Rubber Brushes

[immortalflower]

I have used the usual cat brushes for years. Recently I went to Walmart and bought this rubber brush with big fat pointy fingers (more like fingers than bristles).

Anyhow, the first time I used it, if you saw the hair it took out you'd think I'd never brushed my cat before EVER. In fact, so much hair comes off when I use this brush that I now brush my cat in the tub because the hair gets everywhere. It's amazing, I am hooked. And a lot less hair ends up on my furniture and clothes now.

So, if anyone else is interested in this sort of brush, it was in the dog grooming section of walmart, and only around 8$ Canadian.

 

[lorie d.]

I bought one of those rubber brushes for Snowball about a year ago. When I groom him I start with the rubber brush and then use either a fine tooth metal comb or a slicker brush to remove any remaining loose fur. These rubber brushes are supposed to massage the cat's skin too, and I agree that they are very effective.

 

[angelzoo]

I've thought about getting one of those. And figured they would probably work pretty well. Mainly because of the static factor.

Do you know the name of the products you use? I've seen a few. I think one named the "Zoom" comb comes to mind? I've seen it at petsmart.

Here we go. This thing, it's by Kong.

 

[jcat]

Hi! I agree - the rubber brushes are great. I started using one when our cat was little because he seemed to prefer it to a brush with natural bristles. I had always used them on our boxer, and thought, well, the cat is short-haired, so why not?

 

[miispiggie]

I saw the Zoom Groom at a local petstore several days ago and it costs RM27 (approx. US$7) here. To me, that's quite expensive for a rubber brush ) Especially since I can obtain an alternative which looks similar to Zoom and have 5 more rubber bristles. It's flexible and Pixii seems to like it. I have to admit though, Zoom's looks so adorable and I may just purchase it for aesthetic purposes *lol* My fiance thinks I'm mad though... he said the cat wouldn't know whether her brush was shaped like a cute little kitty or not.

 

[alicat613]

I have a zoom groom for my dog...since it does NOTHING on him (Great Dane, not much hair) I guess I'll give it a shot with the kitties. Maybe it won't be a total waste of money! Although it did work great on a friend's Australian Cattle Dog.

 

[jellybean]

What type of hair length would this work better with? medium or long?

 

[immortalflower]

My cats are short to medium and it works great. I imagine that so long as your cat isn't all matted up it would work on long hair.

 

[angelzoo]

How exactly do these combs work? I do get fur out with our slicker brush and our flea comb, but it takes a really long time to do it, and my cats still always have so much hair to shed, even right after I brush them.

I'm wondering if it's all about the static cling factor with this brush. As it is rubber, much like when you rub a ballon on your hair, it sticks to it.

If that's the case I would think these rubber brush's would work great on animals with a lot of loose hair, who shed a lot, reguardless of coat length.

 

[immortalflower]

I think thats the idea. When I brush my cat I end up with enough hair stuck to the tub to fill a zip lock bag. It does seem staticky as when I pull it off the brush it just zips off and sticks to the tub.

 

[jenng]

After seeing this post, I just had to go out and get a rubber brush to try on Spike. Well, I went with the Zoom Groom brush because, well, that was my only choice in rubber brushes at the petstore I was at.

Anyway, so I bring it home and try it on Spike, and at first, he slinked away from me... he's never thrilled about being brushed, but he tolerates it every night because he knows he gets a treat afterwards.

So finally, I got him to sit still while I tried it out on him, and he actually seemed to like it!

I have just one issue... his fur doesn't really stick into the brush well, and it doesn't fall off him onto the floor, it just sticks to Spike. So what I ended up doing was getting a plain old Swiffer cloth (non-scented, and definitely not the wet sort!), and wiped him down with it, and it took off all the loose fur the brush pulled out. I was thrilled! I couldn't imagine him tracking that all over my place, or worse, licking it all off and eating it! Anyway, I just wanted to share the Swiffer trick, it really came in handy tonight.

 

[lorie d.]

Good idea, I think I'll try wiping Snowball down with a swiffer cloth the next time I groom him.

 

[williewz]

All right! I remembered this thread being here! I went to Petsmart (because I have a hard time just passing it by), to pick up the latest CatFancy, and thought I'd take a look at the brushes. I found one that's like the ZoomGroom, but a dollar less (4.99). It's the Easy Groom, by JW Pet Company. It has shorter rubber bristles, and is attached to an ergonomic handle. I thought it would be good for my Willie, as he's shorthaired (You'd definitely want the ZoomGroom if you have a longhaired... this probably wouldn't get far into the fur). Willie really liked being brushed with it. I had to stop a couple of times to throw the fur away, but that's a minor quibble to me. I can just get the bathroom trashcan and put it next to me the next time I use it. Just a recommendation, if anyone is looking for a new brush.

 

[gurlpower]

Oh, i think it is so so so important to brush kitty hair! Let me know if anyone has a differing opinion. :tounge2:

Kitties lick themselves, and i feel that by grooming them through brushing, at least a lot of loose hair is taken off - Daisy sheds like madness. So far, Daisy has not vomited or anything (touch wood.)

i just fear furball and such. i feel that brushing will help eliminate furball problems.

Anyway, brushing them is interaction time and my kitties love them!

Cheers!

 

[angelzoo]

poh: Yes, brushing them has many advantages, it's good for moving the oils around their fur and skin, removing dead hairs which impair proper air ventilation through the fur, as well as getting rid of excess fur that could cause MORE hairballs.

Brushing can be a great bonding time, if you do it right and your cat accepts it.

 

[mom of 10 cats]

I got a Zoom Groom last week and I too CANNOT BELIEVE how much hair has come off of my cats! I brush Max at least once a day, since she loves it so much, the others get brushed twice a week. Even Max had a ton of hair come off! This is a great brush, I highly recommend it! I am thinking of getting another so BF and I can make this a team effort.

 

[di2001]

Because of this thread, I also bought a ZoomGroom yesterday. Even though I always brush my kitties every day, the ZoomGroom removed a LOT more fur (don't try this with your good work clothes on!). The ZoomGroom didn't pick up all the fur though, so I followed with a slicker brush just to pick up the excess. The boys seem to love the ZoomGroom too (but they've always loved getting brushed).

 

[princess purr]

i have one of those and it did nothing for me kitty

i just use a normal kitty brush now.

 

[williewz]

I used my rubber brush to brush Willie last night... but I had gotten a plastic bag, and was putting hair in it every time the brush got 'clogged'. After it seemed I got most of the hair I got out the slicker brush, and to my surprise, it got lots of hair too. However, the fur that the slicker brush was from his undercoat, so I guess the two brushes make a good combo. After I was done, Willie started attacking the bag... I guess there was enought fur in there to look like a BIG mouse!