How to Choose the Best Cat Brush for your Finicky Feline

Our finicky felines bring us oodles and oodles of joy. In return, us savvy servants must do a few things for them. One of those things is to brush them. Besides, unless you’re a fan of cat hair everywhere, it just makes sense.

There are many benefits to brushing your cat. The main one is that brushing can work as a de-shedding tool, keep your cat and your home looking clean and feeling comfortable.

You can also use this time to check for any unexpected bumps or lumps you might want to mention to the vet.

There are many options when it comes to pet grooming tools. Which tool you need, depends mostly on the type of hair your cat is sporting. The basics are a cat comb, a bristle brush, a cleaning slicker brush, and perhaps a detangler. 

How to Choose the Best Cat Brush

How often should you brush your cat? 

Again, this varies from cat to cat. Most lovers of long-haired cats say daily brushing is best. But there are other factors to consider, like your cat’s age, health, and lifestyle.

Older cats, overweight animals, and cats with brachycephalic faces, such as the Persian cat, require more frequent beauty treatments than younger, slimmer cats. Ah, the parallels to humans are hard to miss, eh?

You may also find that a cat with soft, silky fur needs more attention to prevent matting than, then say a coarse, short-haired cat. This is why my friend Jacqui, a major athlete, finally made the decision to chop her long, luscious locks for a short, practical hairdo.

She bemoans how long it would take to care for her hair after each major sports session. I wonder if long-haired cats feel the same way?

⇒ In the mood for grooming and cat care? Check out my posts on How to Groom A Cat, my Guide to Caring for Cats and my quick Cat Check Up.

Except for rare cat breeds like Bengals and Sphynx, most cats sport an undercoat of down hair, a middle layer of awn hair, and a topcoat of guard hair. No matter the length of the coat, these hairs need brushing with the best cat brush to maintain cleanliness and lustre.

There are several different types of cat grooming brushes available to buy, so it’s important to understand what each one does to get the best cat brush for your feline.

Best Cat Brush for Short Hair

There are a lot of cat breeds that have short hair. Some of the most popular ones are the Abyssinian and Bombay cats. Short-haired cats are easier to maintain compared to the ones that have long hair.

It’s because short hair cats are less likely to have mats and tangles. Grooming them and regularly combing their hair also isn’t that required, though it’s necessary to brush them every now and then to ensure that they’re healthy and looking good.

When thinking of the best brush for short-hair cats, we must consider that they don’t have much hair standing between their skin and the grooming tool.

One of the best cat brush options for short hair is a glove brush. This is because of the length of the hair. Short hair cats are more in tune with a cat brush glove because of the soft rubber material they’re made of. It doesn’t irritate their skin.

Other good cat brushes for short-haired cats include bristle brushes, slicker brushes and short-tooth combs.

A bristle brush is a standard grooming tool that can be used on all cat hair types. This soft cat brush helps to keep short fur sleek and shiny.

Cat bristle brushes can also be used as a final stage in grooming for long-haired cats, only once they’ve been groomed with a molting comb. (one of the best dematting tools for cats options)

You can buy cat bristle brushes with widely spaced teeth or closely spaced ones. When grooming a short-haired pet, choose a brush with closely spaced teeth.

If your cat sports a particularly coarse coat, you’ll want to select a brush with stiff bristles but not a wire pin brush. Cats with short, dense coats especially appreciate a once-over with a good cat brush.

Another option is a slicker brush.

Just like my friend Jacqui the athlete, short-haired cats often don’t need much more than a quick once over to keep their fur sleek. A cat slicker brush is the best cat brush for this as they have short metal bristles that slide over fur and smooth out any knots.

They’re also great for achieving shine as they help spread the natural oils in your cat’s hair evenly.

While you can use the slicker brushes on any fur type, be careful using them on cats with longer coats as they can easily split and damage their hair. Split ends are not a good look on anyone – cats and humans alike!

It’s good to also have a short tooth comb in your grooming arsenal for short-haired cats. Its benefits are many. Besides reducing shedding, since your cat has less hair between her skin and the comb, it’s advantageous that this comb’s smooth, rounded teeth are gentle on the skin.

