If you've got a cat your house is probably absolutely covered in cat fur. If you've got a long haired cat you're absolutely awash in cat fur. No surprise, they pretty much shed 24 hours a day. If you're looking to minimize the fur floating around your house you're going to need to brush your cat. Almost every day if possible.
Brushing your cat can be a tough exercise, especially if you've got a cat that doesn't particularly love to be brushed! So you want to make the most of every stroke. To do this you'll need to find the best brush for long haired cats.
The Best Brush For Long Haired Cats Quick Guide | |
|---|---|
Best Overall | |
Best Alternative | |
Best Multi-Use Gloves | |
Best Hair Removal Gloves | |
Cuts Through Tangles & Knots | |
Best for Mat Removal | |
Deepest Reach | |
Brilliantly Basic | |
Easiest Hair Cleanup | |
Best Rubber Model | |
Great for the Undercoat | |
Additional Information | |
DakPets Deshedding Brush for Long Haired Cats
DakPets developed this tool with pet grooming experts who specialize specifically in dog and cat care. The product reduces cat shedding by up to 95% for cats both young and old. No longer do you need to worry about cat fur all over everything in your home. This deshedding tool will help you minimize the amount of fur stuck to everything and floating all over.
There's a reason this tool has OVER 10,000, yes, 10,000 reviews on Amazon and an average rating of 4.7 stars. Because it is the best brush on the market.
The Furminator is widely considered one of the best cat brushes out there, both for short and long haired cats. There are a couple of different versions of it for cats both large and small. You really can't go wrong with it:
Delomo Long Haired Cat Grooming Gloves
Delomo brings an excellent product to market with their pet grooming gloves. This new enhanced model features a whopping 255 silicone grooming tips to help pull hair from your cat's coat, but it mimics the soft touch of your hand and feels like a relaxing massage.
These flexible, slip-on gloves allow you easily to brush away dirt, dander and loose hair from cats even if it as they just slip by quickly at your feet.
Pat Your Pet Cat Grooming Gloves
Pat Your Pet Grooming Gloves will ensure you can forget about shedding and the hassle that it is. Help minimize hairballs from your cats too be removing loose hair easily!
With a glove on each hand you'll quickly achieve more comprehensive grooming. And at the same time it gives your cat the love she wants too. No longer will you have to chase your poor cat around trying to comb out the loose hair.
These grooming gloves were designed to be extremely gentle and be functional too!
Miu Color Extra Large Cat Brush
This model by Miu Color is recommended by tons of Veterinarians & Groomers. It effectively reduces shedding by up to 90% when used on a consistent basis.
While it can be used on cat hair of any length it is proven to do an excellent job on long haired cats in particular. No longer do you have to worry about unsightly and annoying hair stuck all over your couch, clothing and carpet.
Hertzko Dematting Comb For Long Haired Cats
Hertzko's Double Sided Dematting Comb is designed to work on cats with both short and long hair. It gently removes loose hair from the top and undercoat, it eliminates tangles and knots, and it even pulls away dander and trapped dirt. Quite the multi tasker!
It is also designed with rounded "teeth" to ensure there's no chance of scratching or injuring your beloved cat! If anything it feels like a nice soft massage gliding over your kitty cat's skin!
GoPets Dematting Comb
Excessive hair and fur can be a huge hassle for us cat owners. It sticks to everything making your house seem dirty even when you just finished cleaning it. The GoPets dematting brush clears all sorts of matts and tangles, but more importantly it desheds your cat to minimize the amount of hair that goes everywhere.
This brush makes removing mats and combing out tangles simple. It is specially designed to work with pets that have double coats and long hair.
The Safari Cat Shedding Comb
With the Safari Cat Shedding Comb you'll not only be buying one of the best cat brushes on the market, particularly for long haired cats, but you'll also be buying a fine piece of art!
Featuring a contoured wooden handle it is comfortable to hold and the teeth are about an inch long on the big ones. This means you'll get plenty of purchase with a long haired cat and you'll be able to keep her coat clean and full of luster!
The Andis Steel Grooming Comb
If you're looking for a no frills comb that will meet all the necessary needs then you're looking for an Andis Steel Grooming Comb. Not only is it incredibly durable, but it is also super lightweight and comes in multiple sizes.
