52 paws up for the Furminator

(Isn’t that awful?  52?!  No wonder I’m always behind on nail trims.)

I bought a “Furminator deShedding tool” after succumbing to the thrill of the moment at the Western Veterinary Conference.  It seemed like a really cool product with a great sales pitch, and while I didn’t really need it, I figured it would still be fun to own.  I’ve since tried the brush (it’s not a bristle brush, but a metal “rake") on big dogs, little dogs, and an assortment of cats, and I’ve been completely impressed.  The brush removed an unexpected amount of hair from all the pets, even the ones who don’t seem to shed much, and did a good job on matted shih-tzu hair, tangled pseudo-poodle hair, thick German shepherd hair, and both short and long cat hair.  All the animals enjoyed the Furminator experience, so I guess it’s comfortable.

The Furminator is a very hyped, “as seen on TV” product, so it’s easy to blow it off as just another gadget, and it’s hard to imagine what sort of improvements could be made to something as ordinary as a pet brush.  When you try it for the first time, though, you’ll appreciate the comfortably padded handle, sturdy construction, and protective plastic guard on the metal tines.  It’s definitely something I’d recommend to the average pet owner, and would be a nice “congratulations on your new pet” gift (if we can have bridal showers and baby showers, surely we can have pet showers too).  If you wear the product out by having too many pets to groom, you can buy a replacement blade.

I use the large size Furminator because of my German and Anatolian shepherd dogs, but the small size would be perfect for cats.  They’ve got a pretty nice website at Furminator.com, but if you plan to make a purchase, shop around for the best price.  I paid about $32 for my large-sized Furminator at the WVC convention, they’re just under $40 at Amazon.com, and are almost $50 elsewhere online.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 03/20 at 10:13 PM

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  1. While I miss the Rags cat, there was a good reason we didn’t do nail trims with her… 30 of them. 8 claws on each front and 7 on each back, and none of the “thumb” look so common for polydactyls. Her calico-ness passed on about 4 years ago. It didn’t help that she had a very nasty disposition and loved you on her terms only, so she was quite willing to use all 30 claws to get her way.

    Current claw count around here is closer to 88, not counting dewclaws and no more polys. I hope that makes you feel a wee better.

    Posted by Georg  on  03/21  at  08:03 AM

  2. Hmmm, I was counting “paws”, not “claws”, so I guess I’d multiply 54 paws by 5 toes?  270!  That doesn’t make me feel better at all!

    No polydactyl cats here, I’m afraid.  I’d be thrilled to have one of those just for a change.  I’d even like an orange tabby again.  I seem to end up with lots of cats which are black or grey/white combos, and at this rate, I’ll never get to name a cat “Carrots”.

    Posted by Leigh-Ann  on  03/25  at  11:22 PM
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