy to clean: I ran a vacuum cleaner over the scatter and counted how many passes it took to clean it up. Then I smeared artificial poo (half-baked chocolate-chunk brownie batter) on them and tried spot-cleaning the goo with paper towels and water, rinsing off any residual mess.
- Comfort: I ran my hands and bare feet over each mat to determine which ones were more comfortable to walk on than others. Although humans and cats have very different feet, you can still get a feeling for those mats that are major outliers: "If you press your hand against it and it feels pretty uncomfortable, then your cat's not going to like it, either," said Mary Molloy, a certified professional pet trainer and, at the time, owner of Nirvana Tails in New York City.
- Skid resistance: To make sure the mats wouldn't easily slide about, I kicked them across a hardwood floor.
- Durability: I looked at the quality of each mat's construction, seam integrity, and accessories to determine how well they would stand up to abuse. Then I ran simulated cat claws (plastic meat shredders) across the surfaces to see which litter mats retained their shape the best.
Our pick: Gorilla Grip Cat Litter Trapping Mat
Our pick
The Gorilla Grip Cat Litter Trapping Mat traps small litter granules well due to its coiled design. It's also comfortable to the touch, and it's likely to hold up to any abuse from your cat.
This mat comes in the widest range of colors we've seen (there are currently 18, including aqua and light purple, in addition to more-practical colors like gray and black). The Gorilla Grip also comes in seven sizes (the largest is about 4 by 3 feet) to protect more of your floor. And it's our only pick that comes in different shapes: Along with the standard rectangle, the Gorilla Grip mat comes in a wedge shape to fit into corners, as well as a half-moon shape.
Like most of the cat litter mats we tested, the Gorilla Grip does a good job of trapping small cat litter granules. If all you have to worry about is your cat tracking litter out of the box, this mat will stop most of it from making its way to your floors. The mat is designed with tightly woven coils that hold litter but are easy to vacuum clean or shake loose.
You can also feel confident knowing that your cat will actually enjoy walking on this mat. The Gorilla Grip mat was one of the softest we tested, surpassed only by the foam SmartGrip mat and our former top pick, the now-discontinued Easology mat. The Gorilla Grip was marginally less likely to skid across a hardwood floor than other litter mats we tested (the Petlinks Purr-fect Paws and the PetFusion ToughGrip mats were close seconds). And thanks to this mat's PVC construction, your cat can scratch and wipe its paws all day long without damaging or pilling the mat's surface.
Should you have any issues with the mat, Gorilla Grip offers a 10-year "no questions asked" warranty to address any defects. That warranty extends to items bought from any licensed retailer, not just from Gorilla Grip's own website; a mat we bought from Amazon came with a slip of paper explaining the warranty.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
Like most litter mats we tested, the Gorilla Grip mat did well at locking small granules, but its coil-like texture was too intricate to capture larger granules. So keep a dustpan nearby to sweep up any larger pieces of cat litter.
The Gorilla Grip also isn't ideal if your cat has stomach issues or frequently misses the litter box. Because of the mat's tightly woven strings, spot-cleaning is difficult (as it is with the Pet Magasin mat, which has a similar textured design). You can run the Gorilla Grip under a hose or a bathtub spout to remove caked-on debris, but if you frequently have to clean up pet messes, consider the PetFusion ToughGrip instead.
Lastly, we've seen a few Amazon reviewers complain about this mat's durability and lack of skid resistance. In our recent testing, however, the Gorilla Grip mat held up well to our cats' daily scratching. It showed no signs of wear and tear, and it stayed in place rather well. Wirecutter senior staff writer Kimber Streams has owned the Gorilla Grip mat for a year and agreed that it stays put: "Our bathroom rugs slide a lot more [than this mat]," Kimber said. (You can also try placing your litter box partially over the mat to help keep it in place.)
Still, Kimber did mention that after a year of use, the mat split in half. They didn't seek a refund, but the manufacturer offers a 10-year "no questions asked" warranty. When a Wirecutter tester posed as a disgruntled customer with the same issue, the company offered a replacement once we confirmed the order details.
Also great and easy to deep-clean: PetFusion ToughGrip Cat Litter Mat
Also great
If your cat often makes sticky messes just outside the litter box, go with the PetFusion ToughGrip Cat Litter Mat. It's made of silicone, so you can quickly wipe off vomit, hairballs, diarrhea, or other unpleasantness, and you can easily clean the mat with hot, soapy water. The wide-groove design simplifies tossing litter back into the litter box or trash can, but it doesn't trap litter as well as our main pick, the Gorilla Grip.
