Top Brushes for Long Haired Cats

The beautiful Persian coat that I adore so much.  Maintaining this coat is the most demanding job of owning a Persian. It is essential to consistently groom this cat and having the right tools makes it much easier. Below is a list of the top most essential brushes to keep your cat's coat healthy and beautiful.

1. Steel Pet Comb (often called Greyhound comb or flea comb)

This is essential and what I reach for the most.  This is needed to comb through the thick undercoat which is at the root of the hair. Mats begin at the root so brushing only the topcoat will not prevent mats. I use this after meal times to clean out my cat's mane. Also great to use regularly in the problem areas such as behind the ears and under the front legs. The comb I have linked above is an all metal brush with two different thickness at each end which I think would be more useful than mine pictured below. Again this is my number one most important brush.

 
2. Slicker Brush w/self-cleaning

This brush deals with the long topcoat. It will fluff up your cat and make him look beautiful while removing loose hairs. One with a self-cleaning button is great at removing hair easily from the brush. However this is the brush my cat supports the least.

3. FURminator Long Hair deShedding Tool for Cats, Large

This is like a magic wand at removing loose hairs. However it should only be used after you have groomed both the undercoat and the topcoat. For my persian I bought the long hair comb in size small but looking back I wish I would have bought the large size. And surprisingly, my cat really enjoys this brush. Just remember to use it gently. It is a bit more pricey, but worth every penny in my experience. There are other cheaper brands who make the same type of brush but I have never tried them. You can remove large amounts of loose hair very quickly and it makes me feel great about that my kitty is digesting less hair.

4. Dematting Tool

This is a sharp little tool with rounded steel blades. It can be used to gently cut through matts. The curve of this tool allows to you cut through the bottom of the mat. Much attention is needed not to cut through your cat's skin. Because I brush my cat daily I only occasionally have the start of small mats and this works great to remove and stop the quickly.

While there are many more tools out there, these are the essential that I could not go with out. Soon I will be posting my trimming tools including scissors and a clippers. 

What about you and your cat? What do you use and love? Please let me know ! :-)