Furminator: What a Disappointment

I bought a Furminator, hoping it would help with our Blue Grand, who was a Maine Coon mix. As you, probably, know, Maine Coons have very long fur. He hated it. He stopped cleaning himself and had mats all over him. I ws hoping to help him by removing them, easily. All, I found, it did was pull his fur, causing him to cry, no matter how much I kept my fingers between his skin and the mat itself. It also scraped his skin when he squirmed trying to get away from me. I finally gave up using it altogether, and it went the way of many other tools that also did not work. I do not recommend this torture implement for cats.

Of course, this is a personal opinion, from my own experience with the tool.

A furminator is not the proper tool for grooming a longhair cat, although there are variations of it that do say they are for LONG hair and they have much wider spaces between the teeth.  Those are probably great on a cat who has no mats and has been groomed regularly with a comb.  What you need for any longhair cat is a metal comb with very long teeth, spread widely at one end and less widely at the other.  That is the only way you can reach the skin level and remove loose hair from its source.  If he already has mats close to the skin, you should have him shaved down (a lion cut looks good) and start over with grooming him while he has little hair.  It will therefore not be matted and will not hurt him and you can retrain his experience so grooming becomes a pleasure (like a back scratch at first) and he will let you groom him happily.  Although there IS a comb like that that also includes a cutting blade at one end, to cut through tangles you may find (but not through serious mats, which are already tugging at his skin and causing him pain.)

Most upscale pet stores have a good selection of combs AND a person to guide you and which comb would be best for your animal.  You could also ask the Maine Coon and Persian Breeders in our Ethical Breeding forums what they use, and I'm sure you will get some good recommendations.

Some Maine Coons have silky coats that never mat, and others have rough and heavy greasy coats that do mat.  The latter should be bathed on a regular basis (either by yourself or by a professional cat groomer) because clean hair doesn't mat.  Think of how your own hair feels if you go maybe a week without washing it.  It gets stiffer and greasier and pretty soon you get snarls and tangles.

Here is a YouTube link that is a demonstration and explanation of everything you will need to know for grooming your own cat.

Published on Mar 18, 2013

A demonstration and tutorial of a full cat grooming of a Maine Coon cat. Tips and techniques to cat grooming; including cat bathing, cat blow-drying, cat brushing, cat combing, cat haircut and hair styling.

I don't think Furminators were meant to address mats - rather, they seem to be intended for catching and brushing away excess and dead hair and not so much for detangling.

Regardless, you can also share this information on the Reviews section. I saw you had posted to nominate a rescue. Here's the page for the Furminator if you'd like to review it (and others who are interested in the brush will know to avoid using it for long haired mats, for sure):

http://www.thecatsite.com/products/furminator-deshedding-tool-for-cats/reviews/add

To write more reviews, here's an illustrated guide on how to find products to review: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/256117/yummy-cat-treats-review-contest#post_3324332

Thank you for your response, but like I stated, we had to have Blue Grand (the kitty who had mats) put to sleep last week. The two cats we still have are short hair domestic and don't require constant brushing or care.

I use this, but dampen my cats fur a little. Voila! No more tugging fur.

I have a purebred Maine Coon. Our Furminator is a great tool for keeping his hair smoothe. We work out tangles on a regular schedule, so he doesn't get mats.

penwright1029 said:

 
Thank you for your response, but like I stated, we had to have Blue Grand (the kitty who had mats) put to sleep last week. The two cats we still have are short hair domestic and don't require constant brushing or care.

Click to expand...

  I'm so sorry for your loss. May he RIP.

I'm sorry for your loss. 

The best way to share your opinion about Furminator, or any other product, is by posting a review in our reviews section. If you do it during January, you'll be helping our fundraiser as well. Full details in this thread:

Review products and raise money for cats in need!

penwright1029 said:

Thank you for your response, but like I stated, we had to have Blue Grand (the kitty who had mats) put to sleep last week. The two cats we still have are short hair domestic and don't require constant brushing or care.

Click to expand...

I'm sorry for your loss.

I had a long haired moggie who loved his furminator and the amount of fur it removed was amazing.

You didn't read about what Furminator really is. It is NOT for matted fur, it is a de-shedding tool!!! Just removes the loose hair!! 

Actually, on their official website, they say:
"... we advise to check for and remove mats and tangles before using the deShedding tool. With regular use, you should see a reduction in the amount of mats and tangles that form in the ears and tail because you are removing the undercoat that gets caught in the topcoat causing mats to form."

I'm sorry for your loss.