The FURminator - A Fantastic Cat Brush
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FURminator deShedding Tool for Cats - The Ultimate Cat Brush
You may think the reviews are over-hyped - surely no cat brush can be that good? I thought so too, and I am delighted to tell you that it is everything it is claimed to be. Well designed, easy to use, and amazingly good at dragging out all the thick underhairs, my cat also loves it. It has transformed our grooming relationship - I no longer have to trick her into being brushed, and she doesn't bite me! It also removes incredible piles of loose fur!
It's also very good at brushing off couches - although not any material that the teeth can catch in - which is great when the cat decides to make a furry nest somewhere!
Have you ever used the FURminator?
And what did you(r cat) think of it?
I have a very, very fluffy cat. Ostensibly short-haired, she nevertheless sheds constantly, all over everything she goes near. This has led to the aggravation of my allergies and a great deal of protest from my family. She also threw up a lot of hairballs. I have spent several years buying and testing different cat brushes - soft-haired ones are ineffectual as her fur is too thick, and rubbery 'combs' are apparently an obscure torture device. Old hair brushes are tolerated, but useless...
And then I found the FURminator deShedding Tool for Cats. Yeah, it's a stupid name, but it has earnt it! It costs a LOT in New Zealand, as it's an obscure, imported item, but I read the reviews online, looked at the cat, looked at the fur on my pillow, sneezed again, and paid up. (Overseas people? Don't worry - the price for you is entirely reasonable!)
And I am so very glad I did, and I'd gladly pay again if something happens to this one. It is far and away the best cat brush I ever used, and my cat loves it (which I am equally glad of, as she tends to bite me quite hard if she's not happy). I don't usually write up fanatically glowing product reviews, but in this case I felt compelled to make an exception.
The only negatives for this brush that I know of are: that it doesn't work so well on very short-haired cats, and that there are some alternative designs available in the same product range that I don't know anything about.
The Cat Loves It
In fact, it may be her favourite toy (after the toilet roll)
The cat wasn't too fond of the FURminator originally - while she loves attention, she didn't care for any of the brushes I've tried in the past. But she got used to it very quickly, and now adores it.
I think it helps that it is quite close-set and probably 'feels' like she's being groomed by another cat. She does get grumpy if I focus on one spot for too long, and if I brush her too fast she gets excited and tries to eat me, but mostly she loves the brush.
No more hairballs and almost no shedding!
Awesome Things About the FURminator
From my experience brushing my cat with this tool
Making sure your cat's fur is in order is important. Hairballs are bad for their health, they get too hot or their fur gets tangled, and it ends up all over your fancy trousers. It's also a good way to get them used to you and to being handled.
Aside from anything else, she really likes it - I may have to work up to proper brushing by just using it around her head and neck for a while, but after that she loves the attention. I think it feels a lot more like being licked by another cat!
With this brush, I can brush her ONCE a week. The 'reduces shedding by 90%' is not false advertising.
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The fur stays in a clump on the brush, rather than drifting off in an explosion of hairs.
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It targets all the really fine underfur, not the guard hairs (which do get loosened, I just stroke her vigorously afterwards)
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N.B. Doesn't work so well/is a bit pointless for cats with thin, short fur (e.g. our other cat, Megan)
...although the other cat enjoys it too!0 points
A Video Demonstration
Using the FURminator on my cat
I apologise for the quality - the lighting in my flat is truly terrible, and I'll have to create another one! I'm also still figuring out the whole video editing business. There's music, but you can mute it and not really lose anything. It's also only 58 seconds long - I have no idea where the other few minutes came from!
That thing at the end that she's resting her head on, and has the ball she grabs for, is a Bergan Turbo Scratcher Cat Toy. She loves sitting on it, or using it as a headrest, and always goes and scratches at the pad when I let her in (it's corrugated cardboard and easily replaceable - add catnip under it for extra fun!). She's an old cat, so only plays in very short bursts, but she does like chasing the ball around the track. When she's being bothersome, I like dropping treats in there and sneaking away while she fishes them out!
How Much Fur Does It Remove?
How much would you like?
This photo is after a ten minute brushing session, during spring (so getting warmer), after I have brush the cat about every other day for the last week.
Most of that pile is from the undercoat, and ALL of it would have gone on my bed or clothes. I could, and did, brush a lot more off her afterwards. I used to get a lot more off her, when she hadn't been brushed for a while.
How Does The FURminator Work?
Collects all the loose fur and keeps it in one place!
The design of the teeth means that it gathers up the undercoat hair and gathers it all up. It bunches up in wads on the comb and is easy to pull off - rather than flying off in a big cloud as other brushes do!
This is what was picked up after a single sweep-through of her fur.
Mostly soft under-fur, with a few guard hairs mixed in.
It is quite small - I was surprised at how small - but this actually makes it easy to handle, and the cat seems to prefer smaller brushes.
FURminator Stories
Our close escapes from furry pillows and stepping in hairballs...
Flynn the Cat: Fantasy, life, art, and Randomness: Breaking News: Three Kittens Created From Cat Fur
....well, no. Not really. But only because I didn' more...0 points
What Do YOU Know About the FURminator?
A quick quiz - know what you're buying!
Do You Know Enough To Buy The FURminator?
Or are you still uncertain?
Is The FURminator Awesome?
Or am I overselling it?
What do you (and your cat) think?
It's awesome.
Greekgeek says:
Hey! I use this one too. It was my second attempt at finding a brush for Samhain, who is also quite fur-rific for a shorthair cat. It really cuts down on the hairball yark. The only downside is that I don't get treated with the sight of her Brickdancing as often. (And now I know the true cause of the almighty Brickdance... she's trying to get rid of excess fur.)
