Customer Reviews
ZZZZZZZtttt!!!!! 
2008-08-01
We put the video camera aimed at the computer table (where our mischievous male whippet always jumps up and walks on the keyboard, knocks over stuff). Got some good footage of him sniffing the scat mat, then jumping up....then, ZAPPPP!!, he was trying to run away sooo fast like a road runner cartoon. Our other female dog was in the background (sitting quietly on the sofa). Judging by where her head had turned, it appears the scat mat startled the male whippet enough to send him sprinting off the table and up the steps to the 2nd floor!
Nice product shipped quickly, worked as advertised...
Very effective and inobtrusive 2008-07-31
I bought 2 of this mat to keep my dogs off my sofas. They work very well and yet are humane. There are 3 levels to "shock" the animals. Even at the highest level, it is no more than a big static electricity shock you may get after walking on wool carpeting. Easy to turn on and off, and roll up when not in use. This sure beats having to place random objects on the furniture which made it look like clutter!
I highly recommend this product.
Works like a charm 2008-06-18
I love it and the cats hate it. It works great and keeps the cats off the new couch. I wish I had found this product sooner.
Exactly as advertised 2008-06-16
Very effective! Took exactly one attempt per pet to permanently keep them out of my living room. No more "accidents" in that room ever since. I don't even have to turn it on any more. They just stay away.
Now they only "go" on the carpet just inside the house next to the doggie door. Only when I'm not home. Not sure how to fix that behavior. :-)
Not worth the money! 
2008-06-05
The scatmat worked for a couple of months and then just quit working. You can only return it for 30 days. Since mine worked for a couple o f months and then quit I am stuck with a $76.00 piece of plastic. My cats lay on it all the time ... keep in mind this while the mat is on high with new batteries!! Don't waste your money!
Really GREAT purchase! 2008-05-05
The Scat Mat is a touch sensitive training pad which says no, when you can't. Place the clear flexible vinyl Scat Mat in a room entrance, on your sofa, counter top or the hood of your car. The touch sensitive pad will silently protect prohibited areas from trespassers. When touched, the battery sends small pulses to the mat for three seconds. These surprising little zaps quickly repel most animals who stay away after one or two exposures--even after the mat is removed. Veterinarian approved Scat Mat works when all else fails. Used in conjunction with your normal training techniques, and surface cleaning (as appropriate for elimination behavior changes) the Scat Mat will help you restore harmony to your household. Easily move your Power Pack from one mat to another. Scat Mats only train pets who get onto, or into the unapproved space. Scat Mats operate unattended and correct the pet at exactly the time and location of the unwanted behavior, day or night. Action Indicator Light helps you decide when the pet is trained. It will blink a count showing how many times the mat has been stepped since it was last turned on.
I had my doubts, but it works 2008-05-02
I have two dogs who spend most of their lives in either the back yard or our living room. We bought a new couch and decided that this one, unlike the last, would be off limits to the dogs. This isn't ideal, of course. If you want your dogs off the furniture, it's always best to be consistent with that message right from when they are a puppy. We hoped, however, that the new couch would be different enough so that they wouldn't get confused. It's been about a week and we don't really need the mats anymore. I still leave them on most of the time, but even when they are off the dogs don't even think about jumping on the couch.
Now, as for the shock, it's not that bad. We leave ours on high and I've been shocked plenty of times and so has my fiancée. It is much more surprising then painful for us, and I would assume for the dogs as well. Though when we first got the new couch our lab, after being shocked while standing on it, came back to sniff this new insult in the middle of his room and got zapped right on the nose. We felt a little bad about that. There was no yelping or anything dramatic though. He just seemed very surprised.
I originally thought of a mat that held a charge at it's surface and then released it at the slightest touch. That doesn't seem to be how it works though, which is a good thing, I suppose, if you don't feel like replacing your battery 5 minutes after you lay the mat on something a little too conductive. Just keep this in mind when you first get it and try testing it out. You'll put in the battery, turn it on low, hover your hand over it for 20 seconds while you get up the courage, then quickly tap it ever so lightly and gently. That won't do it though. It somehow notices motion or some other kind of disturbance, then lets out three quick shocks about a half second apart. So just build up a little more courage and put the side of your hand down on it like you mean it.
Good product, but only used it for 10 minutes. 
2008-04-07
I purchased this mat to keep my cat from running out the front door. She had escaped a few times, and I was trying to find something to keep her in. I put the mat in front of the door, turned it on the lowest setting and waited. She ran down the stairs, and jumped on the mat. It shocked her, and she ran back up the stairs. She tried one more time, before she stopped going all the way down. We turned the mat off, and she hasn't tried to get out since.
My only issue is that I bought the mat, only used it for 10 minutes, and now it is sitting on the floor. It was a bit of a waste, but it did work.
Broke Three Times - Buyer Beware 
2008-04-04
Purchased this to condition my cats to stay out of the nice TV room, and it did work... for a week. Inexplicably, the mat lost its ability to shock after just a few days, and a call to the company confirmed that the battery pack was no longer sending a current to the wires in the mat. To their credit, Contech did ship a replacement pack free of charge... which stopped working two weeks later. Tests over the phone, guided by Contech customer service, confirmed that this pack was also faulty, and so they offered to replace the entire unit - pack and mat. This new mat arrived a few days later, and promptly stopped working.
So I gave up. And now, I caution you to avoid this product, and instead purchase one of those "prickly pad" mats that doesn't rely on technology or electricity. Stay away from this delicate and unreliable product. Two stars - would have been one, but Contech did make every effort to fix the problem, although it was clearly a losing battle with this shoddy product.
Zap, zap, zap... 2008-04-01
I have five cats and the biggest one likes to remind everyone who the big cheese is. He would back up into a corner of my office and let loose. It was along the door, so he basically drew a line along the door, claiming it as his own. Twice a day I had to spray and wipe up pee. If I didn't it would permiate down the hallway. I bought the mat, the large one. I used very thin two-sided tape to keep it in place, on the tile surface. It is transparent so you can barely see it. It is made of good quality plastic/rubber. It has three settings, zap, ouch, and nuke 'em. The set up was breeze, just put in a battery, conect the little control box and you're ready for action. Initially I put it on the lowest setting and put my hand on it to test. It was a very light tingly/zap. I kept my hand on it and it kept pulsing until I took my hand off. The cats walked over, one touched it and jumped three feet in the air then an into the closet, so the other one came over to see and took off running. Even the dogs don't like it. It works like a charm. I keep it on the highest setting to keep the dogs out, and although the cats have learned to jump over it, I don't find myself wiping up pee any more.
Important note, don't ever walk around barefoot and step on it at the highest setting, it's like a really good static shock that'll make you dance on the mat.
