Not everything needs a pattern. A plain dish is easier to see the bottom of, which sounds trivial until you are trying to work out whether a cat who has gone off her food actually finished the last meal or only pushed it around. The Gibraltar is the undecorated one in the Tarhong range, a clean-lined, sturdy saucer that does its job and then stops.

Melamine gives it the properties that matter at floor level. It will not shatter when it goes off a worktop, it does not chip or craze at the rim the way a glazed ceramic does after a year of being knocked into a skirting board, and it is BPA-free throughout, so it is safe for daily food contact. The anti-slip base keeps it steady on tile and laminate, and it goes through the dishwasher with the rest of the washing-up rather than needing a rinse by hand.

• Plain, clean-lined design with no pattern
• 13.2 cm diameter, 90 g
• Shatterproof, chip and scratch-resistant melamine
• 100% BPA-free and food safe
• Dishwasher safe
• Anti-slip base
• Suitable indoors and outdoors

Two things worth knowing. Melamine is not microwaveable, so heat wet food elsewhere and tip it in. And a saucer this shallow suits wet food and small portions of kibble; a dog who eats fast and pushes will still shift a 90 g dish across a tiled floor, non-slip base or not. If yours does that, a heavier ceramic is the more honest recommendation.

Who it's for: Cats, kittens and small dogs, and anyone who wants a durable feeding dish without a decorative theme attached to it.