The Furminator. Slaying Pet Fur, One De-Shedding Tool at a Time.

Part One of Two.

I admit it. I love to brush my cats. No, that's not a euphemism.

That said, my cats don't necessarily like being brushed, so I do what I can do help keep them looking swell. I've been on a quest to find the ultimate grooming tool; one that won't RIP the fur off my cats, which causes them to shred the skin off my hands, and one that does a good job, leaving my hands to other noble tasks.

A few years ago, Super-Deb, my patient, go-to-about-cat-care-Princess, told me a few good ways to to work with my cats' coats. She said you really need more than one tool. A slicker brush for the top coat, a flea comb for mats and a Mars Coat King to scrub out the undercoat. At least that's what I remember her saying, but maybe she said; "This is cool, get a Coat King and some times you can get the mats out with a flea comb but that can hurt the cat, so be careful."

And that was it.

Some of the many grooming tools in my aresenal, while Bob hopes to get brushed.

Did it work? Sure, it worked OK. I still have my hands, but I'm still feeling like I'm missing something. I have cats with very different coats.

• Spencer's got a dual layer, long coat. The top is very fluffy and flyaway, 
  with a thick undercoat.
• Bob Dole has a long coat, too, but it seems to be generally thick and clumpy. 
  Due to Bob's age, his coat constantly gets mats that are difficult to remove.
• Nick & Nora, short-haired, are the WORST shedders in the universe. You LOOK
  at them and they shed. Their coats are THICK and Nora can get some small, 
  dense mats near her rear. Nicky is very nervous about being groomed. 
  He does not like it.
• Cricket & Petunia are too "goosey" to be groomed, but I'm working on 
  getting them to like it.
• Gracie- Up until she got terrible skin allergies, Gracie was the cat I 
  could groom just by saying the word; "Brush?". With her delicate, plush, 
  long fur, I could brush her for an hour and she'd sit quietly and drool. 
  I had to stop grooming her when she got sick. 

Along came Twitter. Through the "Twiterverse" I learned about a new grooming tool for cats and dogs called a FURMINATOR. It looked very interesting and I just had to buy one and try it out.

Bob wonders if he's closer to getting brushed now.

I got my Furminator and was impressed with it's sexy design, not to mention that the handle for the cat-size is purple. Nice touch! I looked at the metal blade. The teeth are small and very close together. I wondered if that was going to hurt the cats or maybe not do anything at all. I looked around and Bob Dole walked over to me and I gave him a swipe with the Furminator. He immediately sat down and started to purr. Now, Bob's coat is NOT mat-free, so I had to brush around the mats. He REALLY liked the feeling of being groomed and right away a big mass of undercoat appeared on his back as I brushed him. I was astonished at how much fur came off him with barely any effort.

Part Two...the Furminator Review...next up...stay tuned.