# Boris Mats



## Huly (Mar 24, 2015)

I do not have an IKEA near me so what are Boris Mats? What are they made from? Where can you find them other than Ikea? Do you still need to use something under them? What is the pro and cons of these?


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## LilCritter (Feb 25, 2014)

Borris mats are just doormats that sell for $1 at IKEA. You can get them on Amazon, but it's $14 for 2. Home Depot has something similar in more colors at $4 for 2.
I don't use anything underneath because it has a latex backing and I'm assuming that water/urine can't permeate it.

Pros:

Cheap
Easy set up
dust free
Easy Wash
Cons

Rubbery smell that takes a bit to go away
Here's a thread I wrote a while back comparing them with fleece and shavings: http://www.ratforum.com/showthread.php?256506-Shavings-vs-Fleece-vs-IKEA-Borris-Mat


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## Huly (Mar 24, 2015)

Awesome! Thank you so much!


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## Minky (Apr 4, 2013)

I found mine at the Dollar Tree.


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## Tiwohunter (Nov 16, 2015)

I just saw this thread and thank you so much to all! I am trying the mats TODAY.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Great let us know guys how they fit, if you need to cut them...do you have a critter nation? Pics would be greatly appreciated. I use an indoor/outdoor mat I buy at Costco to make liners for my DCN cages- It is only 1 huge mat I cut to fit, have been using it for over 1 year. It works really well, but I'm always interested by other ideas.


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## Cloudsedge (Dec 16, 2015)

I just stopped using my Borris mats. The biggest problem for us is that all of the urine and feces just sits on the surface of the mats, since they are not absorbent. 
Then, the urine and feces gets on the rats' feet and gets tracked all over everything else in the cage. 
We'd spot-clean and wash the mats weekly, but the smell became terrible and feces was everywhere. The weekly cage cleaning was a nightmare as the mats were soaked through with urine and feces was stuck to the bottom of the cage. 
At the recommendation of some folks on this forum, we switched to some CareFresh paper bedding. That switch is responsible for a revolution in our home: the weekly cage cleaning time was cut in half, the smell is much diminished, and the feces isn't getting tracked all over everything. 
Getting rid of those dang mats has been the best thing to happen to us in the pet department since we got our ratties. 
Beware the mats!


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Cloudsedge said:


> I just stopped using my Borris mats. The biggest problem for us is that all of the urine and feces just sits on the surface of the mats, since they are not absorbent. Then, the urine and feces gets on the rats' feet and gets tracked all over everything else in the cage. We'd spot-clean and wash the mats weekly, but the smell became terrible and feces was everywhere. The weekly cage cleaning was a nightmare as the mats were soaked through with urine and feces was stuck to the bottom of the cage. At the recommendation of some folks on this forum, we switched to some CareFresh paper bedding. That switch is responsible for a revolution in our home: the weekly cage cleaning time was cut in half, the smell is much diminished, and the feces isn't getting tracked all over everything. Getting rid of those dang mats has been the best thing to happen to us in the pet department since we got our ratties. Beware the mats!


Thanks for telling us. I will keep doing what I'm doing as I like the results I have a Home Depot mixing tub on the lowest level of my critter nation cages and the cut Costo mat everywhere else- they are absorbent so I'm sticking with them


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