Cat Brush for Medium hair

Brushing a medium-haired cat helps keep its coat silky smooth and free of tangles. Brushing helps remove hair from those spots cats find hard to reach with their rough tongues – places like their armpits and around their ears.

Regular brushing also moves oil from the skin along the hair shaft, reducing dandruff, removing loose fur and contributing a natural sheen to the cat’s coat.

A good option for a medium-haired cat could be a slicker brush. A good all-rounder, these cat brushes are good for short-haired cats too.

Cat slicker brushes are usually rectangular and have tightly packed wire bristles. Use long, gentle strokes to brush your pet from head to tail. 

A slicker brush is an especially good tool for detecting loosely matted fur. If you run into a mat, use your comb to detangle the fur, and then return to brushing.

Don’t forget about brushing the backs of your cat’s legs. Some savvy servants follow the slicker brush with a soft bristle cat brush to snag any last bits of fur and clean the face and ears.

After using the slicker brush, clear out the bristles with the help of your trusty comb. Then, clean the brush with hot water and soap or a pet-safe disinfectant.

When buying a cat slicker brush, make sure not to choose one with sharp bristles. A rake of the brush down your own arm will tell you if it’s pleasantly scratchy or painfully sticky.

Best Cat Brush for Long-haired Cats

Since cats self-groom, it’s critical to keep a long-haired cat’s coat in good condition to reduce the size and unpleasantness of hairballs.

Grooming a Persian, a Ragdoll, or another long-haired cat is essential for the cat’s health and your home’s cleanliness.

There are quite a few options for the best brush for long hair cats. It’s best to try out a few to see which one works the best for you and your cat. Some options include a steel comb and a Furminator.

However, some say that a Furminator is a bit harsh and recommend a butter comb for long-haired cats instead. And, when in doubt, the ever-faithful slicker brush is always a good option too.

There are also a few specialty options too. For example, if you cat’s fur is prone to becoming tangled, you’ll need a pin brush. They feature small pin size bristles that neatly glide through and untangle knots and make for a fantastic long hair cat brush. They can be the best cat brush for long haired cats.

Pin brushes are great for cats with medium to long fur that easily becomes matted around their legs and tail.

And, if you cat has thick fur, which she loves to leave around your home, a molting comb is useful. These handy tools are specially designed to gently strip back loose top layer hairs while keeping the long fur below free from tangles and matting.

Molting combs are perhaps the best cat comb option but they’re particularly great for long haired breeds. Molting combs are one of the best deshedding tool for cats options.

A general note about using combs for grooming – while combs might seem best-suited for cats with long hair – nearly any pet enjoys the nice, scratchy feel of a pet comb. Plus, almost all cats like to have their hair parted and combed.

Combing a cat’s hair doesn’t just make the animal (and us) feel good, but it also helps prevent tangles and mats that can be hard to get rid of.

Here are some other tools useful for cat grooming, no matter the hair length.

Rubber glove brushes for Cats

If you are looking for the best brush for cats that hate to be brushed you’ll love the glove brush! Thankfully, you should be able to get even the most difficult kitty to enjoy being groomed with a glove brush. This is the best cat hairbrush for very finicky felines!

Designed to slip over your hand, this brush for cats tends to feature soft rubber bristles that gently comb through your cat’s fur and remove loose hair. As these brushes look like gloves, your cat will think they’re just being stroked and will likely enjoy the massage they get as you groom them!

Flea comb for Cats

Unfortunately, cats can be prone to picking up nasties like fleas. As well as getting treatment, you’ll need to comb through their coat to remove the offenders.

A cat flea comb has fine teeth that are positioned close together so they can effortlessly pick up fleas, eggs, and other debris as you brush. It’s often more comfortable for your cat if you dip your flea comb in warm water before you start.

Grooming time with your cat covers a lot of bases. You get to get rid of unwanted hair, prevent potential matting, and check for any lumps and bumps that indicate a potential problem.

Best of all, this can be a great therapeutic time for you both, which allows you to strengthen your bond as cat and savvy servant. By choosing the right grooming tool, you will ensure that this is possible.

Please Note: This Best Cat Brush post contains affiliate links. That means if you click through on most of the links and end up making a purchase I will receive a small commission. This will not effect the price that you pay. I wanted to make sure that you were aware of this.

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