How often do you brush your cat and what do you use?

Heelfan71

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Just curious what others use to brush their cat and how often? Mine is an indoor cat. I grew up with animals so hair in the house is part of it ...
 

LTS3

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Depends on how often your cat lets you :) Some cats love to be brushed and would want you to do it all day. Others will run at the sight of a brush or comb :rolleyes: Short haired cats can be brushed / combed a few times a week. Longer haired cats may need more frequent thorough combing to prevent mats. Hairless breeds have their own special needs to maintain their skin coat.

There are two TCS articles on caring for a cat's fur:



I use a basic flea comb for my cats. It looks like this. I also have a Zoom Groom brush but it only really works on my short haired cat. On another cat board, Goody hair combs (the kind for people to use) are popular and work well and are pretty cheap. Something like this and obviously any other similar hair comb for people will work.
 
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Heelfan71

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Thanks for the info....Mine likes being brushed. I use this now (see pic)... Mine gets mats around his back hind legs it seems. I think I need to brush more frequently.
 

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GaryT

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If you have a long hair cat, then it needs to be combed every day. NEVER a brush because it will charge the fur with static and cause matts. I have a couple Greyhound steel combs. My Theodore gets combed twice a day this time of year. He is starting to shed the winter coat already and combing helps prevent matts. If started right from a kitten, they get used to the combing (in my experience) and it will make a stronger bond with you. Theo lets me know when it is time now. I feed him after combing.
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fionasmom

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My long haired cat is combed with a steel comb and she is obsessive about asking for combings. She watches me to see if I approach anyplace where a nice session might be possible and then begs. On the other hand, I have a calico who mats and will fight tooth and nail to ever be brushed or dematted. So it depends.....
 

daftcat75

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My 15 year old never really liked brushing. But now that she’s got arthritis and less meat on her bones, she really doesn’t like brushing. Two strokes maybe and she’s walking away.

She’s had a shaved belly since summer (a couple of ultrasounds) so she probably has less of a need for brushing now. I don’t remember her last hairball. But she also eats a little pumpkin based food with every meal (Rawz rabbit and pumpkin pate.). The only “brushing” she will tolerate is my hand in a nylon stocking stroking her—both gentle and surprisingly effective.
 

Uncled

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A slicker brush that I use on my dog too, the cats love it but don't sit still they kind of walk around me as I try my best to brush them.
 

GaryT

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My long haired cat is combed with a steel comb and she is obsessive about asking for combings. She watches me to see if I approach anyplace where a nice session might be possible and then begs. On the other hand, I have a calico who mats and will fight tooth and nail to ever be brushed or dematted. So it depends.....
The combing has to start early in life or they will hate it. If matts are allowed to form before combing, it will pull and hurt, and they will NOT like it. Combing has to start before matts in order to prevent them. I have never had a problem combing with any of the 5 long hairs I have had.
 

sivyaleah

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We have a variety of utensils but the Greyhound comb mentioned above is used most as we have 2 long haired cats. One adores being groomed - she was a rescue and we don't know her background but someone must have taken the time to acclimate her to this because she really loves it and it's a great bonding experience between her and us.

Our kitten is another matter entirely. She was raised by a breeder, underfoot and got lots of human attention early on with all that goes with it including grooming but my oh my she does NOT enjoy it at all. Or maybe it's because she's still young and doesn't have the attention span to sit still. Thankfully, being a Maine Coon, contrary to popular belief, she does not need as much grooming as our other cat. Her coat is not long on her torso and since she's still young her ruff/britches are not fully developed yet (though her tail certainly is). The MC coat is rather silky and doesn't tend to tangle like a Persians for instance.

Our other cat gets matted if not kept up - her belly especially. So, we're slowly trying to get the kitten used to the process and trying different types of tools on her. So far, she seems to prefer the Furminator which I'd rather NOT be using but for now I'll take what I can get with her. It isn't pulling out a lot which I thought it would (it does on our older girl) but it does make her coat look a lot more "coiffed".
 
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Heelfan71

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Mine likes being brushed.... he lets me for a minute....walks always and flops in the floor for a few and then comes back....over and over.....I think I could stuff a pillow with All the hair...😬..... But I will start brushing him more often than I do.
 

neely

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No brush for our Persian. :nono: I have always used a greyhound stainless steel comb on all our longhair cats. Unfortunately most, but not all, of the cats we adopted were full grown so they were not accustomed to being groomed. I can't say they love it but it's an absolute necessity with any longhair cat.
 

DreamerRose

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My two are short-hairs, but in the spring, I try to comb them with a flea comb daily because of the excessive fur and throwing up fur balls. Lily tolerates it but looks askance at why I go to the places she can't get to. Mingo doesn't like it at all, so it's catch when catch can.
 

tabbytom

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I brush my boy several times a day. He’s a DSH. Each time after his nap or sleep, he wants to be brushed or combed. Also every time when we come home, he’ll lay in prone position and wants to be combed.
Sometimes if the brushing session is too short, he’ll give out a short meow telling that it is not enough and I have to continue brushing him :lol:

I use a bristle brush on him and he loved the feel of it.
IMG_8829.jpg
 

Maria Bayote

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My Bourbon loves to be brushed daily. She flops down when she sees me carrying her brush. Very cute to watch.

Barley, on the other hand, abhors being brushed or combed. I make it a point to comb him at least once a week, but it always becomes a boxing match or me chasing after him, and me ending with some scratches. His fur easily gets matted and it is difficult to keep him looking neat all the time.

My other short hairs - very seldom.
 

cataholic07

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Oh.. I didn't know combs were better for Medium/long hairs than brushes. I have a medium hair, a longhair, and a longhair kitten who is only 3.5 months old so will be going to the shorthair stage until she poofs out lol. Jethro likes being brushed, Fynn.. not so much, Ceriah doesnt sit still haha. I heard the safari cat shedding comb is really good?
 

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