Showmaster is an Australian trade brand that makes the unglamorous half of a pet shop: litter trays, dog crates and pens, feed and water bowls, cage cups and nests, poultry feeders and drinkers, aquarium gravel, reptile sand and hay. It is not a brand anyone falls in love with. It is the brand you buy when you want a tray or a bowl or a crate that does the job at a sensible price, and you would rather spend the difference on food.
How the range breaks down
- Cat litter trays in three levels of containment: a basic open tray, an open tray with a clip-on rim, and a fully hooded tray.
- Dog crates and pens — folding double-door wire crates in five sizes from 24 to 48 inch, and an eight-panel hinged puppy pen.
- Bowls in glazed ceramic and in stainless steel with a bonded rubber base.
- Bird cage gear — bolt-on stainless coop cups from 5oz to 64oz, plastic trough feeders, cane and wire nests, cage sand and an aviary catching net.
- Poultry feeders and drinkers, gravity-fed, from a 600ml chick drinker to a 4L waterer and a 3kg feeder.
- Aquarium gravel in natural brown, white and a 4-6mm mix, plus water conditioner salts.
- Reptile desert sand and small animal hay and play pens.
Choosing well
Two things are worth getting right first time. Litter trays: containment and privacy are different problems. A rim stops a digger throwing litter sideways; only a hood stops a cat that stands up and sprays, and only a hood gives a nervous cat privacy — but a hooded tray that is not scooped daily concentrates odour and cats start going elsewhere. Crates: size to the adult dog, not the puppy. The dog should be able to stand, turn and lie flat, and no more; a crate the dog can pace in stops reading as a den, which is the entire reason to have one.
On the hardware generally: stainless steel and ceramic both beat plastic for hygiene, because neither develops the fine scratches that hold bacteria and smell. Ceramic is heavier and will not slide; stainless will not break when it goes down the back steps.
