Paw Prints the Magazine

The Crater Dot Contoured Pet Lounge

By Stacy E. Smith

We love pet beds around here and the Crater Dot from Sleepypod looked like something new and different. Since we had already tried the Sleepypod (carrier + pet bed combination) and loved it, we had a good feeling about the Crater Dot.

What they say:

The Crater Dot is a comfortable lounge for your pet. The polyester plush dot center provides an easy to clean and comfy spot to relax. The foam lounge base is polyester fabric over a moulded foam form that is contoured to provide just the right padding for you pet. The Sleepypod Warmer Kit can be installed in the pocket in the base.

What we say:

Dogs love it, too.

Considering our smallest dog weighs over 50 lbs. (our largest about 112 lbs.) the only candidates for trying the Crater Dot were our cats. I mention it only so no one thinks that this product is only for cats – it is certainly appropriate for any pet that will fit on it. Maybe some day Sleepypod will make products for large pets, but until then our cats will do as guinea pigs.

The cats took to this thing immediately, with no prompting and no introduction whatsoever. I set it on the dining room table after taking it out of the box (just for somewhere to put it until I decided where it should go) and that was all it took. There was a cat lying on it in less than a minute. I have to say we’ve never had a cat that wasn’t at least a little wary of a new bed – they’re strange things with strange smells. This was an immediate hit.

Colors, colors, colors...

As it turns out, all of our kitties LOVE it! In fact, all three of them try and squeeze on at once – if any one of them leaves the least bit of room that is. Most often the boy is, shall we say, made to feel unwelcome and the girls are the ones that wind up sharing.

There are lots of colors from which to choose and the style is as simple as it gets, making it no problem for almost any color scheme or style of decor.

We have only one tiny issue (and it is minuscule) – although the middle piece that constitutes the primary surface on which your pet will lay is removable and can be therefore cleaned easily, the fabric used on the base (the black part) happens to be a magnet for fur and is a little difficult to clean since it cannot be removed and tossed in the washing machine. Depending on what type of vacuum cleaner you have and the attachments available you may have the same trouble.

For more information on the Crater Dot, visit sleepypod.com

Tags: cat bed, Crater Dot, dog bed, pet bed, Sleepypod