A bowl on bare flooring turns every meal into a small cleaning job afterwards — water flicked past the rim, kibble nudged off the edge, all of it landing directly on the floor rather than somewhere easy to wipe. A placemat under the bowl moves that mess onto a surface built for it.

This is Mason Cash's Honeycomb placemat in grey, from their Pets Collection, made in plastic specifically so it wipes clean rather than absorbing spills. It measures 31 x 43cm, giving enough room around a bowl for the usual splashes and scattered kibble to land on the mat rather than the floor beneath it.

• 31 x 43cm
• Plastic construction, designed to wipe clean
• Honeycomb pattern in grey
• Part of Mason Cash's Pets Collection

On care. Mason Cash do not state whether it is dishwasher-safe or give a weight for the mat, so if you want to run it through a dishwasher rather than wiping it by hand, that has not been confirmed to us.

Who it's for: owners who want to protect the floor under a food or water bowl without buying a full feeding station, particularly under a bowl that gets pushed around or splashed during meals.