One of the worst things about cat litter is that it can find its way all over the house.
On the floor, in the carpet and all over the sofa. If you’re like us, you’ll have even had it stuck between your toes. Not only that but standing on some litter can be like standing on Lego (swear much?!)
So, in this article, we’re going to have a look at the best cat litter mats to stop your cats’ litter from getting everywhere.
At A Glance: Our Top 4 Picks
Gorilla Grip Cat Litter Mat: Best For Most Cats
4.2 out of 5.0 stars (4.3)
The Gorilla Grip litter mat is excellent at trapping cat litter, it’s easy to clean and comes in a range of sizes and colours.
PetFusion Toughgrip Cat Litter Mat: Easiest to Clean
4.3 out of 5.0 stars (4.3)
The PetFusion Tough Grip is soft on cats’ feet, does a decent job of catching litter and is super easy to clean.
iPrimio Cat Litter Trapper: Keeps Litter Out of Sight
4.5 out of 5.0 stars (4.5)
The iPrimio litter trapper is easy to clean, and keeps litter out of sight. You can only buy it in the US though which makes it expensive.
Pieviev Cat Litter Mat: A Cheaper Option to the iPrimio
4.1 out of 5.0 stars (4.1)
The Pieviev cat litter mat is similar to the iPrimio. It does lack some features but it’s around a third of the cost. And users love it anyway.
Why Do I Need a Cat Litter Tray Mat?
Even the best cat litter tracks. The worst can find its way into places you never even dreamed it could.
A good cat litter mat acts like a doormat. It traps most of the litter as your cat walks across it so it doesn’t track all over your house.
Also, if your cat makes a mess when they go to the toilet, like;
- Pooing outside of the litter box, or
- Kicking their litter out of their litter tray
A litter mat will catch that mess instead of it happening on the floor. This is especially important if you have carpets nearby!
The best cat litter tray mats don’t just trap most of the litter. They’re also easy to clean, non-slip, and gentle on your cat’s paws.
All that said, no litter mat is 100% effective so don’t expect it to catch every bit. Chances are, you’ll still see a little bit escape onto the floor, albeit a lot less.
Why Trust Us?
Pet Checkers has been in business since 2013. Since then, our team of cat sitters have cleaned litter boxes several thousand times.
We’ve used hundreds of types of cat litter, cat litter scoops, litter trays, cat poo bins and litter deodorizers. And of course, litter mats.
We’ve even tested hidden litter box furniture!
And because we’re in the business of scooping cat litter, we get to talk with and get the opinions of;
- Our clients
- Other pet carers
- Vets
- Cat rescues, and
- Behaviourists
Plus, we have our own cats.
This means we can test products. Both from the perspective of professional pet carers and pet owners.
How We Chose Which Cat Litter Tray Mats to Test
Choosing which cat litter mats to test was pretty straightforward. We;
- Scoured online shopping sites like Amazon, Pets at Home and Zooplus for user reviews.
- Spoke with our clients to see which ones they liked, didn’t like and why.
- Consulted with a local cat charity, and
- Talked to a cat behaviourist to get her thoughts, and
- Leaned on our own experience of using some of these products in our customers’ homes.
This gave us quite a few products to choose from. Many were very similar, with almost identical features. The only difference for many of them was the logos.
So, to narrow it down, we looked at;
- How many online reviews these products have, and
- How well they scored in those reviews.
This gave us 17 mats to choose from.
How We Tested
We ran our tests at the same time we tested to find the best cat litter bins and cat litter.
We asked a few trusted customers to test different cat litter at home with their cats. At the same time, we placed the litter boxes on a cat litter mat.
Every day for 6 weeks, we scooped and cleaned the litter twice a day. With each visit, we graded each litter mat on;
- How much litter it trapped
- How much litter made its way beyond the mat and onto the floor
- How easy it was to clean, and
- How gentle it was on a cat’s feet
Litter Mat Reviews: A Closer Look at Our Top Picks
After testing 17 different cat litter mats for 6 weeks (and then over the course of the following year), we chose 4 of the best.
1. Gorilla Grip Cat Litter Mat Review (Extra Large): The Best For Most Cats
| Criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| Litter Trapping | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Ease of Cleaning | 4.0 out of 5.0 stars |
| Soft On Cats’ Feet | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Total Score | 4.3 out of 5.0 stars (4.3) |
For most cats, in homes, the extra large Gorilla Grip cat litter mat is the best we have found.
It comes in a range of colours so if you’re trying to match it with your litter box or any decor, you’ve got half a chance.
The extra large size (35 inches x 23 inches) is big enough for most cat litter boxes to sit on top of. That said, if you have big cats who spring out of the litter box after toileting, the jumbo size would be better.
When it’s on the floor, it stays put. It doesn’t slide around and it stays flat without hunching up.
