Furminator?

[twigapigmacmuff]

I bought a knock-off furminator called the Shed ender and it works really well! I do short and quick bursts of brushing to get the most fur off him and he loves it. He rolls, purrs and even lets me do his white tummy, lol! He never wanted his tummy touched before, and now I can be very thorough.

Does anyone know why his back seems to shed the most, but his tummy and legs release next to nothing?

 

[emilymaywilcha]

Does anyone know why his back seems to shed the most, but his tummy and legs release next to nothing?

Is he your avatar cat? The coloring would explain it. When I had a tuxedo kitty she shed so much you could have made a sweater with her fur coat - but only the black parts. I never saw a single white hair the whole 12 years off her body. It must be only dark colors shed unless the cat is all or mostly white.

 

[GoldyCat]

I think it may just be the way cat hair grows. Some cats shed more than others (2 of my 8 do about 98% of the shedding). They all seem to have the same pattern, though. Much more shedding from the back, especially at the base of the tail. Even with the heavy shedders I barely get anything from their tummies with the furminator.

 

[melesine]

I havne't tried it but I read a bunch of negative stuff about how it basically cuts the fur over on a ragdoll forum, so I won't be buying one. 

 

[gailuvscats]

I did not know there was negative press on furminators. My cats do love them, and it seems like if you keep combing they would soon be bald. The amount of hair that comes off is amazing, but there is always plenty more. What is the bad press?

 

[bigperm20]

I know this is an old thread, but maybe someone is still following it.

I have a kitty with very long hair. I have heard however that the short hair Furminator is the only one that works. Basically that the long hair Furminator is worthless, and that I should get the short hair one for Beans.

Has anyone had that experience? Also, I wonder if the people who aren't happy with the product have gotten a "bootleg" version? Nowadays, counterfeiters in China can bootleg almost anything. What's to stop them from copying this?

 

[pinkman]

No - I actually suggest not to get the Furminator (or any bootleg) for a long haired cat. For long-haired cats the Furminator really damages the coat in the long run, I found out. What I do with my long haired one is I use a Zoom Groom to loosen up the hair, and then follow with a metal comb. 

 

[bigperm20]

I watched a video on YouTube recently about the zoom groom. I love Kong products for the most part, as they're rugged and usually effective.

However this review was somewhat negative. The reviewer had been given the ZG from Kong for free and she had 2 ragdolls. These cats had similar coat lengths to Beans.

She said eventhough the cats liked the ZG she didn't really think it did much. Maybe she was using it wrong, or maybe she wasn't following up with a comb.

 

[pinkman]

I find that using a comb at the end is very effective as it catches the loose hair on the body that's made from the Zoom Groom. My long haired dude is a cream point DLH - so it's quite difficult to actually see the loose hair on him. But it's definitely there. For the Zoom Groom I use short strokes which seem to work the best.

C360_2014-03-19-14-49-25-735.jpg

• pinkman
• Mar 30, 2014

Here is the amount of fur I can get off within two 10 minute grooming sessions. The grey hair is my DSH, and the white is my DLH. With a seltzer bottle for comparison.

 

[bigperm20]

I find that using a comb at the end is very effective as it catches the loose hair on the body that's made from the Zoom Groom. My long haired dude is a cream point DLH - so it's quite difficult to actually see the loose hair on him. But it's definitely there. For the Zoom Groom I use short strokes which seem to work the best.

C360_2014-03-19-14-49-25-735.jpg

• pinkman
• Mar 30, 2014

Here is the amount of fur I can get off within two 10 minute grooming sessions. The grey hair is my DSH, and the white is my DLH. With a seltzer bottle for comparison.

Impressive! Are all the zoom grooms the same? I know they make different designs and colors, but are they all pretty much the same?

 

[pinkman]

I think they're the same - I have the purple one that is shaped like a cat. My friend has the one shaped like a dog - he says for his two long haired dudes it does its job.. so I think it should be ok.

 

[catgroomer602]

I've been grooming cats professionally for 30 years and thought it interesting that you noticed the shedding areas. I'm a big fan of the Furminator. Have you ever tried the solutions. My favorite is after the shampoo I use the Furminator deshedding solution (Make sure you leave it on for a while) The hair falls off in the tub! There I wouldn't even try a different brand.

 

[berbdcat]

guys I'm just wondering, scince the shedzilla is for dogs between 25-50 pounds(I think), can I use it on cats? Also, my one of my cats has sleek fur, and the other has dense, fluffy fur with sensitive skin. What effect would it have if I got the FURminator for large, short-haired cats?

