The best pet cooling mats in New Zealand — gel, water, and elevated options independently compared. Beat the NZ summer heat with honest picks and NZ pricing.
Last updated
By Jess Aldridge 
For most dogs: Scruffs Cool Mat — pressure-activated gel, no water or electricity needed, solid build quality, and widely available in NZ. For large breeds that overheat easily, the Petface Cooling Mat in XL offers more surface area at a fair price. Cat owners or small dog households: Pecute Pet Cooling Mat is well-sized and affordable. Prefer airflow over gel? The EzyDog Oxford Camp Bed doubles as a cooling solution. And for budget-conscious pet owners, the Paws & Claws Cooling Mat from The Warehouse does the job at half the price.
New Zealand summers are deceptive. It doesn’t hit 45°C like inland Australia, but the UV index here is savage and humidity in the upper North Island makes 28°C feel considerably worse than it sounds. Dogs don’t sweat — they pant, and panting only does so much when the air itself is warm.
Brachycephalic breeds (flat-faced dogs like French Bulldogs and pugs) are particularly vulnerable. So are heavy-coated breeds like Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds. And it’s not just dogs — cats overheat too, especially indoor cats in houses without air conditioning, which is most NZ houses.
A cooling mat isn’t a luxury. It’s a cheap piece of summer infrastructure that reduces heat stress, improves sleep quality on hot nights, and gives your pet somewhere deliberate to go when they’re overheating. For context, a vet visit for heat stress starts around $200. A cooling mat is $30–80.
Look, Māui is a staffy — dark coat, built like a tank, zero tolerance for heat. The first summer I had him, he just lay on the kitchen tiles panting from November to March. A cooling mat gave him somewhere that was actually cold, not just “slightly less warm than carpet.”
Three main types, each with different trade-offs:
The most common type. A sealed mat filled with non-toxic gel that activates (cools) when your pet lies on it. No water, no electricity, no freezer required. The gel absorbs body heat and dissipates it, staying noticeably cooler than the surrounding floor for one to three hours of continuous use. It “recharges” when your pet gets up — usually 15–20 minutes of no contact resets it.
Filled with water via a valve, similar to a waterbed principle. The water absorbs heat and distributes it across the mat’s surface. Stays cool longer than gel mats but requires filling, can leak, and is heavier to move around.
Not technically a “mat,” but worth including because they solve the same problem differently. Raised fabric on a frame allows air to circulate underneath your pet instead of trapping heat against the floor. No recharging, no gel, no maintenance — just continuous passive cooling.
Scruffs is a UK brand with good NZ distribution, and the Cool Mat is their best-known product for a reason. The gel activates quickly — within about a minute of your dog lying down — and holds a noticeably lower temperature than any floor surface. The outer material is tougher than the typical nylon you see on cheaper mats, with reinforced edges where dogs tend to scratch or dig before settling.
I’ve used one for two summers. Māui parks himself on it when he comes inside after walks and genuinely seeks it out on hot afternoons. The medium size fits a staffy comfortably; the large suits Labradors and similar breeds.
The gel recharges in about 15–20 minutes, which sounds like a limitation but rarely matters in practice — your dog gets up, walks around, drinks water, comes back, and the mat is cool again.
Honest caveat: Not chew-proof. If your dog is a determined chewer, the gel will eventually end up on your floor. The gel is non-toxic, but cleaning it up is miserable. For chewers, skip gel mats entirely and look at the elevated bed option below.
The Petface mat stands out for its XL size option — 90×50 cm gives a large dog enough room to actually lie on the thing properly, which is where a lot of cooling mats fall down. A mat that’s too small gets half-used or ignored entirely, and large breeds need genuine surface area.
The gel performance is comparable to the Scruffs — activates on contact, stays cool for a couple of hours, recharges when unoccupied. The outer material is slightly thinner than the Scruffs, which is the main trade-off for the lower price. It’s still fine for normal use but won’t survive a dog that scratches aggressively before lying down.
For Border Collies, Labs, Goldens, and similar breeds that run hot after exercise, the XL is the one to get. Pairs well with a raised dog bed for overnight use — the mat on the bed gives you both cushioning and cooling.
Honest caveat: The XL is wide but not especially deep. Very long dogs (Greyhounds, large German Shepherds) may still hang off the edges. Measure first.
I’m including this one specifically because it works brilliantly for cats — something most cooling mat guides ignore entirely. Pōhu, my ginger tabby, ignored every cooling product I tried until I put a Pecute mat on his favourite windowsill spot. Took about ten minutes for him to investigate, lie down, and not move for two hours.
The small and medium sizes suit cats and small dogs perfectly. The gel activates at lighter weights than some competitors, which matters for cats — a 4 kg cat won’t trigger a mat designed for a 30 kg dog. The surface has a slightly textured finish that cats seem to prefer over slick nylon.
For multi-pet households, the pricing makes it practical to buy two or three — one for the cat’s spot, one for the dog’s crate, one as a spare. At $20–30 for the small sizes, it’s genuinely affordable to cover multiple locations.
