Deshedding Furminator Brush Review {for Cats and Dogs}
July 07, 2016
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Review of the Furminator deshedding brush to reduce pet hair.
We are animal lovers and always have been. Both my husband and I have had a dog, a cat or both (or multiples of both) our entire lives. We simply cannot imagine our home without our furry loves in it.
Compared to the messes our crazy cat Colby gets into, keeping up with their fur is the easy part. But it's constant upkeep. I get asked about this a TON on the blog, so I when the folks at FURminator contacted me, I was looking forward to trying their products.
So was Colby:
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They sent their FURflex Pet Hair System with their deshedding tools for both the cats and the dog -- the small short hair tool for cats and the small dog brush head.
I quickly discovered since that this product has a HUGE following -- it sounded like once you try it you're hooked.
There's a handle that works with the attachment size you'll need and for cats/dogs of various sizes and hair types. I tried it on our Peanut first.
At first glance he doesn't have the typical problematic dog hair. It's short but thick -- and because our sofas are the exact same color as his fur, and it tends to blend into our couches and furniture.
But…when we wash blankets or throws, it becomes apparent how much he sheds! So I sat down with our little sweetie to see how he would like the brush.
Eventually he figured out the deal and kept moving around so I could get a different spot. :)
The design of the tool allows for it to push through the topcoat and remove the undercoat without hurting the pet's delicate skin. After using it a few times it will help to reduce loose hair from shedding.
This is what I got after just a few passes on his neck with the Furminator tool:
It may not look like much but those are little bitty coarse pieces of fur that are difficult to clean up. They are easy to sweep but they stick to upholstery like you wouldn't believe.
Heading the pet fur off before it gets all over the couch would be fantastic, and that's the point of these tools.
I tried the cats brush next. We rarely brush them because they don't have really long fur. Most of our cats before our current ones have had gorgeous, long coats that needed grooming more often.
Because our kitties don't get brushed I wasn't sure how they would react. I tried it gingerly at first, leaving them where they were laying at the time:
I was a little surprised at how well they sat for us to do it.
Eventually I picked them up and like our long-haired cats before, I focused a lot on their neck area and they loved when I brushed there.
They didn't love having their backs brushed as much:
She thought eating it would be a lot more fun.
Our tuxedo kitty above surprised me -- oh my goodness there was SO MUCH FUR. They warned me not to do this before leaving the house because we'd be covered in it and especially with our girl, they were right. There was a cloud of black and white fur and it was stuck all over.
I acutually felt pretty bad after doing this the first time with her. I realized she had so much more and longer fur that I thought. I should have known better because of our two, she's the one who has more problems with hairballs.
I did some research and it turns out the hair we see on furniture is only one third of what the cat sheds.
Two thirds of a cat's shedded fur goes into their stomachs and that is what becomes hairballs.
I'm happy to report this brush has made a difference where those are concerned for our kitties.
With regular use, these brushes are supposed to reduce shedding up to 90 percent. That is pretty amazing! They don't stop shedding, but do help to control it.
When we keep up with it we've already noticed a difference in the amount of fur on the furniture.
Here's what we got from just a few minutes of brushing each animal:
I was impressed! That was with the two cats not being entirely sure about this whole brushing thing, so they don't always let me do it for long. Since then they are getting more used to it and enjoying it more each time.
*Beware of knock offs of this product!*
They're often sold under the same name by different manufacturers (on Amazon, for example). As I mentioned, these Furminator products have a loyal following and after using them I understand why.
Have you tried these products on your animals? They were new to us and so far I'm very pleased with the results.
Beyond the fact that they actually work, our animals are a part of our family and this is such a small, simple thing to do for our dog and cats. It's nice to spend a few minutes loving on them and I have really enjoyed that.
I love sharing products like this that I find useful and know will help some of you out as well. I know so many of you are animal lovers too!
I love sharing products like this that I find useful and know will help some of you out as well. I know so many of you are animal lovers too!
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Thanks for sharing this product .. I am on my way to pick one up as soon as I finish typing.. Can't wait to get to the undercoat of our golden ...
ReplyDeleteLove furminators. The classic one also works on super short coats like on a great dane. I think they sell different ones for different coats but we just had the classic one and use it on our dane and our cats (one of which has a long coat). If you go too hard you can cut their skin though!
DeleteI LOVE Furminator! I have the older version (the one where the head doesn't come off the handle) for my dog. The only problem is he is such a busy puppy that he hates sitting still! If I can catch him in a lazy moment though the amount of hair I brush out of his coat is phenomenal (his coat is similar in length and texture to Peanut's I think). Literally handfuls!
ReplyDeleteHa! That's funny because Peanut LOVES it (which surprised me). It is crazy how much fur comes out!
DeleteI'm hoping that as Remy gets older he will chill out a little bit. Right now he's a 14 month old, 14 pound bouncing (literally, he bounces) ball of energy.