The Hertzko Self Cleaning Slicker
This is the perfect brush for nasty mats in your long haired cat's fur. Hertzko's Slicker Brush gently removes loose hair, helps remove tangles and knots and even lifts dander and trapped dirt out of the coat.
The real claim to fame for this brush though is the retractable bristles. When done flip the switch and the hair is instantly available for easy disposal.
The Kong Zoom Groom
The Kong Zoom Groom is unique in this list in that it is the only completely rubber option available. Most stainless steel combs feature rounded edges, but some folks prefer rubber for that additional layer of safety.
Now this brush is meant to pick up stray and loose hair and help reduce hairballs. Keep in mind this brush is not specifically designed for matting and tangle removal.
Pat Your Pet 2 Sided Undercoat Rake
Pat Your Pet Brings another excellent model to the market, this one specifically designed for deep mat removal and for knots and tangles. This brush is not going to be a great dual use brush if you have short haired cats at home.
It is specifically designed to cut right through huge mats and tangles without injuring your feline friend.
What Types of Brushes Are There?
There are several major brush types on the market. Below you'll find a quick description of each as well as major pros and cons. Most of the tools are purpose built to handle a specific problem, but you shouldn't approach your purchase assuming you'll need one of each.
My personal opinion is that a de-shedding tool is probably your best all around followed by a de-matting tool.
De-Shedding Tools:
These tools are specifically designed to remove loose hair from your cat and keep it from being both ingested and from floating around the house.
Most de-shedding tools also do a lightweight job of pulling out tangles and mats, though the blades aren't designed specifically for it so it can cause a bit of a 'yank' on your feline friend. Be careful if you encounter any resistance!
De-Shedding tools are the best all all around choice and every cat owner needs one.
De-Matting Tools:
Just as the name implies, these are primarily geared toward removing mats, knots and tangles in your cat's coat. The blades are designed to slice through the problem area without injuring your cat. Large or unruly mats may require the use of some scissors to clip out a mat even with this tool at hand.
Most de-matting tools available today also have two sides, one with wide teeth and one with fine teeth. The fine toothed side acts more like a traditional brush to simply remove loose hair.
A de-matting tool is a must have for any long haired cat owner.
Rubber Brushes (Including Gloves):
If you've got a sensitive cat then rubber brushes are often the best route to take. They are specifically designed to be very gentle on your cat and her skin.
This ensures you won't irritate the skin or pull on any tangled areas. But at the same time it also means that you won't be able to easily remove mats and tangles so you'll need to approach it another way.
A rubber brush is a must have for anyone with an extra sensitive cat.
How Do I Choose The Best Brush For Me?
The notes above will help you determine which might be the best fit for your cat. That being said there are a couple of general rules of thumb you should keep in mind for every selection:
How Often Should I Brush My Cat?
Every cat will require a different schedule, but I attempt to brush my long haired cat every single day. The longer your cat goes without brushing the more likely she is to develop mats, tangles and knots.
Once these things develop brushing your cat becomes far less enjoyable for you and the cat. By brushing daily you ensure a couple of key things:
- It'll decrease the amount of hair floating around the house.
- You'll minimize mats/tangles/knots.
- Your cat will feel better by stimulating better blood flow for your cat.
- You'll spread natural oils throughout your cat's coat to keep it shiny.
- If there are any nits or fleas in the hair it'll help decrease the chance of them spreading.
All in all brushing your cat is both great for her health and it helps keep your home cleaner too!
Are There Any Alternatives To Brushing?
Some cats really dislike being brushed and you may need to look for an alternative method to decrease the amount of hair around the house.
There are specially formulated wipes you can use on your cat to pull away stray hair. But I've found that a damp washcloth does about the same job and saves you purchasing the wipes and then them ending up in the landfill anyway.
Other owners have mentioned that microfiber cloths an also do a great job at helping pick up cat hair. You can buy microfiber cloths for all sorts of purposes, but most often you'd see them used for cleaning things like glasses and camera lenses.
What Are the Benefits to Brushing?
There are a huge number of benefits to brushing your cat on a consistent basis. And there are both benefits for you and your cat!