Honest caveat: The outer material is thinner than the Scruffs or Petface. Fine for cats and gentle dogs. Not suitable for scratchers or chewers.
If your dog will puncture any gel mat within a week — and some dogs absolutely will — the smarter approach is airflow cooling via an elevated bed. The EzyDog Oxford Camp Bed lifts your dog off the ground on a tough canvas surface stretched across a powder-coated steel frame. Air circulates underneath continuously. No gel to puncture, no water to refill, no recharge cycle.
I covered this in the dog bed guide as the best outdoor bed, but it deserves a spot here because it solves the cooling problem from a completely different angle. On a hot deck or in a garage, the temperature difference between lying on concrete and lying on an elevated bed with airflow underneath is substantial.
The Oxford fabric is canvas-grade tough and handles NZ’s UV without degrading quickly. The frame won’t rust. It’s not going to feel as actively cold as a gel mat, but it provides consistent, passive cooling that works all day without needing to recharge.
Honest caveat: It’s a bed, not a mat — takes up more space and costs more. Doesn’t provide the same immediate “cold surface” sensation that a gel mat does. Best as a complement to a gel mat rather than a replacement, unless gel mats aren’t an option for your dog.
If you’re not sure whether your pet will use a cooling mat at all, spending $70+ on a Scruffs to find out feels risky. The Paws & Claws mat from The Warehouse gives you the same basic technology — pressure-activated gel, no power needed — for about half the price.
The gel works. The cooling effect is real. The difference is durability: thinner outer material, less robust seams, and a gel layer that may lose effectiveness after one to two summers rather than three to four. For the price, that’s a fair trade.
It’s also a good option for a secondary mat — one in the lounge, one in the bedroom, one in the crate. At $25, you can afford multiples.
Honest caveat: Seasonal stock at The Warehouse and Kmart means availability is patchy outside of November–March. Buy early in the season or you’ll find empty shelves. The size range is limited compared to dedicated pet brands.
Every mat on this list is available in New Zealand through local retailers or reliable AU-to-NZ shipping. I prioritised mats I’ve either used personally or could verify through NZ pet owner feedback and retailer reviews. Evaluation criteria: cooling performance, duration before recharge, build quality, size range, NZ price, and honestly — whether the pet actually uses it. A mat with perfect specs that your dog ignores is worthless.
This depends on your pet and your situation more than it depends on the mat:
Your dog is a normal, non-destructive adult → Scruffs Cool Mat. Best balance of quality, cooling, and NZ availability.
You have a large breed that runs hot → Petface Cooling Mat in XL. More surface area, reasonable price.
You have a cat, small dog, or multiple pets → Pecute Pet Cooling Mat. Activates at lower weights, affordable enough to buy several.
Your dog destroys everything → EzyDog Oxford Camp Bed. Can’t puncture what doesn’t contain gel.
You want to try one without committing much money → Paws & Claws from The Warehouse. Works fine, just won’t last as many seasons.
You have an older dog with joint issues → Pair a cooling mat with an orthopaedic bed. Heat and joint pain compound each other. A Scruffs mat on top of a Snooza Orthobed is a solid summer setup for seniors. If your dog has joint problems, supplements and omega-3 are also worth discussing with your vet.
Some dogs lie down on a cooling mat immediately and look at you like “where has this been my whole life.” Others sniff it, walk away, and continue panting on the kitchen floor out of principle. Cats are even more unpredictable.
Buy early in the season. Cooling mats sell out fast in NZ once the first proper heatwave hits — usually late November or December. By January, the popular sizes are gone.
A cooling mat is one of those purchases where the risk-reward is obvious. $30–80 for something that genuinely reduces heat stress versus a $200+ vet bill for heat exhaustion. Get one before summer, put it where your pet already sleeps, and let them figure it out. Most do.
For related gear: best dog beds in NZ for year-round sleep, best dog harness in NZ for summer walks (use a harness, not a collar — better airflow around the neck), and best dog food in NZ because hydration starts with diet.
Last reviewed March 2026.
Yes — gel-based mats typically sit 5–10°C below ambient temperature when activated by your pet's body weight. They won't turn a 35°C room into a fridge, but they make a genuine difference on hot days. Most dogs and cats figure them out quickly and seek them out once they associate the mat with relief.
Generally, yes. Quality mats use non-toxic gel sealed inside puncture-resistant layers. The main risk is a determined chewer breaking through and ingesting the gel. If your dog destroys everything, an elevated mesh bed is a safer cooling option. Always supervise initially and check the mat regularly for damage.
Most pressure-activated gel mats stay noticeably cool for one to three hours of continuous use, then need 15–20 minutes without contact to recharge. Water-filled mats last longer but need refilling. Elevated beds provide airflow cooling continuously without any recharge cycle.
Your pet should be able to lie on the mat comfortably without hanging off the edges. Measure your dog or cat lying on their side and add 10–15 cm. Bigger is generally better — a mat that's too small gets ignored.
Absolutely — it's one of the best uses for them. Measure the crate floor and get a mat that fits flat without bunching. Crates can trap heat, especially in cars or garages, so a cooling mat inside one makes a real difference.
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