Cats eat better from a shallow dish than a deep bowl, and the reason is their whiskers. A whisker pressed against the steep side of a bowl sends back a constant stream of information the cat did not ask for, and some cats respond by pawing food onto the floor or simply walking away from a full dish. A saucer removes the walls entirely, and this one happens to be worth looking at as well.

It is moulded from premium food-safe melamine, which sits between ceramic and plastic in a genuinely useful way. It has enough substance not to skate about, with none of the ceramic habit of shattering across a tiled floor when it is knocked off a step. The orchard print of fruit and flowers has a hand-painted quality to it and holds up through the dishwasher rather than washing pale after a fortnight, and the base is finished non-slip to keep the saucer where you put it.

• 13.2 cm diameter saucer
• 90 g, premium food-safe melamine
• BPA-free
• Resists chips, scratches and breakage
• Non-slip base
• Dishwasher safe
• Suitable for indoor or outdoor feeding

One rule with melamine. It must never go in the microwave. Melamine does not heat evenly and the surface can craze, so if you warm wet food for a fussy cat, warm it in something else and tip it into the saucer afterwards. The dishwasher is fine. And if the surface ever chips through to a rough edge, retire the dish, because a chip is exactly where bacteria settle.

Who it's for: Cats and small dogs who eat from a saucer, including Persians, Ragdolls, Chihuahuas and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, in a kitchen where the bowl is on show.