Best comb/brush for a long haired cat who is matting

Simone has been with me for 6 years now, she gets her usual brushing and all, but the last couple months her fur seems not as clean, fluffy as usual, and she is getting matts alot more. Granted, she does like to go in the backyard and roll in a dirt patch when it's hot! But she ends up snow white again in another day or so.

I have had to cut a few off of her, thinking it's alot better, then a couple days later (tonight) I pick her up and wow, she has alot of matts again!

Do the long 2" wire blades work well? Or something else?

The last time she put up with me for quite a while but ended up smacking at my hand to stop, leaving a nice scratch, so enough of that!

I pushed her to the limit though, since I'm sure it doesn't feel good no matter how hard I try to be careful.

Here's Simone's pic so you see her thick long fur.

Thanks!

What a beautiful kitty! I have a long haired kitty too. I wish I had some strong advice for you, but I've tried just about every type of brush and tool on Beans to no avail.

Beans:

My solution has been to brush every day with a slicker brush, and once or twice a week with a Shed Monster to remove dead undercoat.

The mats are taken care of, but her coat just looks a little funny now. I think maybe the Shed Monster has removed too much undercoat.

I'm interested to hear from other long haired cat owners regarding their grooming habits.

I find that the shed monster removes too much undercoat as well, so I only use it once every couple of weeks. Using the slicker brush frequently helps a lot, though. It's pretty similar to the way cats groom themselves. My sister's cat had to be brushed with the slicker twice a day to prevent mats. My own fluffy kitty, fortunately, takes much better care of her fur and usually doesn't need any assistance.

prairiepanda said:

I find that the shed monster removes too much undercoat as well, so I only use it once every couple of weeks. Using the slicker brush frequently helps a lot, though. It's pretty similar to the way cats groom themselves. My sister's cat had to be brushed with the slicker twice a day to prevent mats. My own fluffy kitty, fortunately, takes much better care of her fur and usually doesn't need any assistance.

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I think maybe the Shed Monster does remove too much undercoat. Unfortunately that's the one brush that Beans tolerates. She swats and hisses at the slicker after a few stokes. Maybe she has sensitive skin.

Maybe try a slicker with the little nubs at the ends of the bristles? That would probably be more comfortable for her than the scratchy metal tips.

A metal comb works best, at least that was what I found grooming cats at my friend's cattery.  They come in quite a variety and you want one with a handle you can grip easily.  Unfortunately until you set to work you don't know if narrow teeth, wide teeth or alternative teeth will work best.

I used to start at their behind and comb tiny sections backwards, and sometimes work from the head grooming tiny sections forwards.  If you try to comb the whole body at once you comb mats into mats.  Quite a few cats need a really good grooming every day when they are shedding.  I'd also be quite happy to take a pair of scissors or clippers to mats in my own cat's coat, and whatever you do don't wash a cat with knots or mats - it makes it far worse.

Since your cat gets mats in a couple of days that means she has a coat that needs more and more effective grooming that she is getting.

I bought a furminator - I think it's actually made for dogs. it's a wonderful brush and the kitties are SO enthusiastic they lie down right away and each one wants to be brushed first. however, I am extra careful and brush very lightly on Boy because his fur is shorter and he grooms a LOT, whereas Miss Kitty has longer fur and tends not to groom much. good luck! by the way, I bought the 'small dog' which i think was the smallest brush they had.

I use a combination of tools for my long hair cat.  First is a metal comb.  This I find is good for daily grooming purposes, although both cats don't typically need it.  The second, is a Furminator, which I use a couple of times a week to help pickup the undercoat.  Third, is a slicker brush, which I find is good for all over smoothing.  

All seem to pick up pretty much the same amount of fur.  Ours doesn't mat too bad, every now and then she might get something very small in her hind quarters or under her chin but nothing which I can't work out within a minute.  

Both of my cats love being groomed.  Even the short hair enjoys it, especially the Furminator.  Usually with the other two he'll won't settle down and let us really work him over but for some reason that one makes him fall over in ecstasy lol.

I think the trick is to do it regularly and learn what that means for your cat.  Some need it daily, others only once a week.

Honestly, for me brushing quickly every day is the only way it stays under control. I do a quick 5 min once-over with a slicker brush in the morning before I leave (while she's still sleepy) and then once a week with a comb. She hasn't gotten any more mats this way, the only time she gets them now is if I don't brush daily. They only need a day or two to build up! Also, I noticed her mats reduced a LOT when I switched her onto mostly wet food. She won't eat grain free (unfortunately) but I've managed to get her onto wet and noticed a big difference with the matting. Not sure of your kitty's diet but just an idea that worked for me! If it's hot though she tends to get little tiny ones, but they come out when I brush. I also really love the Furminator tool for taking out her undercoat, that seems to be the problem (the undercoat) and not the fur on top.

I have to agree about a good diet helping.  I know for us, when we got Cocoa she had been a rescue and was only being fostered for a little over a month or so at that point.  The condition of her fur was fair back then, kind of rough and dull.  9 months later with us, on a mostly wet diet/grain free she has developed a luxurious silky coat, very healthy in appearance.  I think between the better diet and overall better care, it has helped the condition of her coat a lot.

The Greyhound stainless steel combs and the furminator deshed tools (for cats) are very good.   Shaving off the mats with a #10 blade also works.  Scissors should never be used on a cat's coat.  

AmyCat1 said:

 
The Greyhound stainless steel combs and the furminator deshed tools (for cats) are very good.   Shaving off the mats with a #10 blade also works.  Scissors should never be used on a cat's coat.  

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I use a pair of scissors on Beans hind end for "hygiene purposes". The fur on her legs grows really fast  too.  I have to trim it at least every couple of months or she'll get a "present" stuck in her britches. I can't go near her with the clippers. She's terrified.   

I bought a brush for Bella & Thunder and they will let me brush them a few times and then they are done. The brush has soft black bristles on 1 side and metal on the other.wish they are not fond of. They both are short haired and are grooming themselves all the time.so really don't need to comb / brush them at all.

I bought a dog brush called Conair pro, it's a small soft brush, my kittens are too little for mats quite yet but I brush them daily even the short hair one and they seems to really enjoy the brush. The brush it's self is enjoyable for me too it has a very soft gel grip.The company also sells under coat rakes, haven't tired them yet.

I use a slicker type brush with the balls on the end of the bristles.  I start at the back and brush her coat the 'wrong' way to get as much of the undercoat out as possible.   Alice has a very thick undercoat.  I will often get two handfuls of undercoat out even though I brush her frequently.  As long as I keep up with brushing out all of the loose undercoat she doesn't get too many mats.  She has to be in the mood otherwise it is a battle and I just don't do that.  I just let it go and try the next day.  

I have a long hair rag-doll and we recently purchased the "ShedMonster" at Petco. It's done wonders for our cat that has terrible clumps and matts all over her. It has tines that are kinda curled with a cutting edge on the inside of the part that you brush with. My daughter has gotten very adept at using in and it cuts into the under coat to thin out the problem areas.  We've used lots of different kinds of combs/brushes and our cat has been the most patient with this one and we love it because it seems to be really working!! Good luck!