Plastic is the quiet culprit behind a good deal of feline chin acne. It scuffs, the scuffs hold bacteria, and the bacteria sit against the chin at every single meal. Ceramic does not behave that way. It is non-porous, it does not scratch the way soft plastic does, and it holds no smell between meals, which is also why fussy cats will often eat from a ceramic dish after turning their nose up at the plastic one they were given.

That is generous for a cat, so read it as a bowl you can fill loosely rather than one you should fill up. The weight is the other real advantage: a ceramic dish stays where you put it, so mealtimes do not end with the bowl three feet from where it started and half the food on the floor behind it.

• Glazed ceramic, dishwasher safe
• Capacity given as around 450ml
• Listed at 18cm x 18cm x 6.5cm
• Six options across purple, off white and yellow
• Small and large sizes available
• Non-porous, so it holds no odours between meals

Two things worth knowing. Ceramic also chips if it is dropped on a tiled floor, which no glaze prevents.

Who it's for: cat owners moving away from plastic dishes, and anyone with a cat who shoves their bowl around the kitchen while eating.