Shedding

[709juggalette]

So now that the weather is warming up,my girls are shedding like crazy! And they are shorthaired! There are little fuzzy tumbleweeds all over my house now.

What can I do? What is a good,inexpensive brush for short haired kitties?
I used to have a wicked brush for cats when I had my old cat (he was long haired),but I misplaced the brush and cannot find it anywhere! So looks like I need a new one.

Since my girls only shed a lot with the weather changes,I don't want to to spend a whole lot on brushes,since they do not need brushing all the time like a longer coated cat.

Thanks.

 

[pat traufield]

There are lots and lots of great tools to use - the Zoom groom, a shedding rake (usually marketed towards dogs), the furminator is good too.

 

[709juggalette]

Thanks.
Oh I just remembered,my mom has a "zoom groom" for hers cats.Maybe I can borrow it!

 

[strange_wings]

A zoom groom does a pretty good job on DSHs, and is great for cats that normally don't like being brushed. All my short hairs like brushing, but they get really worked up over the zoom groom... you'd think they had catnip.

I'd toss the zoom groom in the dish washer (or wash in very hot water) before you use it and before you return in back to your mother.

Furminators are great on most short hairs, too. If you look around you can find good sales on them. Other people swear that the cheap knock-offs work well enough.

 

[709juggalette]

Great! Thanks for the advice.

 

[otto]

I use the Fur Buster from walmart....the furminator wannabe, at only $12 or something like that.

I use it on my cats all year round though, not just during shedding season (cats shed heavily both in spring and fall, by the way)

It did take the cats (and me) some time to get used to it as up until then I always just used a plain ordinary comb. But I did an experiment and discovered that, swipe for swipe, the fur buster got twice as much fur as the comb, so I was sold.

 

[strange_wings]

Oh, and a couple tips for using both furminator-type tools and the zoom groom.
Swipe, pet cat, swipe, pet cat, repeat over and over. By petting after each stroke you gather the loose fur in your free hand. Keep it there until you're done, add the stuff from the furminator to the "ball" after a couple strokes with it to keep the blade clean. With a zoom groom you leave what stays on the zoom groom there until you're done. Then you can add it to the ball of fur in your hand - if you rub it around in your hands you'll get a nice compressed/felted ball/disc of fur that you can toss in the trash.
Making it into a compressed ball also makes it easier to keep away from the other cat that will likely be hanging around and curious.

Other tip, only use these tools a couple times a week and pay close attention to your cats coats. You can over groom them.

 

[otto]

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Oh, and a couple tips for using both furminator-type tools and the zoom groom.
Swipe, pet cat, swipe, pet cat, repeat over and over. By petting after each stroke you gather the loose fur in your free hand. Keep it there until you're done, add the stuff from the furminator to the "ball" after a couple strokes with it to keep the blade clean. With a zoom groom you leave what stays on the zoom groom there until you're done. Then you can add it to the ball of fur in your hand - if you rub it around in your hands you'll get a nice compressed/felted ball/disc of fur that you can toss in the trash.
Making it into a compressed ball also makes it easier to keep away from the other cat that will likely be hanging around and curious.

Other tip, only use these tools a couple times a week and pay close attention to your cats coats. You can over groom them.

....

 

[709juggalette]

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Oh, and a couple tips for using both furminator-type tools and the zoom groom.
Swipe, pet cat, swipe, pet cat, repeat over and over. By petting after each stroke you gather the loose fur in your free hand. Keep it there until you're done, add the stuff from the furminator to the "ball" after a couple strokes with it to keep the blade clean. With a zoom groom you leave what stays on the zoom groom there until you're done. Then you can add it to the ball of fur in your hand - if you rub it around in your hands you'll get a nice compressed/felted ball/disc of fur that you can toss in the trash.
Making it into a compressed ball also makes it easier to keep away from the other cat that will likely be hanging around and curious.

Other tip, only use these tools a couple times a week and pay close attention to your cats coats. You can over groom them.

Thanks a lot for this helpful advice! I am heading over to mom's tomorrow,so I will see if I can borrow the brush.I am heading to Wal-Mart in the next day or so too,so I will just pick up my own brush too.There is a new pet supply store (no animals...only supplies!!

) that I hear good things about too near the Wal-Mart,so I am hoping to check that place out as well.