Eco Mats?

[bohemianmoon]

Hello. I'm a long time listener, first time caller.
Hopefully that is humorous to more than just me. ;)

Anyway, I recently realized that my beloved kitten has chewed my yoga block and mat nearly to pieces, much to my dismay. I hadn't used them in a week or two, partly because she nips at my feet and hands when I do yoga. I am thus on a quest to find a new block and mat, and am discovering that a lot of so-called eco yoga tools have appeared since I purchased my Gaiam PVC mat several years ago. I've been searching around and reading reviews, but am wondering if anyone here has any suggestions for me. I'm unfortunately a little broke right now and find some of the prices quite a bit above my budget (up to maybe $30).
Issues I'm seeing in reviews are not being sticky (particularly a Savasa eco mat), being heavy (the natural rubber ones, apparently), poor durability (the TPE mats?) and smell, though I'm pretty sure that fades with airing out.
I saw that Bean has a PER mat that's fairly affordable...though I'm kind of sad it doesn't have the pretty reversable/two sided colors that some other mats have. :)

Anyway hello, and any suggestions welcome.

p.s. Any tips for stopping yoga-time kitten attacks welcome.

Comments

Experiences with natural rubber mats

[rydra_wong]

I've had an Ecoyoga natural rubber/jute mate for a fair while, and liked it a lot.

They do tend to shed tiny particles of rubber, and I managed to destroy my first one by getting stuck in hospital for several months and leaving the mat where it would be in concentrated sunlight every day, which made it go funny.

But I liked it enough to buy a duplicate as a replacement: the texture's lovely, and I find it great to use. There is a strong "latex" smell when you first unwrap it, but that fades very rapidly; I can't smell it at all now.

[muck_a_luck]

Your kitten and her basket can spend an hour a day in the bathroom with the door closed without too much psychological damage, I imagine. :)

[beachlass]

I don't have a mat recommendation but I do have some experience with kittens: a spray water bottle is your friend. She won't like the spray of water, and it won't do her any harm.