My girls are such sloppy eaters. Recs for a placemat to contain the mess?

waddle

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Petsmart, petco, and chewy all have some that look like they might work but wanted to see if anyone has a specific recommendation. I need something on the larger side that won’t slide around on my faux wood floors, and the bowls won’t slide all over the mat. I would think the rubber and silicone ones with the lip should work but I am not sure how good they’d be at not sliding all over the floor?
 

LTS3

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You can stick grippy things on the bottom of a tray or mat to keep it from sliding around. Like those rubbery grippy shelf liners. Cut to fit and glue to the bottom. Cut another piece to fit in the tray or mat to keep bowls from sliding. You can leave this loose so you can remove it for cleaning.
 

Mr. Meow

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Wet food or dry food?
Dry food, use something you can roll up and funnel the uneaten food back in the bowl. Wet food, use something you can wash/rinse.
I use a boot tray (has sides, on the heavier side so it can withstand boots, and has anti-slip notches on it) for my messy eaters. This is why I had to get a boot tray in the first place.
IMG_20210106_182452.jpg
 

artiemom

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Look in the dog section for mats.. they may have sturdier ones. I use a ceramic bowl for my guy, a metal bowl for dry food and water.. these have the rubber on the bottom so they do not move around.

A couple years ago, I found a plastic mat with a lip, which I place the water bowl on. G is a messy drinker..

I use a regular cat place mat for the food, which I wash daily...
 

PMousse

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I have a silicon mat and it works. It's non-slippery and easy to wash. However, I'm thinking about switching my messy eater's bowl to a slightly bigger and deeper one to make my job of cleaning up easier.
 

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Phicats

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Wet food or dry food?
Dry food, use something you can roll up and funnel the uneaten food back in the bowl. Wet food, use something you can wash/rinse.
I use a boot tray (has sides, on the heavier side so it can withstand boots, and has anti-slip notches on it) for my messy eaters. This is why I had to get a boot tray in the first place.View attachment 365949
I agree, it would depend on your situation.
 

danteshuman

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For dry food: my mom got a Neater Feeder (they sell it on Amazon & pet stores.) It is a dish with a lid/tray on it with a nice lip & 2 holes cut into it for bowls. So if they spill the dry food it gets caught in the lip or the tray below. Then put the spilled food into the bottom tray and refill your bowls.

For wet food I recommend one of threes mats with an edge on them. I would put a non skid things on the bottom or on a non skid mat. I feed Jackie on ceramic saucers and have yet to see a cat move those.
4F455159-FB17-4EE9-AF7E-8387F04A9872.jpeg
 

Kieka

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I use an old serving tray. The lip around the edge prevent food from moving off the tray so I am not worried about them pushing food around on the tray. The tray itself also has their water fountain on it which weighs it down enough that it doesn't slide on my floor.
 

dvgvintage

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I use a tray to feed mine - I went through several sizes until I found one at the Dollar Tree that is not too large/small and easier for me to use when feeding my two (2). The oldest one is the messy one, and I always used a placemat since she was a kitten (now almost 12). The trays work perfectly for me and them. Since their bowls were sliding, I brought self liners from the Dollar Tree too and made a pattern from a paper bag for the size and that worked. The younger cat is not messy.
 
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waddle

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Boot tray is a good idea! I picked up one of the silicone mats with a lip today. I didn’t think of it before but I probably have some rug liner left that might help if it still slides a lot. Both my kitties are sloppy with canned food, and one of them likes to take dry food and raw meat out of the bowl and put it on the floor/mat before she eats it. 🤦‍♀️
 

danteshuman

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I had one cat that speared his wet food onto his claws, and then ate it off his paw! I gave up and started putting newspapers under him, to catch his gravy paw prints! 🤣
 
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