The ‘webbed’ structure does an excellent job of trapping even the smallest bits of litter. Very little made its way onto the floor.
Cleaning it is pretty easy too. Because it did such a good job of trapping litter, it did take a few passes with the hoover to get it all out. Washing it was no problem either, a bit of washing up liquid and a shower head or garden hose. did the trick.
It isn’t ideal for every cat though. If your cat is a scratcher, the webbed texture might encourage them to claw at it. While this didn’t happen during our tests, some online reviews have mentioned it.
For most cats and their owners though, the Gorilla Grip cat litter mat is excellent. It’s not only super popular with tens of thousands of sales, but it’s also very well-reviewed by users.
2. Pet Fusion Tough Grip Litter Mat (Extra Large): Easiest to Clean
| Criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| Litter Trapping | 3.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Ease of Cleaning | 5.0 out of 5.0 stars |
| Soft On Cats’ Feet | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Total Score | 4.3 out of 5.0 stars (4.3) |
If you’re looking for a litter mat that’s super easy to clean, the PetFusion Tough Grip is the one to choose.
It comes in two sizes. The large measures 76.2cm x 58.4cm and the extra-large is 96.5cm x 66cm. We tested the extra-large to catch as much litter as possible.
Made from silicone, it’s soft on cats’ feet.
It uses soft ridges to encourage any litter off your cat’s feet. The raised outer edge contains any litter on the mat.
Because litter and any mess sit on the mat instead of getting trapped within it, it’s super easy to clean. Either with a brush, vacuum or damp cloth.
That said, because it doesn’t ‘trap’ litter like the other mats on our list, we did find a bit more litter found its way onto the floor. It wasn’t a lot more, but enough that we noticed.
3. iPrimo Jumbo Litter Box Trapper Mat: Keeps Litter Hidden
| Criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| Litter Trapping | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Ease of Cleaning | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Soft On Cats’ Feet | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Total Score | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars (4.5) |
If you hate the sight of scattered cat litter, have a look at the iPrimo Jumbo cat litter trapper.
It has a two-layer design which opens like a book. The honeycombed top layer lets scattered litter fall through to the bottom layer. The bottom layer traps it, keeping it out of sight.
It’s 73.6cm” long and 68.5cm wide so it’s big enough for most cats. The holes in the top layer are quite big too so it lets even the big litter granules though.
Cleaning it was easy enough during testing. We chose to recycle the scattered litter by opening the mat and tipping it back into the litter box. Hoovering it was a bit hit and miss. Some vacuums aren’t strong enough to remove any litter trapped below the top layer. As such, it’s best to open it if you want to hoover it. The bottom layer is flat and smooth so wing it clean is dead easy. Any gunk or mess that gets caught in the honeycomb holes was easy to wash out with a hose or shower head.
We loved the fact that because it opens up, you can insert a puppy pad to catch any wet accidents. This is especially handy if you’re litter training a kitten, or your cat has a habit of missing the litter box.
The iPrimo cat litter trapper is one of our favourites from testing. That said, it’s American and the price to buy it in the UK is eye-wateringly expensive – over £100.
You can buy it directly from Amazon in the US instead. While it’s still quite expensive with shipping costs, it’s still nowhere near as expensive as buying it in the UK.
And it’s worth the cost.
4. Pieviev Honeycomb Cat Litter Trapping Mat: A Cheaper Alternative to the iPrimo
| Criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| Litter Trapping | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Ease of Cleaning | 3.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Soft On Cats’ Feet | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Total Score | 4.1 out of 5.0 stars (4.1) |
If you like the idea of the iPrimo but you don’t want to foot the cost, the Pieviev cat litter mat is excellent.
It has a similar two-layer design with big holes in the top layer to allow litter into the bottom. Instead of opening like a book, it only has one opening, like a pouch.
This makes tipping scattered litter back into the litter tray or bin super easy. That said, its inability to open makes cleaning the bottom lay a bit trickier. We had to reach our arms inside it to wipe it down. Cleaning with a hose or shower head is easy but it does take longer to dry. Like the iPrimo, hoovering can be a challenge.
It’s also a bit smaller at 76cm long by 61cm wide.
While the Pieviev isn’t as easy to clean as the iPrimo, it works in very much the same way. It’s soft on cats’ feet and you can buy four of these for the price of one of the iPrimo mats.
In fact, the Pieviev is the cheapest cat litter mat on our list. And with over 10,000 online reviews, cat owners love it too.
In Conclusion
The best cat litter mats not only prevent your cat from walking their litter the house. They should also be easy to clean and soft on your cats’ feet.
While some of our recommendations aren’t cheap, they shouldn’t break the bank. If you ask us, the benefit of not having to hoover up cat litter all over the house makes a decent litter mat worth every penny.
