This mat is really helpful. It does catch all of the excess litter and we happen to have a naughty kitty who likes to go in and kick out half of it, so this does save a lot of money. The only downside is it opens horizontally, down the middle, so when pouring the litter back it spills everywhere. It would have been better if it opened on one side and you could just pour it, like when filling up your sugar jar. But we are happy with the mat.