These are sturdy stoneware ceramics which do not chip or break easily as do fired ceramics fired at lower temps (i e, some glazed plant pots + other pet dishes). While white porcelain products are very nice, I prefer this darker stoneware material as porcelain, while also a dense ceramic fired at a high temperature which makes it hard to break (even higher temp than stoneware), when porcelain does break it can shatter +produce shards that are like a dense tempered glass because of its nature + high temp it matures at. To begin with, porcelain is a more brittle clay to work with while wet because to keep its color white they can not add materials to the powdered clay formula that would make it more flexible to work with but that would impart color: after being fired its more brittle than stoneware. Read some of the comments & complaints- reviews are supposed to be about the quality of a product so items should not lose stars because an item arrived damaged because it was packed poorly, or had rough handling in transit. Furthermore, most items are shipped by Amazon +packed by Amazon Employees so there's even more reason such ratings should not reflect on the product, manufacturer, or seller. And its common sense that if a none-returnable stoneware dish or other item arrives broken or not as described, that a refund or replacement is available- if not forthcoming from a 3rd party seller in cases where the 3rd party shipped, then Amazon will make good on it. So often people give a poor rating to what is really an excellent item for some problem not related to the quality of the item, and then don't have the sense to ask for the refund or replacement, as obviously, NO RETURNS does not exactly apply in those cases. And customers should keep in mind that Amazon does not want to receive broken items back, especially when, for example, broken glass, ceramics, +spilled liquids are involved, but be prepared to email photos of the damaged item. These small saucers are great for small servings of a cat's canned food if they are dainty eaters + eat in small portions. The saucers are not meant for kibble: the larger oval Petrageous dishes are for water or kibble. One reviewer either for the yellow saucer above or the otherwise identical pinkish mauve colored Petrageous saucer in a separate Ad, mentioned that she was returning/not going to use her saucer because a portion of the stoneware on top by the drawing of the cat, had not been entirely glazed properly, because the exposed stoneware would still be porous to some degree where it was not properly covered by glaze + bacteria could grow- that's true, eating surfaces should be entirely covered in glaze (which hopefully does not contain lead or other toxic chemicals). I had ordered the mauve version of the Petrageous yellow saucer above (from another Ad, shipped by Amazon but Non-Returnable, + could not help but notice that an Amazon worker had shipped this breakable, Non-Returnable, mauve ceramic cat saucer, loose + flopping, alone in a shoe box-sized cardboard box, WITHOUT BUBBLE WRAP OR ANY PROTECTIVE WRAPPING. At least the worker used a corrugated cardboard box for the tiny saucer: I have received fragile items, often damaged, not only mailed unprotected in thin plastic mail bags, but in bags that lack a bubble wrap lining (a Fragile or Handle w/Care label would also help). in such cases, the Postal or other delivery service should not be blamed for items improperly packaged. Though unbroken, I received a mauve saucer (like the yellow one above), loose in a carton the size of a shoe box, without bubble or protective wrap so it could flop around in transit. While undamaged in shipping, it had a defective, raised rough area like a spur: while the mauve saucers in that Ad were not generally returnable, because it was defective I received a replacement (its identical to the yellow saucer in the above Ad). In the same order, I received a broken larger porcelain raised cat bowl, which order had been poorly prepared by an Amazon worker: while the bowl was partly protected by some fitted styrofoam in its original factory packaging, the Amazon worker placed the item alone in a brown paper mailing envelope instead of wrapping the bowl in-package, in bubble wrap & placing it in a more suitable, sturdy, outer corrugated cardboard mailing box. While it is possible that the porcelain bowl might already have been broken within its packaging at the time the order was prepared- in that case, an alert worker should have heard and felt both the loud chiming sounds as the large, broken porcelain fragments rattled against each other within its factory packaging; the rattling fragments made the sounds of a wind chime. Its common sense to not return chards of broken porcelain so I sent photos & received a refund as I preferred a different bowl rather than replacement. While in a few cases I believe that a disgruntled worker may have intentionally mailed a broken, or inappropriate item, in this case I think that the porcelain bowl broke in transit as it was improperly mailed in a paper envelope. Additionally, FRAGILE, or, HANDLE with CARE, stickers would be helpful but I rarely see such labels used. I have come to believe that in a few of the cases where I received problematic orders, that some were intentionally prepared in an absurd fashion, or w/inappropriate, odd content, such as non-items, or items likely already damaged at the time the order was put together: I have come to believe that the poor preparation of some of the orders I have received is not always due to a lack of common sense, carelessness, or laziness, but that some are deliberate acts on the part of possibly disgruntled Amazon workers- its a known form of employee sabotage. But some of them need instruction on how orders should be packed, & others need better surveillance. In all cases I was reimbursed + know such actions were not likely to have been directed to me personally, but such instances are still inconvenient + troubling so I attempt to document w/pics + report them, though have never received a response & am not sure there is real interest or action taken. But based on certain orders I have received & the circumstances involved, I do believe that there are a few disgruntled workers who intentionally cause problems for Amazon & customers. However, the above dishes are very durable, + the saucers are great for small portions of canned food + will not bother a cat's whiskers.
