Furminator Question

[zoeysmom]

I've had enough of cat hair! It's my own fault, because I don't brush my cats very often. But, the brush I have doesn't seem to do much even when I do remember to brush them. Especially for Delilah, who has short hair.

So, I'm thinking of getting a furminator. However, a quick search showed me that there is one for short haired cats, and one for long haired cats. Since I have one of each, do I need to get both, or can do they really work on both long and short haired cats. Has anyone had any experience using the same brush with two hair-lengths?

I also notice that there are two sizes, even when it says "for cats". Do you use the big one or the small one? My cats are fully grown, Belle's average size and Delilah's a bit on the chunky side.

 

[ducman69]

Most brushes just prevent matting.

Furminators are pulling out the undercoat, so longhair vs shorthair IMO is just marketing as I think the longhair is really just a bit longer is all.

IMO, the 1.75" is the perfect length, as longer you'd think would save time, but can just make it less maneuverable. Also, they have a more expensive model with a fur rejector, and its a gimmick. Sister had it, and it doesn't work well nor save much time really to just pulling the fur off the tool. I'd guess the double-edge is just marketing too and would make the tool less nimble.

I've seen the regular furminator as low as $14 online, a big savings over instore around here as well.

 

[catsnotkids]

I think mine is also 1.75 on a short hair - I got it for $10 or $15 and it was well worth it for getting hair out but it is a messy process.

 

[jcat]

Our Furminator is for medium-sized dogs, and works just fine on Jamie, who's short-haired with long "chaps". My mom used one large Furminator on three dogs - long, medium and short-haired, two Labs and a small Schnauzer mix. I don't think the size or short vs. long-haired pet really matters. It gets a lot of hair.

 

[zoeysmom]

Thanks for the responses!

I bit the bullet at picked up a furminator at Petsmart while I was there yesterday getting cat food. I got the 1.75" for short hair cats, since Delilah's hair is oddly much more of a problem that Belle's longer hair.

It worked beautifully on Delilah - I got a ton of hair out in a very short amount of time. She was also very tolerant of it and was even rolling around and purring. She feels so much better now, and when I pet her, I don't have to pick up a handful of hair.

It worked OK on Belle as well, but it was much messier. Her hair is light and fluffy, so a lot of it got pulled out and just floated into space. She was, however, more tolerant and let me brush her for a good 15 minutes before she started attacking my hand. I do wonder if the long-haired brush would do a better job containing her hair, but this one will do for now.

Whoever said the small one would be better, more maneuverable, great tip. I almost had to buy the big one (that's all they had in the cat section, but they had a whole other grooming section with both cat and dog tools), and I do think it would be harder to manage, especially in the belly and bum areas. I may have to make more strokes with this one, but it's a quick job anyway!