I use a lot of puppy pads. No puppies here, but several cats that for one reason or another may miss the litter box on a given day. I find that puppy pads are just the ticket to keep the floor around the litter box clean and dry. But, they are price-y! So one day when Bob-the-cat had chosen the perfect spot right in the middle of a puppy pad to 'use,' I started thinking about all the perfectly good absorbent material I was throwing away. Then I said, 'Heck, no!' and got an old pair of dollar store scissors out. I cut across the middle of the pad, detouring around the wet spot----and throwing that part away. I was left with two smaller pads that got a lot more use.
Another way to make puppy pads go farther is to layer newspaper on top of them. Change the paper frequently and you won't have to replace the puppy pads as often!