When I've forgotten to brush her for a week or two, and pull out the Furminator, I can brush off enough underfur to knit another cat.
Irenemaria says:
For now I dont have a cat. But I did take care of thousands. Read my lens: I love cats and see.
You're overselling it.
This large FURminator is designed for dogs!
FURminator Large Yellow deShedding Tool with 4-Inch Edge
Amazon Price: $18.00 (as of 05/30/2012)
List Price: $59.95
Used Price: $9.99
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
FURminator deShedding Tool for Cats
1.75-Inch Edge - this is the one I have. It's the only one available in New Zealand.
FURminator deShedding Tool for Cats, 1.75-Inch Edge
Amazon Price: $28.81 (as of 05/30/2012)
List Price: $34.99
Used Price: $9.99
Read the Amazon reviews. They are VERY convincing!
If you are based in New Zealand (or...possibly some other obscure country) Amazon is by far a better deal. Even with shipping. This brush would have cost me $80 if my flatmate hadn't managed to get me a staff discount. And it was still very expensive.
See some other FURminators in the product range
What else is available for your cat?
See if you can find a second-hand one on eBay
A Year of the Cat: A (mostly) Daily Photoblog
If you want to see more photos of my cat, visit her picture blog!
Guestbook
I'm considering stuffing something with all the soft fur I'm collecting....
This module only appears with actual data when viewed on a live lens. The favorite and lensroll options will appear on a live lens if the viewer is a member of Squidoo and logged in.
What should I do with all the fur?
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tiff0315
Mar 22, 2011 @ 9:35 am | delete
- Give it to the hair foundation for bald cats. LOL I would love to have one of these for my dog. I'm so sick of the loose hair flying around from her winter coat!
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DallasNicole
Mar 22, 2011 @ 7:40 am | delete
- I don't have a cat but I think this lens is awesome!
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Greekgeek
Oct 8, 2010 @ 3:20 am | delete
- P.S. I got the quiz wrong because my Furminator is blue.
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Greekgeek
Oct 8, 2010 @ 3:18 am | delete
- Yep. It works. And Flynn didn't bribe me to say this; Samhain's got a Furminator.
I think I'll lensroll this to Her Majesty's lenses.
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arncyn
Sep 30, 2010 @ 12:28 pm | delete
- That's awesome. My cat loves being brushed but I'm looking for something exciting I can tease him with. Can't wait to try this on him! (:
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Tipi
Sep 29, 2010 @ 10:11 pm | delete
- They look amazing. Proof is in the putting!
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vallain Sep 29, 2010 @ 10:05 pm | delete
- Funny! Looks very effective.
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NarrowPathPublishing Sep 18, 2010 @ 12:38 am | delete
- *looks at orange blanket and realises it's not a blanket, it's my cat shedding on the bed.* I'll definitely have to check this out. We've got cat hair EVERYWHERE around here. My cat is Mr. Skittish though who turned into a growling machine last time I tired to rub anti-flea cream under his collar so I don't know how this will go over.
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Flynn_the_Cat
Sep 18, 2010 @ 1:56 am | delete
- Oh it is SO funny putting flea stuff on my cat - she recognises it so I have to sneak up behind her and then she spends the entire day avoiding me or clinging to the ground when I go near!
She wasn't fond of brushes either - I found that if I brushed around her head and neck (the glands where they rub against everything) she was happy. Eventually I graduated to being allowed to brush the rest of her :D
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NarrowPathPublishing Sep 20, 2010 @ 1:42 pm | delete
- Haha, I'll have to try that. My cat tends to see brushes as very large bugs and react accordingly.
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Home-Interior-Designer
Sep 17, 2010 @ 7:49 pm | delete
- This is something I would definitely consider buying for my cat. Greats lens.
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Peregrina
Sep 17, 2010 @ 3:07 pm | delete
- I don't actually have a cat, but this looks great for if I ever do. And I love the Terry Pratchett product placement. :)
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Chadrew
Sep 17, 2010 @ 12:56 pm | delete
- That's... A lot of fur. And here I thought I was having it bad with my cat. I just use some cheap brush with lots of metal bristles, it looks kinda scary but the cat doesn't seem to mind too much.
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Flynn_the_Cat
Sep 18, 2010 @ 3:50 am | delete
- Ha, if you think I got a lot of fur off my cat - you should check out some of the OTHER videos!
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Solitudinarian
Sep 17, 2010 @ 12:07 pm | delete
- 'I'm considering stuffing something...' Oh, the temptation. I've been considering stuffing a few things lately as well but most of them have MP after their name.
I can't offer much useful advice here as I don't have a cat. Can't you just hoover her with a decent vacuum cleaner? Sneak up behind her and one quick suck - no more fur for six months, which will be the time it takes her to forgive you and come home.
I feel I'm not taking this seriously enough, but then I rarely do. I'm off to blight some other unlucky person's comment box, 'bye.
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Flynn_the_Cat
Sep 17, 2010 @ 12:13 pm | delete
- Ha! Sadly she runs a mile from the hoover! (We have tried...)
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Solitudinarian
Sep 17, 2010 @ 12:20 pm | delete
- I'm back. Possibly in slightly more useful mode this time. Check out this lens:
http://www.squidoo.com/hair-cleans-oil-spills it's by Kab (whoever that might be)
And then consider setting up a scheme with someone like Greenpeace (and FURminator) to collect all animal fur (and human hair) to use for environmental clean-ups.
How's that? Better than last time?
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Flynn_the_Cat
Sep 17, 2010 @ 12:25 pm | delete
- That is actually useful! 'll have to see if they have anything in NZ that needs fur.
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About Me
by Flynn_the_Cat
I'm a Marine Biology post-graduate student, digital artist, traditional artist and photographer, obsessive reader, librarian and internet addict.
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