- Bonding Time: Brushing your cat can be a great chance to bond with your feline friend. Many cats absolutely love the massaging feeling a brush provides and will purr up a storm while you brush them. Not only will they get a ton of enjoyment, but they know it is you providing the enjoyment so they'll grow closer to you in the process!
- Hairball Reduction: Long haired cats are especially susceptible to hairballs. Consistent brushing helps reduce the amount of hair that your cat ingests while grooming herself. This means less hair gets into the digestive track and thus less hair to potentially vomit up later.
- Less Stray Fur: Brushing your cat daily does an amazing job of picking up dead hair that is still stick in your cat's coat. This fur most commonly simply falls of your cat and ends up stuck to a couch or floating through the air. By brushing your cat you pull all this hair off and get to stick it right in the garbage.
- A Full Body Check In: Your cat may not love getting brushed on every part of her body, many don't like the stomach, but brushing gives you a good opportunity to check through your cat's body and make sure there aren't new lumps and bumps. If there are you should go to the vet ASAP!
- Prevents Tangles and Matting: Tangles and mats can turn into a very painful experience for a cat if they are left alone. They can also be incredibly painful to remove if they grow large enough. A consistent brushing routine ensures mats and tangles never have a chance to form saving your cat from pain in the future!
- Removal of Dirt and Skin Dander: Is your cat an outdoor cat? Mine are only allowed on the patio and they still get stuff stuck in their fur all the time. Brushing them removes all this unwanted debris to ensure it doesn't get stuck there and cause a bigger problem farther down the road.
- Removes Nits, Lice & Other Bugs: Similar to removing debris and skin dander, if you've got an outdoor cat you'll want to ensure they don't have any bugs stuck in their fur. Bugs can get your cat pretty sick or make your house an absolute nightmare if spread. Fine toothed brushes and combs can help minimize the opportunity these bugs have to make your cat's fur their home.
What If My Cat Has Mats?
If your cat does have mats the first thing you'll want to do is do your best to remove them yourself. Matted hair can cause all sorts of longer term problems if left on its own.
To ensure you safely remove matted fur without injuring your cat you can check out this video below from Dr. Krista Magnifico:
If you're not comfortable removing the mats on your own then you can take your cat to your veterinarian or a professional groomer to have the matting removed. Make sure you get your cat into the carrier the easy way if you decide to take them to the vet or the groomer!
Another thing you may want to consider is the location of the matting. If it happens to be on your cat's spine it is likely that your cat can no longer reach that area to groom it. This often happens when cats get older or if they get overweight.
If your cat is overweight you'll definitely want to talk to your vet about how much to feed her and you'll want to establish structured play sessions with your cat to help her shave off some pounds. This is great for general health and will ensure she can take care of herself more easily in the future.
Are Groomers Worth It?
Many cat owners ask the question "Are groomers really worth it?" And it isn't an easy question because so many things factor into it:
- Does your cat enjoy being brushed or hate it?
- Does your cat despise getting in the carrier?
- Do you know and trust a groomer nearby?
- etc.
There's no single answer to this question. It'll depend on your individual cat and how comfortable he or she is with going to a groomer. And it'll depend on you as a cat owner and how comfortable you are with handing your cat over to someone else.
Taking your cat to a professional groomer has many significant benefits:
But there are drawbacks you should consider as well:
At the end of the day it becomes a personal decision. You'll have to weigh the pros and cons to determine if you think the trip is worth it.
You can always try it once and see how it turns out. You might find that your cat doesn't mind the trip. If the biggest concern is getting your cat into the carrier then you can check this article out for help.
Wrapping It Up On The Best Brushes for Long Haired Cats
There are obviously hundreds of options out there when it comes to brushing your cat. But if you have a cat that doesn't particularly like being brushed then it is worth every penny to buy yourself a really high quality brush.
This not only ensures you get the most out of every stroke, but high quality brushes also ensure you won't injure your cat or irritate their skin while you brush. At the same time a good brush also helps spread natural oils to your cat's coat and stimulate blood vessels for circulation.
All in all constant brushing not only helps make your cat look great, it makes her feel great and stay healthy too!
If you have any specific brushes you've used and love then please share the details with us below in the comment section!
References: Furminator Website, DakPets Website, GoPets Website, WebMD for Pets
