# furminator...is it all that?



## madie (Apr 20, 2010)

hi all.

i was wondering what you all think about the furminator? is it really worth it? I dont mind shelling out extra $$ unless it is really, really worth it, and really cuts down on amount on pet hair in the house. [email protected]'really' but pretty serious since I am currently unemployed.  

my family is complaining about my cat being indoors (our late cat was outdoors>indoors) with her hair on the clothes, etc. I cant let Mocha out...she not so bright on her survival skills and every small sound scares her (cars, people, etc) even when i walk her out with a leash. 

i do brush her but i admit, i've been a bit lazy on this....i brush her say, weekly. I do sweep our wood/tile floors almost every 5-7 days or so. 

thanks all....if there's another alternative besides furminator that is easy on the pocket, pls. i'm all ears.


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## Leazie (Apr 14, 2007)

I have a furminator and it does make a big difference in getting out the dead hair. They are pretty pricey, though. I think that others here use brushes like a slicker and have good luck with them.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

My girls don't care for it. At all. I have a groomer's comb and a brush. 

This is the comb (ignore the shedding blade):










This is the brush:


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## madie (Apr 20, 2010)

thanks ladies!

Leazie, i honestly dont mind getting the furminator at all if it will _dramatically_ decrease amount of hair in the house. those who use it, and have seen a big difference, how often do you furminate your feline?
i'll only get it if does help ALOT, ALOT. if not so much, forgettaboutit. 8) 

oh the one i have been using is the shredding blade...i finally know what it is called....hehe, always learn something new here. thanks marie73. 

thanks!


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

How does the shedding blade work? It looks pretty scary to me.


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## Toirtis (May 6, 2010)

Leazie said:


> I have a furminator and it does make a big difference in getting out the dead hair. They are pretty pricey, though.


I agree and disagree. The Furminators are brilliant, and well worth getting....but they do not have to be pricey. Buy one off eBay....here in Canada, the Furminators retail for $48-$60...I bought a genuine, brand-new (in package) one off an eBay seller for $14, including shipping.


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## Mom of 4 (Jul 29, 2006)

I don't like the furminator. Okay, I hate it.

It chops off the fur/hair, so it makes an impressive pile of fur/hair. I don't like the way the fur/hair feels after using it. I had heard such wonderful things about it, I tried it on my Golden and my DLH. Yes, I used the cat one for the cat and the dog one for the dog. I apologized to them. and it seemed to take forever for their hair to grow back.

I can get those impressve piles of fur/hair with my metal rake and comb. And I like the way the fur/air lays after that.


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## madie (Apr 20, 2010)

wow, mixed reviews on furminator! my pocket is happy now....maybe i'll look at other things.....any favorites?



marie73 said:


> How does the shedding blade work? It looks pretty scary to me.


hehe, i thought the same way too when it was given to me. you simply just comb it through the fur and you get a good amount of hair, even the fine undercoat. what gets me is that after first comb, you might not get much but in the subsequent combs on same area, you often get more.......so i really dont know when i feel that i am really done combing. I stop when i feel the amount of hair on the shedding blade is much less than when i started (which feels like a 1/2 h or so). 

the teeth isnt that sharp at all. it's almost like those teeth of those can opener thingys or a small manual saw. the cat's fur is thick enough that they wont feel it. My cats seem to like it for awhile. 

Marie73, how do you like the shredding comb? do u comb your cats everyday? i'm wondering if that will work better than the shedding blade....i am bad that i am too lazy to do it everyday. :?


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

I'm lucky, three out of four cats like being brushed. Gigi loves it, she even lifts her arms straight up into the air while she's on her back so I can get under her arms! Gigi will let me use the groomer's comb on her, but only for a while at a time. So I try to get different parts of her body each time. It gets out so much hair!!


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

If you're not already feeding a good quality wet food, making that switch will do wonders to reduce shedding. 

I have a furminator knock off that I got when I was getting Holly...works great on Kobi, hate it for Holly. I use a flea comb and a slicker brush.


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

I used to have a long-haired cat who _loved_ being brushed with a ZoomGroom, but hated the Furminator. Go figure. ZoomGrooms are great -- I used to call "Rookie, brush??" and she'd come running and assume the position.


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## madie (Apr 20, 2010)

October said:


> I used to have a long-haired cat who _loved_ being brushed with a ZoomGroom, but hated the Furminator. Go figure. ZoomGrooms are great -- I used to call "Rookie, brush??" and she'd come running and assume the position.


wow, that looks really interesting and cute too! how do you like it? do you think it gets alot of hair out like the furminator (not that i have tried it)? thank you! i am seriously thinking of trying this.


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## china_cat84 (Apr 27, 2010)

My mom has a furminator and let me borrow it. My pixie HATES that thing. I left it on the table and she tried to kill it!

