Cold without a fridge, a plug or a fan.
The gel activates under body weight and recharges on its own once the animal gets up. Nothing to plug in, nothing to freeze, and no cable near an animal that chews.
Taxes calculated at checkout
Size: XS
Why you'll love it
Flat faced dogs, thick double coats and anything black in July. A mat that stays below body temperature is one of the few things that actually helps, and it works while you are out.
Freezer packs get forgotten and cooling fans need a socket. This works the moment the dog lies on it, every time, which is why it is still in use in August.
The back of a car on a motorway, a crate at a show, a caravan. It folds and weighs about the same as a towel.
Good fit if
Look elsewhere if
The gel inside is a phase change material. It absorbs heat from whatever is lying on it as it changes state, and it releases that heat back into the surrounding air once the weight is removed. That is why it works without a plug and why it recharges by itself in a quarter of an hour or so.
It also means the mat is not cold to the touch before use, and it is not supposed to be. Owners sometimes conclude a mat is faulty because it feels room temperature. Press a hand onto it firmly for thirty seconds and the cooling becomes obvious; that is exactly what the animal experiences when it lies down.
The cooling effect is real but modest, and it is finite. A large dog lying on a small mat will saturate the gel within an hour, after which the mat is doing nothing until it has rested. Sizing generously matters more here than with a bed, because a larger pad holds more capacity and lasts longer between resets.
It is one measure among several. Shade, airflow, cool water and walking outside the hottest part of the day all do more, and none of them can be replaced by a mat. Think of it as helping a dog settle indoors on a warm afternoon rather than as protection against genuine heat.
The one real failure mode is puncture. The gel is nontoxic, but a chewed mat leaks and is finished, and the mess is considerable. A dog that works at bedding should not be left alone with one, and a crate is the worst place for a chewer specifically because that is where a bored dog starts on whatever is available.
Keep it out of direct sunlight, which warms the gel faster than an animal can benefit from it, and wipe rather than washing, since the nylon face is waterproof and the seams are the weak point. Store it flat or loosely rolled; folding it repeatedly along the same line eventually stresses the seal.
In the box
How it works
Shop by pet or category to find exactly what your cat or dog needs, no wading through thousands of listings.
Check out securely with card, PayPal or one tap Apple Pay & Google Pay. Free delivery over £45.
Fast, tracked dispatch straight to your door, and a happier pet before you know it.
The details
| Size | Dimensions | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| XS | 40 × 30 cm | Cats, toy breeds, carriers |
| S | 50 × 40 cm | Small dogs, crates |
| M | 65 × 50 cm | Spaniels, terriers, medium crossbreeds |
| L | 90 × 50 cm | Labradors and retrievers |
| XL | 81 × 96 cm | Large breeds, car boots |
| XXL | 120 × 75 cm | Giant breeds, or two dogs |
Size up rather than exactly. The animal should fit entirely on the mat, and a larger pad holds more cooling capacity, so it lasts longer before needing to rest and recharge.
Loved by real pet parents
Bought the 90 by 50 for a labrador in July and he was lying on it before I had it flat on the kitchen floor. It stays noticeably cooler than the tiles he had been using and he settles on it rather than wandering the kitchen all evening. Nothing to plug in or freeze first, which is why it actually gets used.
It does recharge itself once he gets off it, but on a really warm day that is nearer half an hour than the fifteen minutes I expected. Only a problem if you have one mat and two dogs, which of course we do. The nylon face wipes clean of garden mud with a damp cloth.
It folds down small enough to keep in the boot permanently and comes out at every stop on a long drive. She flops onto it in the back and stays there for the rest of the journey. The 65 by 50 is right for a medium dog curled up.
He is a big dog and every mat we tried before left half of him on the bare base. The 120 by 75 covers the crate floor end to end and he sleeps flat out on it. Wipes clean with a cloth and goes straight back in.
It is properly cool to the touch and the cat did use it through the hot spell. The catch is that it only stays cold under something that stays put, and ours gets up every ten minutes, so she is often lying on a patch she warmed up earlier. Good for a dog that settles, less so for a restless cat.
Bought the 40 by 30 to line the bottom of the cat carrier for summer journeys and it fits without folding. She lies on it rather than avoiding it, which I half expected her to do. No power and nothing to remember before we set off.
This is its second July and it cools exactly as it did when it was new, which is more than I expected from a gel pad. It has been folded and unfolded all that time with no splits or leaks anywhere. Both dogs use it, though rarely at the same time.
The 81 by 96 is properly weighty to pick up, so moving it from room to room is a two handed job rather than something you do casually. It does exactly what it says once it is down and he stays on it through the afternoon. Folds flat, but light it is not.
Takes up hardly any room in the van and gives her somewhere cool to lie when the awning heats up. No socket needed, which in a caravan matters more than anywhere. The waterproof face means a sandy wet dog is not a problem afterwards.
Good questions
It sits a few degrees below the room, not refrigerator cold. The effect is steady contact cooling rather than a shock, which is the point, since anything genuinely icy is bad for an overheating animal.
Take it away. The gel is nontoxic but the mat is not a chew toy, and a punctured one is finished. Use it under supervision with a dog that chews bedding.
Measure the dog lying stretched out and pick the mat that covers chest to hip. They do not need to fit on it entirely, as most animals cool themselves through the belly and the pads.
It is not cold to the touch beforehand and is not meant to be. It draws heat out on contact, so press a hand down firmly for half a minute to feel what the animal feels.
A punctured mat leaks and is finished. The gel is nontoxic but the mess is significant, so do not leave a dog that chews bedding alone with one, particularly in a crate.
Larger than you think. The animal should fit entirely on it, and a bigger pad holds more capacity, so it goes longer before the cooling runs out and it needs to reset.
Advice
Watch how your dog sleeps before you buy. Sprawlers and curlers need opposite beds, and buying the wrong one is why it sits unused.
7 min read