With the summer heat upon us, my three cats are shedding like crazy. I keep the air on for them during the day, and make sure that they have lots of clean, cool water to drink, but I know they would be more comfortable if I could get rid of some of that extra fur. One has a thick, heavy coat, one has a medium-weight coat, and the third has delicate, rabbit-like fur. All three hate to be brushed. :rolleyes: On the rare occasions that they tolerate a brushing, I get huge wads of fur. What usually happens is that I’ll start brushing them, get a few strokes in, then whoever I’m grooming will flip over and attack the brush (and my hand). Since all three have their claws, I have to risk shredded hands every time I attempt to defur them.
I’ve tried to give treats right after brushing, trying to associate the brush with a reward, but it seems that they have selective memories.
Do you brush your cats? Do they like it? If not, what do you do?
We brush them. They love it.
We have several items we use. The one they like the most is not a “brush” at all, but a canvas glove with a palm pad covered with short, stubbby projections like a doormat (but softer). They LOVE this, and will rub themselves against it. It does much better at combing and removing hair than you’d think – electrostatic attraction seems to retain it. We bought it at a county fair. Look around on the internet and I’ll bet you find it.
We have a stiff wire brush with relatively large spacing betwee the wires. They like this, but not as much. It’s better at removing stuff from their coats.
we have a wire brush with fairly closely-spaced wires. They like this one the least, but they do like it, except in certain places. Midnight (who needs it the most) will rub her chin against it herself, but will protest if you comb/brush near tender areas, or if you do it too hard.
Fortunately, my medium-length-haired girl Raven loves it – she writhes and squrims and rolls around and flings herself into the walls and furniture, and if I dare to stop even for a few seconds she meows at me very indignantly.
My short-haired guy, Rasputin, seems to think that brushing is a game, and tries to eat it.
Cleo, our indoor kitty, goes nuts when you pick up her brushes. She’ll do this little dance till you start brushing and then goes into extreme purr mode. I went out and bought a people brush made of boar hair just for HER. What does that tell you?
Our barn cats, Jack and Chessie, are kinda ‘well, that’s nice but I’d rather you pet me’ on the whole brushing thing.
Get a Furminator. Our cats love it, and I can usually get a double-handful of hair off of Havoc at any one time. She will lie patiently while I do her back, sides and haunches, but she objects mightily to having her belly done. Something about metal comb and nipples I think.
The one that loves it is easy - just pick up the brush and she’s a brush-whore. The hard part is getting her to leave you alone when you decide you’re done!
The one that hates it? I use chemical warfare. I get him nice and stoned on catnip and then when he’s sorta woozy and going, “I luuuuuurrrrve you, man!” to all the legs in the house - mine, the toddler’s, the coffee table’s - I bring the brush to him and go to town. (Picking him up harshes his mellow, so I learned to go to him.)
We have a plain ol’ slicker brush, which is sort of okay. We have another “brush” that’s odd looking - it’s a rigid metal loop with triangular “teeth” notched in it (ah, here it is.). That thing is awesome. It actually pulls out the dead stuff. You actually have to be careful not to overuse it or you can get bald spots. But the cats love it, because it gets all the itchy stuff out and makes them feel cooler.
We have two long-haired cats, so we brush them or they get matted, badly.
At first, they hated it. Then we bought a little cat comb instead. Then they both decided they actually enjoyed getting their faces combed (like that helps with the matting! But at least the comb was not “the enemy”). Now they’ll tolerate getting their whole bodies brushed & combed, though one of them still hates getting his belly brushed. The other one loves it.
Well they both love it, yet it is funny one runs when she sees the brush, but when I finally get around to brushing she is all lovey dovey and purring and appears to be complete ecstacy.
My cat does the exact same thing that yours does. ON the off chance that I’m able to start brushing him without being attacked he’ll usually tolerate about 3 strokes, and then immediately flip over to attack both the brush and my hand. He too has is claws, and it is therefore a risky proposition. I’m thinking about getting one of those glove things to brush him, as I’ve seen a number of dopers say that they work really well.
My cat luuuurves to be brushed. So much so, that if she sees me brushing my hair, she will jump up on the bathroom counter and try to force me into brushing her.
She likes to participate in her brushings, grabbing the brush with her paws and pulling it across her whiskers.
My daughter’s big black gorgeous long-haired cat loves it. He’ll lay down next to the brush as a hint, and he’ll brush himself if she doesn’t immediately respond.
Denver and Tigger love it. All they need to see is the brush, and they practically line up for a brushing. Happy purrs usually result, as do large hanks of hair in the brush. They are visibly disappointed when you stop.
Annie, Fiona, and Hope tolerate it for short periods. You can brush them, but only until they don’t want it any longer. Then they roll over, and use their claws to tell you it’s time to stop.
Shiloh hates it. All she needs to see is you approaching with the brush, and she runs and hides.
Holy cow, she pulled a Golden Retreiver out of that Golden Retreiver!
My Oreobrat tolerates it. Lunabrat gets very indignant if I try, and gives me The Look of Incredulous Outrage, before attacking the brush, forcefully ripping it from my hands, and carrying it away to hide it. Fortunately, they’re both shorthairs, so it’s not really an issue, and Luna does tolerate baths pretty well (unlike Oreo, who will do her best to ensure you need a blood transfusion if you try to get her wet), so if they get too bad I can brush Oreo and bathe Luna.
I will definitely second the recommendation for the Furminator! One of my cats loves being brushed - luckily she is the one with the undercoat that really needs a good weekly brushing to cut down on the shedding issue. The other one is a silky Siamese and he just thinks the brush is a fun thing to catch and bite. He really doesn’t need brushing, though.
