Advice Requested for Combing My Cat

A little background: My Lily has been with us for 1.5 years. She was 2 years old when we adopted her from the SPCA, where she was spayed.

Lily has very thick longish hair and hairball issues. I've tried to brush her a few times, but she's always disliked it. I thought maybe it was because the brush smelled like Sparkle and those two have issues.

Problem: I just spent $50 on a Furminator, and have tried to comb her but she hates it! I've tried to do it when she's relaxed, like just now she was stretching out on the floor and giving me her "come love me up" meow. I've tried alternating stroking and combing - this cat does not like being combed!

She even ran from me when she saw me holding it!

Is there anything I can try or should I give up and get my $50 back? (It has a 30-day full money-back guarantee.)

Thanks in advance.

Lily says, "Get that comb away from me!"

Lily is GORGEOUS. She looks a lot like my sweet Rani girl!

I would suggest getting a good-quality flea comb with a comfortable long handle, plus a good quality slicker brush (the kind with the thin, curved metal bristles) and starting with the flea comb, finishing with the brush, doing it gradually and very gently. I bought one of the grooming tools like Furminator, and have found it to be largely useless; maybe other TCS members have more hopeful stories about theirs, but I'd probably send it back if I were you, and stick with these other grooming tools.

She is really pretty. Personally, I'd just take the cat, set up a grooming table and just use a normal comb on her. Take charge of grooming. Give her a brush to bite if necessary and start at the head and work a little at a time.

I have a medium furminator and it works great! Puff has no issues with the brush though. He did try to bite it a little at first but I just lightly pushed his mouth away and told him no firmly..

Could you try to associate treats with the brush so she doesn't run away from you when she sees you with it. Don't brush her at first. Just show the brush, treat, put it away. do over again. That way the brush becomes just an object she sees when she gets a treat.

THen work up to brushing her with it.

Originally Posted by SalemWitchChild

Could you try to associate treats with the brush so she doesn't run away from you when she sees you with it. Don't brush her at first. Just show the brush, treat, put it away. do over again. That way the brush becomes just an object she sees when she gets a treat.

THen work up to brushing her with it.

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Bribery worked for us!! Bella's still not crazy about the furminator, but she will tolerate it if I give her something to graze on while I'm doing it. I'll usually take a handful out of her regular portion of dry, or give her some treats. While her head is down and occupied, I brush

Originally Posted by SalemWitchChild

I have a medium furminator and it works great! Puff has no issues with the brush though. He did try to bite it a little at first but I just lightly pushed his mouth away and told him no firmly..

Could you try to associate treats with the brush so she doesn't run away from you when she sees you with it. Don't brush her at first. Just show the brush, treat, put it away. do over again. That way the brush becomes just an object she sees when she gets a treat.

THen work up to brushing her with it.

Click to expand...

This can work sometimes. It's worth a try. Sometimes the take charge method works but sometimes it just makes the cat more aggressive and untrusting of you. I think I remember Lilly already being a bit untrusting so I don't know if I'd try it in her case. I tried it on a kitty I had once. She was a timid, untrusting cat and it back fired on me. On the other hand, I've used it on another cat and it worked. But the cat it worked on was much more secure.

If she lets you brush her easier then the comb then I'd stick with that. Keep the comb nearby (maybe hide it so she can't see it) and every once in a while use it for a few strokes. Also make sure you're not just placing the comb in near the skin and pulling. Start at the ends and work your way down toward the cat. It's kind of hard to explain but I did it well enough for you to know what I'm talking about!

I can't advise you on the furminator you bought. I love the one I got. Lilly could eventually let you use it or not. Maybe return it and if you can slowly get her used to a comb then maybe you can get one and try it again eventually.

First off, Lily is a beautiful feline! Secondly, what is a Furminator? When I comb Petunia I use a small slicker brush, she seems to adapt better to that than a regular brush or comb which Ive also tried before the slicker brush. Barkley is not a fan of brushing, he will normally run away from me when he sees me combing his partner in crime because he figures (and rightfully so!) that he's next in line for his grooming. I try to catch him off guard so he wont run and proceed gently but I dont want him to start mistrusting me either, and I know that he sees Im not hurting Petunia when I brush her

Originally Posted by BarkleysJester

First off, Lily is a beautiful feline! Secondly, what is a Furminator? When I comb Petunia I use a small slicker brush, she seems to adapt better to that than a regular brush or comb which Ive also tried before the slicker brush. Barkley is not a fan of brushing, he will normally run away from me when he sees me combing his partner in crime because he figures (and rightfully so!) that he's next in line for his grooming. I try to catch him off guard so he wont run and proceed gently but I dont want him to start mistrusting me either, and I know that he sees Im not hurting Petunia when I brush her

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A furminator is an excellent deshedding tool. Most people have no problem with them.
http://www.furminator.com/

I have the same problem with Riley. He gets very violent if I try to brush him and will attack the brushes if he even sees them.

If you find something that works, let me know!

I will have to look into that Furminator. Petunia sheds a lot more than Barkley so it just might work better on her. I try and brush her everyday a little and even doing that I find little globs of her hair around the house but Barkley loves it because he uses the globs as toys!

I agree that being take charge is a solution that is only going to work for some cats... for others, it will make things worse, make the cat hate grooming, and will get you bitten and scratched.

Also, never allow the cat to bite the brush. If you've got a cat that goes crazy over the brush, either because he hates it or because he loves it, you won't be able to use it to brush him because he'll keep trying to chew on it.

But giving the cat a toy or something to chew on while you groom is often a very helpful distraction.

I agree with that. Petunia gets her catnip bag to rub her face on while Im grooming her and she loves it. I have been the victim of a scratch from Barkley before because I know in his mind he didnt know what I was planning to do to him with the brush and it's no fun. With him eventually he comes around as long as I dont try to coax him or take charge of the situation by holding him down or chasing him around the house.

Thanks for all the advice and the compliments about my little sweetie!

I have a cheap(er) comb like our vet uses, so I am going to return the Furminator and try the techniques you suggested and get her used to the comb first.

mzjazz2u, you are correct, I don't know what Lily's life was like her first two years but she trusts me and only me, and she has been very slow coming around to that.

Here's a link about the Furminator:
http://www.furminator.com/testbed/indexnew.html

I have a furminator, a shedd ender, a zoom groom and a flea comb. My medium haired cat only lets me use the flea comb, but she lays on the rug in front of me and lets me brush all I want. The other cat will let me use any of the above, but I find all but the flea comb make such a mess. I do her in the bathroom so I can vacuum afterwards. I wish I would have realized I could return the furminator. I got it at Petsmart for $34.95.