I bought a brush from wal-mart that works well - it's called BambooCare or BambooGroom, something like that. It's blue and white. It has a slicker brush on one side and a regular bristle brush on the other side. Two different combs are inserted into either side of the brush (so you tug them and they come out) and they are a medium comb and a flea comb. Let me tell you, this brush is fantastic and it's only $8! My cats still don't like it, but they don't like to be brushed in general - but they really hated the furminator. 

You can see the brush here (it's the same, but mine is blue/white and this one is green/white): http://www.amazon.com/Bamboo-Slicker-Br ... B000JKNYWM


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## SpaceyKP (May 8, 2010)

I love the furminator! It works the same as the furminator but was cheaper. My dogs have both loved it. None of my cats really like it, but I've tried several brush styles and they just don't like being brushed at all. :roll: You can get knock-off brands at pet stores now. They should work just as well but cost less. I think the original, standard, are a little cheaper now that they've been out a few years.


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## furryfriends251 (Jan 1, 2009)

I have a cheap knock off - I think the brand is Safari? Anyway it was $10 instead of $50 for the furminator brand.

It works on some of the cats and it doesn't work with others. I try brush them lightly and not much in one spot.


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## Heather102180 (Nov 19, 2003)

I love the furminator...but more importantly, so does Fozzy!! It gets rid of his dead fur that just weights him down. I love how it does on his fluffy tail too!


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## razzle (May 20, 2010)

Hi. I think it's the best brush for getting out fur. It really does work. It gets down to the undercoat. Don't press to hard when using it though. A medium touch is good. They cost a lot less than when I bought it ($40 at Petco). You might try ebay to see if it's cheaper. As with any cat, there is going to be fur so we have to clean more. Some shed more than others. Don't let her outside. She is much safer inside. 

I think if you use this brush regulary (as with any brush) your family won't be complaining as much. You might want to add omega 3 fish oil. It does wonders for cutting shedding in half. You just have to find one that you cat likes when mixed in with her food. Start out slowly and build up. Does Mocha liked being brushed? If not start out slowly like maybe 2 minutes every few days and building up to 10 to 15 minutes.

Kathy


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## thenakedorchid (Sep 15, 2010)

Sorry for necro-posting, I searched "furminator" and this came up.

My vet recommended that I get it, and he demonstrated at the clinic how effective it was, so I went and got it. But after a few uses I began to wonder if it was breaking Sabrina's fur. She has lovely, soft fur (like a rabbit!) and I don't want to damage it. I like the furminator, but I think I'm going to limit my use of it to maybe once or twice a week. I'm going to check out that ZoomGroom though, thanks for the tip.


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## Ducman69 (Aug 28, 2010)

Furminators are grossly overpriced at pet stores.

Go to slickdeals.net and search furminator. You'll see they go on sale all the time at various online stores. I think I got mine from Amazon for $12. I then went by Petco, and it was $46. xD

The furminator is excellent, but it can dull their coat if used too frequently. Use a regular brush for daily combings, and the furminator to pull up the undercoat and loose hairs once a week.


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

I've never tried the furminator, but I didn't find the Zoom Groom to be effective for Muffin. She's a ragdoll, with a very long, thick coat, and the Zoom Groom wouldn't reach down to the base of the coat. I now use something called the Eyay Rakom (link below). It looks like a miniature rake. Muffin used to hate being groom, but when I pick up the little rake, she now comes right over and starts nuzzling it. It also does a great job on very long-haired cats, since it gets right down to the root, but the teeth are spaced widely enough that it glides right through the coat. 

https://www.thegralencompany.com/te...category_id=16&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1


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## melysion (Mar 12, 2007)

Another zoom groom fan here. Toby loves it and its really good at getting out all the loose hair


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## Sinatra-Butters (Aug 9, 2010)

The furminator kind of scares me...lol!
I use a regular old rake-style brush on my babies and it works wonders. I have it easy though, they are both short hair and they both like being brushed.


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## Ducman69 (Aug 28, 2010)

Shorthairs still shed, and still have an undercoat which they lick up and gives em furballs.

The furminator really isn't even that bad. I rake it on my arm and it doesn't hurt, and so surely it won't hurt them through a guard coat. 

Just don't press too hard, and use common sense like being careful about the spine. Mine seem to like it, will purr, but after a while they want to nom it for some reason or play with it like a toy. I don't think they dislike it, or they'd get up and move.


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## Oriole (Jan 11, 2010)

For those of you using Furminator - do you use the Large or the Small version of the Cat deShedding tool? I went to their website and it says they have to for short hair cats (FURminator.com - Short Hair deShedding Tools for Cats). Both my kitties are average size so I'm not sure which one would be better...*
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