 

[bigperm20]

I've been grooming cats professionally for 30 years and thought it interesting that you noticed the shedding areas. I'm a big fan of the Furminator. Have you ever tried the solutions. My favorite is after the shampoo I use the Furminator deshedding solution (Make sure you leave it on for a while) The hair falls off in the tub! There I wouldn't even try a different brand.

How's the best way to find a good cat groomer? I may just be unlucky but all the ones in my town that have brick and mortar stores specialize in dogs.

I took Beans to a groomer who supposedly had a "cat expert". I only needed a sanitary shave and a couple of mats between her legs that either needed to be shaved or brushed out. I didn't care which. If things went ok, I was planning on taking her in for a lion cut and bath this spring.

This lady was so rough with her I almost screamed at her while she was working on her. The mats on her stomach were bad and I figured she would have to shave them. Instead she used a metal comb to give her a "kitty Brazilian", basically. Poor Beans howled, and when she almost got away, they lady wrangled her back on the table by her pulling her tail.

I was furious! I couldn't believe someone could be so rough with what is basically my child (I don't have kids).

I bit my tongue, though and beat it out of there. The whole encounter only lasted 5 minutes, if even that.

guys I'm just wondering, scince the shedzilla is for dogs between 25-50 pounds(I think), can I use it on cats? Also, my one of my cats has sleek fur, and the other has dense, fluffy fur with sensitive skin. What effect would it have if I got the FURminator for large, short-haired cats?

Your sensitive skin kitty would probably do better with either the Kong Zoom Groom, or The Shedmonster. I have the latter and it's never irritated my cat's skin. I have heard that The Furminator can irritate a cat's skin. I don't have personal experience with that, but I have read it before.

 

[catwoman707]

 
I've been grooming cats professionally for 30 years and thought it interesting that you noticed the shedding areas. I'm a big fan of the Furminator. Have you ever tried the solutions. My favorite is after the shampoo I use the Furminator deshedding solution (Make sure you leave it on for a while) The hair falls off in the tub! There I wouldn't even try a different brand.

I'm wondering what that solution is that would cause the loose fur to fall off.

Interesting!

I'm not a fan of furminator but had tried it on my long haired girl. Yeah, no.....

I use a flea comb on my dsh, and work my way to a flea comb with my dlh, starting with a wide toothed metal teeth comb, then a regular comb, then the flea comb.

I could make a small pillow after every time we do this. Seriously!

@bigperm20  , if you ever saw anyone handling your cat like that again I would def. NOT hold back, it seems unusually cruel for your poor cat to get handled in such a way, I would be furious!!

I would also make sure I googled her and left my feedback to help save other poor victims from her grips!

 

[bigperm20]

I'm wondering what that solution is that would cause the loose fur to fall off.
Interesting!

I'm not a fan of furminator but had tried it on my long haired girl. Yeah, no.....

I use a flea comb on my dsh, and work my way to a flea comb with my dlh, starting with a wide toothed metal teeth comb, then a regular comb, then the flea comb.
I could make a small pillow after every time we do this. Seriously!

@bigperm20
 , if you ever saw anyone handling your cat like that again I would def. NOT hold back, it seems unusually cruel for your poor cat to get handled in such a way, I would be furious!!
I would also make sure I googled her and left my feedback to help save other poor victims from her grips!

I have already left terrible feedback. It's the only review they have so Google has them listed as a "one" on a scale of 1-5.

I will definitely not hold back if,it ever happens again, but to be honest I don't plan to ever put her in that situation again. I will thoroughly vet the next person to work on her.

 

[catwoman707]

I have already left terrible feedback. It's the only review they have so Google has them listed as a "one" on a scale of 1-5.

I will definitely not hold back if,it ever happens again, but to be honest I don't plan to ever put her in that situation again. I will thoroughly vet the next person to work on her.

Excellent!

I have to agree, after that traumatic visit I would be avoiding groomers like a disease! Good luck

 

[bigperm20]

Excellent!
I have to agree, after that traumatic visit I would be avoiding groomers like a disease! Good luck

Beans is pretty good about letting me groom her to prevent mats. She doesn't really enjoy it, but she loves for me to open the kitchen window so she can watch the wildlife. I always open the window right after our grooming session, so she puts up with it to get what she wants.

She won't however let me brush her belly and lower- for obvious reasons. Those are sensitive areas. She did get very matted down there this past winter so that's where my issues started.

 

[ckloy]

I have four shorthair cats. Wine has very thick hair. Nothing cleaned her coat until the FURminator. I swear I could use it on her 10 times and still get hair from her coat. All four cats line up to get their turn. I cannot recommend this product highly enough. I hope this helps you with your decision.