Slow Feeder & Lick Mat Feeding Station

One tray with four jobs on it: two round bowls for food and water, a ridged pad for anything spreadable, and a honeycomb section that traps kibble down in the holes so it has to be worked out. A meal that took thirty seconds takes several minutes.

The licking part is the useful bit. Sustained licking settles a lot of dogs down, which is worth knowing before you leave the house, during nail clipping, or when there are fireworks outside. Wet food, yoghurt or peanut butter into the grooves. Freeze it and it lasts considerably longer.

It is food-safe silicone, so it flexes, goes in the dishwasher, and has a raised lip that keeps most of the mess on the tray rather than the kitchen floor.

Two sizes

• Small — 30 × 20 × 4.2 cm. Cats, puppies, small breeds.
• Large — 43 × 28.8 × 4.2 cm. Medium and large dogs, or two pets eating at once.

The large one is roughly the footprint of a sheet of A3. Measure the spot on your floor before you pick it.

In the box
One feeding station, in the size and colour you pick. Black, milky white or sky blue.

Worth knowing
The lick pad wants soft or spreadable food; dry kibble belongs in the bowls and the honeycomb. First time out, most dogs stand and look at it — put something obviously good in the grooves to begin with and they get the idea fast.