The ToughGrip silicone mat has a raised outer lip and raised inner ridges along its surface. The wavy ridges are ¾ inch apart, and since the mat is smooth, unlike our other picks, the litter falls free easily when you tip it out. Although this mat's ribbed design is meant to help contain litter scatter, it's not as effective at doing so as the coils on our main pick—especially if your cat frequently steps in its mess and tracks dirty litter everywhere (such gunky scatter doesn't cling to this mat like it does to the Gorilla Grip).
Regardless of the mess, the ToughGrip is the easiest mat to clean of those we've tested. (Our human friends at the Meow Parlour cat café favored this mat over others for that reason.) The faux poo we applied came off swiftly with a wet paper towel, while caked-on messes slipped away with a quick run under the kitchen faucet. This mat was also the easiest to vacuum of all those we tested, needing just one pass to capture the litter scatter. (Most other mats either had holes that were too deep for the vacuum's suction to reach or they got caught in the vacuum cleaner's suction, similar to a bathroom rug.)
The ToughGrip's smooth silicone makes it one of the softest mats we tested, but its raised inner ridges are less comfortable. The mat also stays in place better than most models we tested, and it's likely to far outlast the PVC-foam SmartGrip, the other PetFusion mat we tested, which could easily be shredded by curious claws.
The PetFusion ToughGrip comes in one color and two sizes (27 by 22 inches and 36 by 26 inches).
Also great for hiding litter: iPrimio Cat Litter Trapper Mat
The competition
Thinner litter mats
2022 testing
The Drymate Original Cat Litter Mat's single-layer design doesn't have the litter-trapping coils or holes found on other mats, and its recycled-polyester fabric failed to trap cat litter during our tests.
2017 testing
Made from PVC and featuring a tiny, quilted design, the PetFusion SmartGrip Cat Litter Mat is the most attractive option we tested. However, that soft mat is susceptible to being effortlessly destroyed by a cat's claws (especially by cats who use their litter mat to clean their paws). It also performed in the bottom half of our test group at trapping both large and small litter particles. And we found vacuuming up litter scatter to be difficult because the vacuum's suction kept it from sliding across the mat.
The Pet Magasin Cat Litter Mat (which comes in a two-pack) has tight coils. These made it harder to spot-clean, and it was the only single-layer litter mat we tested that we couldn't vacuum up the trapped litter from.
Thicker litter trappers with holes
2022 testing
Though the Pieviev Cat Litter Mat occasionally tops Amazon's best-seller list in the litter mat category, we don't recommend it because it's difficult to clean. Unlike our iPrimio pick, which looks similar, the Pieviev opens on only one side, so you can't unfold it to clean inside the crevices.
2017 testing
The WooPet Cat Litter Mat is another pricey option with a honeycomb, dual-layer design. In our tests it trapped litter better than the BlackHole mat (below), but not as well as the iPrimio mat. There are tiny bumps on the honeycomb top layer, and one of our testers noted that their cat was reluctant to walk across this mat. The WooPet mat is secured shut on the two longest sides with Velcro, which can get smelly and less able to fasten over time as the mat is exposed to cat urine, litter dust, pet fur, and the like.
Although the BlackHole Litter Mat is a more expensive layered mat in the style of the iPrimio, it has slightly smaller holes and is not as good at trapping larger granules. Instead, those granules pile on the top layer, which defeats the purpose of having a litter trap. Also, the mat opens only at the two shortest ends, forming a tube, rather than opening like a book. So it's not as easy to open and clean as the iPrimio.
The Petlinks Purr-fect Paws Litter Mat is a single-layer mat that uses circular recesses to trap litter, similar to a honeycomb mat's design. It was one of three mats that performed the best at trapping litter (the others were the iPrimio and the WooPet mats), but it was also one of the hardest to thoroughly spot-clean. The recesses made cleaning dried urine and sticky messes more difficult for us. And as with the honeycomb mats we tested, we couldn't vacuum up any litter trapped in this mat's holes.
This article was edited by Catherine Kast and Jennifer Hunter.
Sources
-
Dr. Ann Hohenhaus, staff doctor, Schwarzman Animal Medical Center, phone interview , October 12, 2017
-
Mary Molloy, CPDT-KA, owner, Nirvana Tails, and animal behavior counselor, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, phone interview , November 6, 2017
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-cat-litter-mat/
0 Response to "Paws Pals Cat Litter Mat Scatter Control"
Post a Comment