Furminator (med/long hair) thoughts?

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Karrie and Maverick

Karrie and Maverick

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Is this worth the money or does brushing do just as good? They are very expensive in Canada.

One cat has long wirey hair. He doesn't shed that much - needs some help in the grooming department though due to his weight.

The other is a grey-smoke cat. Ultra plush coat - she feels like a ball of silk. She has black tips on her fur but her underfur is a smokey grey. She's a medium hair I think - not a long hair. She's 11lbs but her brother is 14lbs. Her hair seems to be on me 100% of the time. At the gym I even feel it in my nose and mouth even though I'm not around her. Most of the house is hardwood.

I'd like some feedback. I don't brush her very often. She seems to want me to only brush her cheeks and her forehead LOL.

If the feedback is that it is worth it - do I get the one for large long haired cats? (cats above 10lbs) or the smaller one?
 
Don't waste your money!!!! I am emphatic about this because I have both a Furminator and what is called an undercoat rake. The Furminator was 4 times the price and it is very hard to get through double coated hair when the underneath hair is very fine.

Gandalf is long haired and has the infamous Maine Coon double coat. The teeth on the Furmiator for cats are very small and close together. I cannot even get it in to his lower layer of hair without pressing so hard it hurts because he has arthritis. I only use it on the shortest hair on the top of his head and around his ears.

Otherwise, I use one of these.
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I should take a picture of how much hair it gets off my short haired cats!! It's remarkable 'cause to look at it you would think it can't do a thing!

You should be able to find it in pet stores or even Wal-Mart which is where I bought mine several years ago. But you may have to do some searching or order online. It should also be used with the teeth almost parallel with the hair, not at a 90 angle to avoid scratching their skin. It works like magic if used correctly.

Petco has a double rowed one http://www.petco.com/product/10257/JW-Pet-GripSoft-Double-Row-Undercoat-Rake.aspx Not sure if I'd recommend that, it's amazing what 10 teeth shaped like this can do!

This is what you want and look how cheap! http://www.petblvd.com/cgi-bin/pb/JWP65041.html?mv_pc=froogle

I also found it here http://www.roverpetsupply.com/product_info.php?products_id=21564

The penny pincher in me detests the Furminator, because for the price it should work as well as this little gem. The only thing it's good for is his head and even then I am having to pull very hard because his hair is so thick even there. The Furminator does not even work as well on my short haired cats. If they have any mats at all, it is worthless.

Hope this helps! I am not a groomer, but every groomer should have a rake like that. They would throw every Furminator as far as they could if they did.
 
I definitely love mine; Oliver's coat improved 100%+ after I cleaned out his coat of dead hairs, top and undercoat.
There is no way I could get him in the same healthy shape with any sort of brushes and combs combo.
I got 2 of them; Oliver is quite big, 31lb and it was silly trying to comb him with the little one I used on the others, so his is a long toothed dog one.
It's not like you will be using it once and be done with it; the furminators are worth every penny to me.
And my cats are all short hair, except the kitten, Apple.
I have not tried any other types, and there may be better items, but Oliver had an entirely diff coat after using the dog furminator
 
Cool thanks for replying. The normal brush worked great on my angel Maverick who was Maine Coon (mostly :cool: ). I have a long toothed metal comb that I rarely used.

I think the brush I have is perfect for the soft furred kitty. I will just look for one of those instead as the long haired kitty doesn't shed - I just want to keep him groomed (his undercoat under the wirey top coat).

Thank you so much!!!!

Thanks for the feedback on the furminator also. I know I can take my time now I think and find a decent price on ebay if I do try it instead of spending 50$ canadian for it at petsmart or global ryans. Just the thought of spending that much money I kind of wanted assurance that it would work. Would it reduce shedding on my soft furred silky kitty? Her hair just gets everywhere but again I don't brush her enough - just her cheeks LOL.
 
I love my furminator! It worked great on my Maine Coon and my Siamese, on both long and short hair. I can't believe how much cat hair it eliminates from my house when I groom regularly. Just make sure you've cut out or combed through all mats before you use it--you can't use it on matted fur.

Just don't buy it in the store because it's a fraction of the cost on Ebay or Amazon. I paid $10 for mine and it was worth every penny and then some.
 
Karrie and Maverick said:
Would it reduce shedding on my soft furred silky kitty? Her hair just gets everywhere but again I don't brush her enough - just her cheeks LOL.
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Bandit sheds like crazy--way more than my Maine Coon did. When I keep him groomed well with it, the hair floating around my house is drastically less. You have to do it regularly though to keep it under control.
 
Hi, Karrie.. I just wanted to give a HUGE thumbs up for Furminators :-D
They are absolutely wonderful & well worth the $$$!!!
 
Just be careful when using the Furminator - if you go over an area too many times in a row, you'll pull out so much of the undercoat that the cat will be left with only guard hairs and slightly sore skin. (I appoligized to Emmy, now GA, when I discovered I'd left her like that - whoops!!!)
 
Love the furminator!! It really helped Willy with his very awkward coat. I noticed less dandruff too. He hates being brushed so I have to sneak attack him in small bursts. The furminator is awesome for this because it gets so much out in a short amount of time.

The only thing is, you really have to be careful with how you use it because it's similar to a razor blade and can cause some skin irritation (or scratches, etc.) if you push too hard or it is used improperly. My mom has a big one for her dogs and didn't realize and wound up giving one of her poor guys a rash. He didn't care but she was asking why that happened, I didn't even think to tell her before!

The other thing I really like for general grooming purposes (including hair removal) are flea combs (or cat combs if you can find one that's a good quality). They have teeth that are close together and they are really good for getting all the way down to the skin and really brushing out sections of hair. Most teeth now are rounded so there's less risk for improper use.
 
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