Read the colour list on this one before you order, because the first option is 'mixed colour' and it means exactly what it says: sixteen designs exist, and the assorted option ships whichever of them is to hand on the day. If you want a particular pattern, pick its number instead. If you are buying several for a household of cats, the assorted option is arguably the better deal and certainly the more entertaining one.

The bows themselves are ribbon, light enough at five grams that most animals ignore them within a minute, and made up in Christmas colours rather than a printed cartoon. The maker lists them as four-season, which is fair comment: a plain ribbon bow at the throat does not shout December the way a Santa print does, so it goes on being usable well past Boxing Day and into whatever the next family occasion turns out to be.

• Ribbon construction
• Weighs 5g
• Sixteen numbered designs, plus an assorted mixed-colour option
• Christmas theme, listed as suitable all year round
• Listed by the maker as suitable for dogs and cats
• Supplied as one bow tie

Two things worth knowing. And whatever design arrives, a bow tie is a supervised accessory: ribbon and small fittings come off before an animal is left alone, and a determined chewer should not be left with one at all.

Who it's for: Multi-pet households wanting an inexpensive festive touch for everybody, and cats who will wear a small bow and refuse anything larger.