I was wondering,

What is the best brush for a long haired cat? Is it ok to use zoom groom on long haired cats? It seems like that would make their hair get tangled. So if anyone has long haired cats - what do you like best for them?

Zoom Groom works well on my medium/longish haired cats, though in general they have a hair type that doesn't mat. I am actually fairly pleased with a grooming comb I bought after seeing an infomercial on it...I can't think of the name off the top of my head, but when I head home, I'll try and find the package for it.

Okay, its called ShedEnder. It's supposed to be designed to get rid specifically of the undercoat, and it does a pretty good job of getting hair out of my boys while being pretty neat about it. Zoom Groom gets out tons of hair, but it also ends up allll over me, the carpet, in the air, etc. Hope that helps!

Shed Ender gets another vote from me!!

Does anybody have a picture of a "Zoom Groom"? I've never heard of it, but have been reading raving reviews about it. And do you know if a large chain pet store carries it?

I don't have a picture currently but I know that Petsmart carries them. Its made of rubber and the back is shaped like a cat. The brush side of it has really big conical rubber teeth that really pull hair out like nothing I've ever seen and the boys are crazy about it. I just like Shed Ender because its not quite so messy.

Ohh those are amazing, that is a Zoom Groom as mentioned by someone above. I found those work wonderfully on my shorthaired cats and not on my Himalayan. The Shed Ender works really well and breaking through knots and small mattes easily on my longhaird Himmie.

Here is the Zoom Groom :)

http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441779168&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302025600&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023690&bmUID=1151670372045&itemNo=0&Ntt=zoom&In=All&previousText=zoom&N=2

You'll need a good steel comb, too IMO.

Because Ginger has both long and short hair, I found that a shedding comb with alternating long and short teeth works best on her shorter fur, and I bought a professional groomers rake for the very, very long fur that she has on her tail. The rake takes out so much of the shed undercoat it is AMAZING.

I now have quite the motley collection of brushes and combs, because I went through SO many different styles before I found the ones that work the best for her.

Personally, I found that the rubber Zoom Groom and the professional groomers rubber curry comb, while they work well due to pulling hair with static electricity, are extremely messy, and I would wind up covered in so much fur after grooming her that I would look like a giant hairball.

With the shedding comb and the rake, I can completely control the mess, and Ginger looks great when I'm finished. She also tolerates these combs MUCH better than any of the brushes, including the rubber ones, as she HATES to be brushed!

As I mentioned in another thread I just got a Zoom Groom and I also have the Shed Ender. I've found the Zoom Groom to do a better job on my short haired cat and the Shed Ender to work better with my long haired cat. The Zoom Groom does work on longer haired cats if you do quick strokes and don't mind the mess. I keep a lint brush with me while using it and that works for me.

Prego just gets matted on his underbelly, so there I use a comb that's like a slicker comb, but has platic knobbies on the ends of the bristles. For the rest of him I use a Zoom Groom. He likes the zoom groom a lot better than the slicker, and it does take off a LOT of hair.

IMO you never use a brush on a longhaired cat. You use wide, medium and fine toothed combs only. Brushing doesn't get to the skin of the cat - it only goes over the surface.

A good grooming job on a longhair requires using a comb to get out the tangles and a smooth look. Start with the wide toothed and work your way down to the fine toothed comb.

Thanks for the Zoom Groom pictures and descriptions! They showed us something similar for our dogs in "Doggy School" last time. I will look at Petsmart tomorrow after class (class is at Petsmart:) !)

Thanks everyone for your help. I've never had a long haired cat before so I wasn't sure. :)

The brush side of it has really big conical rubber teeth that really pull hair out like nothing I've ever seen and the boys are crazy about it. I just like Shed Ender because its not quite so messy.


Just a thought - you say you like Shed Ender because it isn't as messy - but isn't the "mess" (all the hair that comes out) a good thing? That means the hair is ending up in the garbage can instead of on your furniture!! ;)

Here is the Zoom Groom :)

http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441779168&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302025600&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023690&bmUID=1151670372045&itemNo=0&Ntt=zoom&In=All&previousText=zoom&N=2


I just bought this today, and used it on Scratch. I pulled off enough hair to start a new kitty. This thing is amazing!!!