Stumble-Proof Mat for Pet Owners

It can be difficult to see a pet lying on a throw-rug or door mat.  Tripping over your dog or cat results in injury to both animal and human.  The obvious answer is to have floor coverings in a contrasting color, but this is not always possible, especially with multiple pets.  The vacuum tends to pull out the fibers of multi-colored mats and the high-quality entry mats are all very dark (to hide dirt), which makes it extremely difficult to see a dark pet at night.  By painting a light-colored pattern onto a dark mat, it becomes easy to see if Fluffy is lying across the doorway.

Step 1

Materials required:

Door mat, $20-$40 (but you need one anyway)
Light-colored paint, $0-$10 (if you don’t have any leftovers, the hardware store usually has a stack of discounted “oops” colors or most city recycling centers give away leftover house paint for free)
Brush or stamp, $1-$5
Yardstick or painters tape, $1 (optional)

I spent $2 for a foam brush & yardstick on this project, everything else was already on hand.