FURminator deShedding Tool for Cats Review (2026)
Less hair on the couch — and noticeably fewer hairballs. Tested on two very different cats.
MyPawAdvisor Verdict
FURminator for Cats
★★★★★4.610,000+ Amazon reviews
$25–$40
on Amazon
The cat FURminator does for cats exactly what the original does for dogs — with the bonus that less swallowed fur means fewer hairballs, which our test bore out. Buy the correct size and coat variant, keep sessions short and light, and it's the best cat grooming purchase in its price range.
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Quick Specs
Our Review
Cat owners discover shedding differently than dog owners: less hair on the furniture, more hair in the cat — coughed back up as hairballs at 3 a.m. The FURminator deShedding Tool for Cats attacks both ends of that problem, and after eight weeks of testing on a short-haired tabby and a long-haired Maine Coon mix, it's earned a permanent spot in our grooming drawer.
First, the important warning: this is not the dog FURminator in different packaging, and you should not use a dog FURminator on a cat. The cat versions are sized and edged for feline coats and thinner skin, and come in four variants — Small or Medium/Large breed, each in short-hair and long-hair editions. Getting the right variant matters as much as it does with the dog tool.
At $25–$40 it's a real purchase for a cat brush. The payoff in our test: visibly less ambient hair, a shinier coat on both cats, and — the result most cat owners will care about — hairballs dropping from weekly to roughly monthly for the long-haired cat.
Cat Version vs. Dog Version: Why It Matters
The deshedding edge on the cat tools is sized for feline coat density and skin sensitivity. Cat skin is thinner and more loosely attached than dog skin, and cat undercoat is finer — an edge tuned for a Labrador will be too aggressive for a tabby. The cat lineup comes in four variants: Small breed (under roughly 10 pounds) and Medium/Large breed, each in Short Hair and Long Hair editions. The long-hair edition has longer teeth that reach through a Maine Coon's topcoat; the short-hair edition's denser, shorter teeth suit tabbies and most domestic shorthairs. Pick by your cat's size and coat length honestly — the wrong variant is the number-one cause of disappointed reviews.
Our 8-Week Test: Tabby and Maine Coon Mix
The short-haired tabby (9 lbs, Small Short Hair tool) tolerated sessions immediately — two or three 5-minute sessions per week pulled a steady, surprising volume of pale undercoat off a cat who 'doesn't shed much.' Ambient hair on her favorite windowsill blanket dropped visibly by week three. The Maine Coon mix (14 lbs, M/L Long Hair tool) was the bigger test: a dense double coat that produces serious shedding and regular hairballs. The tool reached undercoat our slicker brush never touched. The headline result: his hairballs went from roughly weekly to about once a month across the eight weeks — consistent with less loose fur for him to swallow during self-grooming.
The Hairball Connection Nobody Markets Properly
Hairballs are swallowed loose fur. A cat grooms itself for hours daily, and every loose undercoat hair that tongue catches goes down the throat. Remove that loose fur with a deshedding tool before the cat swallows it, and you've addressed hairballs at the source — no gels, no special diets. This is arguably a stronger reason to buy the cat FURminator than furniture hair, especially for long-haired breeds. It's not a guarantee (some cats over-groom for behavioral reasons, and frequent hairballs can signal GI issues worth a vet visit), but for ordinary shedding-driven hairballs, the mechanism is simple and it showed up clearly in our test.
Cat Technique: Shorter, Softer, On Their Terms
Everything about deshedding a cat is a scaled-down version of the dog technique. Sessions are 3–5 minutes, not 15 — stop while the cat is still tolerating it, not when they've had enough. Pressure is feather-light; the edge does the work. Always go with the coat's grain, and skip the belly and legs entirely unless your cat is unusually tolerant — back, sides, and the base of the tail are where the undercoat lives anyway. Watch the tail itself: many cats hate tail grooming. And like the dog tool, never use it on damp fur or irritated skin. Our tabby came to enjoy sessions by week two; the Maine Coon tolerates exactly four minutes and then leaves, which is his right.
When the Cat FURminator Is the Wrong Buy
Skip it for hairless and rex-coated breeds (nothing to deshed, easily irritated skin), and don't buy it hoping to fix matting — established mats need a dematting tool or a groomer, and dragging a deshedding edge across a mat is painful. If your cat absolutely refuses any brush, start cheaper: a grooming glove builds tolerance for a fraction of the price, and you can graduate to the FURminator later. And if your long-haired cat's hairballs are frequent and severe, see a vet before assuming grooming will fix it — the tool reduces ordinary shedding-driven hairballs, but it's not a medical treatment.
Pros & Cons
✅ What We Love
- ✓Dramatically reduces loose undercoat on both short- and long-haired cats
- ✓Cut hairball frequency from weekly to ~monthly for our long-haired test cat
- ✓Four variants properly matched to cat size and coat length
- ✓FURejector button keeps sessions moving without hand-pulling fur
- ✓Cat-specific edge is gentle enough for thin feline skin when used lightly
- ✓Visibly shinier coats within three weeks on both test cats
⚠️ Watch Out For
- ✕Premium price for a cat brush
- ✕Wrong variant selection ruins the experience — read the size guide
- ✕Some cats simply won't tolerate it regardless of technique
- ✕Useless on mats and the wrong tool for hairless/rex breeds
Who Should Buy This?
👍 Perfect For
Owners of shedding cats — especially long-haired breeds with hairball problems, multi-cat homes drowning in fur, and anyone whose black clothes have become a lint-roller subscription.
👎 Not Ideal If
Owners of hairless or rex-coated breeds, cats with established matting (wrong tool), or cats who panic at any grooming — start with a glove instead.
Alternatives to Consider
FURminator Sensitive Areas Tool
Companion soft brush for the face and cheeks — zones the deshedding edge should never touch
FURminator deShedding Tool (Dog)
The dog-household equivalent — do not share one tool across species
Safari Cat Grooming Glove
Cheaper starter option for brush-averse cats
Best Cat Deshedding
FURminator deShedding Tool for Cats
★★★★★4.6The cat FURminator does for cats exactly what the original does for dogs — with the bonus that less swallowed fur means fewer hairballs, which our test bore out. Buy the correct size and coat variant, keep sessions short and light, and it's the best cat grooming purchase in its price range.
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MyPawAdvisor Editorial Team
Our reviews are based on hands-on testing, ingredient and material analysis, veterinary input, and aggregated owner review data from 10,000+ verified purchasers. We only recommend products we would use ourselves.