Water is what does the damage, not kibble. Dropped biscuits get swept up, but a bowl that gets nudged twice a day slowly wets the same patch of laminate or timber until the joints swell and the finish lifts, and by the time anyone notices, the mark under the bowl is permanent. A large silicone tray with a raised edge is a cheap answer to an expensive problem, and this one is big enough to sit two bowls on with room around them.

Silicone is the right material for it because it does not absorb anything. Water, oil from wet food, whatever the dog has decided to carry back from the garden, all of it stays on the surface until you wipe or rinse it away rather than soaking in and staining. The walls stand 0.4cm proud, which is enough to hold a splashed bowl's worth of water, while the base is only 0.15cm thick so the bowls sit near enough to floor level and do not rock. It rolls up for storage and can go through the dishwasher.

• 86.4cm x 55.9cm
• Silicone throughout
• Raised 0.4cm lip to contain spills
• 0.15cm base so bowls sit flat
• Available in black or dark grey
• Wipes clean, rinses or goes in the dishwasher
• Rolls up for storage

Worth knowing. Neither figure changes how it performs, but we would rather point it out. Do measure your floor space before ordering, because at 86.4cm this is a genuinely large mat.

Who it's for: Households with wooden or laminate floors, messy drinkers, and a feeding corner that already has a mark on it.