Pet Product Review: Dog Gone Smart Bed (It's Smart for Cats Too!)

My cats love a good place to curl up and nap (the more expensive or delicate the surface, the better), but there is a continuous battle between me -- the neat-freak owner -- and the hair that inevitably builds up on their favorite perches. I've had to retire many a standard cat bed after hair became too thickly mashed and entwined in the bed's fibers, despite my brushing and rubbing with sticky wipes.

Enter the Dog Gone Smart Bed, which, while technically was designed for dogs, is a great option for fur-fighting cat owners too. The patented NanoSphere material boasts anti-odor and anti-stain properties (great for dog owners), but the real innovation is how easy it is to remove hair from it. A month's worth of my two cats' hair was easily removed with a few swipes of damp paper towel, which makes me wish everything in my apartment (and my closet!) was upholstered in the fabric.

As advertised on the company's Web site, both ketchup and honey easily slid off with a quick run under the faucet, and of course, water beads right off without absorbing into the fabric. They company also claims it's easy to cancel out smells and stains from bed-wetting, but I thankfully haven't needed to test the veracity of that claim.

My cats loved the dog bed with its tougher khaki-like fabric, but Dog Gone Smart Beds also have cat-specific styles with a plush lining, which sadly does not offer the cleaning benefits of NanoSphere fabric. The NanoSphere fabric is still surprisingly soft, considering the performance and durability it claims. The bottom cushion is removable, which makes wiping off built-up hair a breeze, and all of the interior padding is removable when you want to machine wash the whole bed.

The only negative point is that the bed isn't currently carried at the more prevalent American pet-supply chain stores, so you should use the store locator on their Web site to see if there's a pet shop that sells the bed near you. Or you can order it online. There's also a bit of sticker shock with an $89.95 suggested retail price, but for pet owners facing specific stain, fur and odor headaches, this still counts as a bargain.

Tags: cat bed, CatBed, dog bed, DogBed, pet bed, pet hair removal, PetBed, PetHairRemoval