FURminator deShedding Tool

I'd seen rave reviews of the FURminator deShedding Tool, both in other official reviews, and among my cat forum members. I decided to try it on my four cats, who all shed copious amounts of hair. It's almost impossible to wear black or dark colors in public without being a walking example of a crazy cat person. Worse, our cats had been hacking up a large number of hairballs, and I was concerned for their intestinal health.

The FURminator arrived quickly, and I assigned testing duties to my son, who is the catmaster of our home. He quickly set to work.

The makers of FURminator deShedding products recommend the following steps before using FURminator:

1. The coat should be free of tangles. If the coat is badly tangled and you are not expert at detangling, he should be taken to a groomer or vet first.
2. The coat should be clean and dry. If not, it is imperative to shampoo the cat and dry his coat thoroughly before using the FURminator.
3. Thoroughly examine the cat's skin for signs of cuts,sores, or abrasions. If any of these are found, the cat needs to be seen and treated by a veterinarian before using Furminator.

Billy has a medium-long coat with a very thick undercoat. This made him a natural to be first in line for testing the tool.

Billy doesn't ordinarily care for a lot of handling, even by his person, Lance. However, as soon as he felt Lance combing the FURminator through his thick coat, he settled back and enjoyed it thoroughly. Within 10 minutes Lance had accumulated a large handful of soft, fluffy, silvery, dander-laden cat hair.

The FURminator removes both thick undercoat and loose top hairs in both longhair and shorthair cats. Jaspurr and Joey are both DSH cats.

Jaspurr has a very thick coat though, with a thick layer of undercoat. I don't know if its a "red" thing, but his dander is particularly bad for my allergies, both asthma and "hay fever." Just a few minutes after a quick snuggle with him, and my eyes will be itching, red, and tearing, and I have to use my emergency inhaler. Within another 10 minutes, Lance came out of the "barbershop" and held out another large handful of (orange, this time) cat hair, which I politely declined.

Joey, on the other hand has little undercoat, but he does shed an abundance of loose hairs. His pile of combings was equally impressive.

From our experience with FURminator, our family gives this tool a 4-paws up, 5-star rating. It is definitely a new essential in our home. I am particularly happy about the prospect of fewer allergy symptoms, along with the ability of wearing black again.