DeleteA furminator is CRUCIAL with a huge german shepherd. If dog hair was like wool I could knit a sweater each time I comb him! So. much. hair.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of the Furminator! I have three cats (two DSH and one DLH) and a short-haired dog and the amount of fur in my house is insane. Using the Furminator definitely leaves a dent, though. The shorthair cats are the ones where I get the most results, surprisingly... like, softball-sized bundles of fur. Blech.
ReplyDeletewe have the furminator, and i love it. it's amazing what comes off of them! like, it's insane, right? you know those crazy people who make cat hair jewelry? no lie, i entertain the thought b/c you just get SO much. i mean....neat. no crazy cat lady here. :)
ReplyDeleteYou know, I did it the other morning and it gets SO MUCH off our black and white cat -- it did cross my mind that I could stuff a pillow with it. Ha!! Not happening but I'll admit I thought of it. ;)
DeleteI looked at them at the pet store, but almost coughed up a hairball at the price. I bought a MUCH less costly brush and use it almost every day on my cat. I'm sure it's a great product. Think they'll offer a discount for your readers?
ReplyDeleteI am going to get one. We have two cats, one who has hyperthyroidism who sheds so badly, and their hair is everywhere all the time. It's disgusting. I'm not sure how they'll like it but it's worth a try. Our old boy we had years ago LOVED being brushed, so maybe they'll come to like it.
ReplyDeleteI have to chime in. I have a Ragdoll cat. Her fur is long and thick. I tried many brushes and combs but she would run and hide. She hated them. I don't know what the difference is to her, but she begs to be combed since I bought the FURminator. I comb her in the utility sink in the mud room, and she never misses an opportunity to jump in the sink and reach up to the rack where she knows I keep it. I could make 2 more kitties out of what I get off of her in one brushing. It is expensive as pet combs go, but it is worth every cent.
ReplyDeleteLove this item. I used it on my German Shepherd. The amount of fur it removes is truly amazing!
ReplyDeleteStacy
I started using the Furminator years ago on our pug. Pugs shed like crazy! It works really well, but you have to keep up with it. For the past year, I've been shaving him with electric clippers, and that works better than anything else I've tried! Shedding is almost nonexistent now!
ReplyDeleteHi! Couldn't help but notice your beautiful rug! I know in another post you mentioned that you picked it up at Home Goods, but do you by chance know the brand name? I have been looking for something similar with no such luck.
ReplyDeleteWe have a husky/lab and had to get one of these right after we rescued him. It works great! He likes getting brushed. I haven't tried it on our cats but it would be a great idea for them too!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this review! I have a 14 week old Sheltie and I'm not looking forward to the HUGE shedding to come. I knew what I was getting into when I got her and had planned to have her groomed as often as possible. This seems like a much more budget friendly answer. I will definitely be looking into getting one very soon! Thanks!!!
ReplyDeleteI dogsit a Pomeranian often and bought a FURminator because I got tired of the hair all over me and my furniture. She LOVES being "de-furred"! Her eyes will close and she'll turn around so I can get her other side. She's not crazy about her tail being combed, but I try to hold the tail so that it doesn't pull her hair so much. Reduced shedding by about 90%. After her hysterectomy, she stress-shed tremendously. The FURminator definitely helped with that. I had to empty the blade after each pass as there was so much hair. After she recovered, she is back to her lower shedding. It's the first thing I do when her "other mother" drops her off - Furminate her. Definitely worth the $$.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you! We use the Furminator on my golden retriever and it really does help with all the shedding!
ReplyDeleteShelley
We have a German Sheppard, Chow Mix who sheds like crazy. I just can't keep up with all the fur. I've always been hesitent to purchase the FURminator because of the price. But then a friend gave me hers to try out. Total life CHANGER! It gets rid of so much hair! So worth the hefty price for the sanity that it saves with cleaning.
ReplyDeleteWOW! We have two cats - one long haired and two dogs - pit bulls (that are afraid of the cats). I could vacuum up a new cat or dog every week so I am definitely interested in this product. I will go to the pet store and look. Did you know you can put the hair outside and the birds will take it for their nests.
ReplyDeleteYes, the Furminator is amazing! I've been using one for years on our kitties. One thing to point out, is that it is intended to be used as a grooming tool and not a brush. If you use it too often, you can actually thin your pet's hair out too much and they will end up with bald/thin spots. Once a week is a good schedule/habit to get into, but no more than that.
ReplyDeleteWe have used the Furminator on our doggies since we got Lola, so I guess about 8 years. It's the only thing that works for her undercoat. And it really does help with shedding!
ReplyDeleteI think I will have to give that a try! We have a pug that seems to shed so much on a daily basis that I could make another pug with the shaded fur. He will shake and you can just see fur fly off of him. It's EVERYWHERE!
ReplyDeleteXo Bridget http://nuttyhiker.com