Water is what ruins a wooden floor, and a pet's bowl is the most reliable source of standing water in the whole house. A splash from a drinking dog, a dribble down the outside of the bowl, a knock during play. It sits there unnoticed until the board underneath swells or the finish goes cloudy, which is an expensive way to learn the value of putting something down first.

The pattern is a Moroccan-inspired wood design, which suits the sort of floor it is most likely to be protecting, and the construction is BPA-free PVC over EVA. It is wipe-clean only and needs no washing, which is a genuine advantage rather than a limitation: fabric mats hold damp underneath, and damp underneath is precisely what you were trying to avoid. At 2mm it lies flat and slides into a drawer between visits.

• Moroccan wood-pattern design
• 29.2 x 48.3 x 0.2cm, 60g
• BPA-free PVC and EVA construction
• Wipe clean, no washing needed
• Generous coverage for one or two bowls
• Lies flat and stores away easily

Lift it now and then. Any mat on a wooden floor should be picked up and the floor beneath dried every few days, because water that works its way underneath has nowhere to evaporate to and a mat can quietly concentrate the very problem it was bought to solve. Ten seconds while you refill the bowls is all it takes.

Who it's for: Owners feeding pets on wooden or laminate flooring who want the floor protected without a plastic tray parked in the middle of the room.