Best Brushes for Long Haired Cats: From Daily Use to De-Tangling Mats

Having recently taken in a long-haired half-tabby, half-Persian cat who hung around our garden for months and refused to leave, I’ve been made acutely aware of just how important it is to brush and groom cats who aren’t (in my opinion) blessed with short-haired genes.

Just off the top of my head, I can think of a slew of reasons it’s proved important to groom this little fella – from preventing hairballs that almost certainly are more likely to happen with such long locks, to preventing hairballs in other cats who allogroom him in the household (that would potentially be my first cat, Avery, but for now they’re not getting along quite that well yet).

Furminator Long Hair for Cats Undercoat Deshedding Tool – Amazon / eBay

Then there’s reasons to do with matting: from preventing hair matting, to relieving mattes if/when they do crop up, especially before they get really bad and basically turn into dreadlocks. There’s also clippers for shaving down hair to maintain a shorter length, or remove hair patches that have gotten way out of hand. Obviously, these are not brushes, but they’re very useful to have nonetheless.

Grooming a short haired cat may be a really beneficial thing to do, but I definitely never felt it was necessary – not with Avery, an indoor cat who cleans himself fairly felicitously, at least. I’m not so sure when it comes to long haired cat breeds. I think it’s probably skirting the line between necessary and incredibly beneficial and thus almost silly to not do considering it’s enormously useful it is in the issue prevention department.

There are tonnes of brush varieties available, even for specifically long-hair cats. I’m honestly no expert, and don’t have very much personal experience, being such a recent addition to the owner-of-a-longhair-cat family. Still, I’ve done my best to give summaries of each of the brushes and cover as many types as I could in case there are some you tried but disliked, or others you’ve yet to notice to test out.

I think there’s likely to be a bit of variance out there in terms of what types of brushes work best for any particular cat for daily, weekly, or monthly grooming. That’s because cats do seem to have preferences with regards to brushes they will happily sit to be groomed with. Some cat hair brushes are better at getting out larger chunks of undercoat shed hair at a time, though, so if your goal is to minimize the amount of time you spend brushing for the most hair removed, keep that in mind. I’ve not yet explored what the best cat mat brushes are for de-tangling long hair fur, but I’ll do some research on that and get back to you with an article on that topic once I have.

In terms of what I’ve bought and tried out, and what I liked using on my own crazy-fuzzy-fella Bjorn – my favourite item is the Furminator Long Hair. I don’t understand how this thing pulls off so much undercoat shedding, and I really don’t understand how, even when it feels like I’m pulling a little too hard with this brush at times (I swear I’m being gentle, there’s just a lot of hair being caught in it!), Bjorn has never objected, yelped, or even moved out of discomfort like cats do when they’re not game for the grooming going on. It’s been fantastic. I’ve tried “regular” varieties, that supposedly work on all hair lengths, but while they do work, they honestly don’t get off at much as the Furminator Long Hair, not in my experience at least.

Let me know what your long haired cat brushing experience has been like in the comments down below, and if your longhair has a favourite brush (also do let me know which it is!). Have you found some brushes better for specific tasks than others? Is there a longhair cat brush you swear by? Again, leave a comment below to let me know! Now into what I’ve found…

Best Cat Brushes for Long Hair: Daily to Matted Hair Use

1. Furminator Long Hair Undercoat Pet deShedding Tool

The brush I bought for Bjorn because my brother (from over @ PetsOverload) kept telling me in general Furminator brushes are so much better than other brand cat brushes. Love the absolute daylights out of this thing. It’s proven so much faster at getting out hair than the other brushes I’ve used. To be honest, all good brushes get out quite a lot of hair, but the Furminator will just get it out quicker, and that does make my life a lot easier, so I’m happy with the purchase.

2. DakPets Deshedding Brush-Dog Hair & Cat Hair Shedding Tool

Don’t care for the branding? Need a budget option that will do the trick just as well and do the brushing often or for long enough anyway to get out all the hair you’re likely to want? Try some of the alternative shedding tools here:

3. Catit 2.0 Long Hair Grooming Kit

There are a lot of cat brushes for long hair cats – really and truly a lot of grooming combs, tools, etc. If you’d like to do your best to try a little bit of everything, and don’t want to break the bank, I can’t find a better option than the Catit Long Hair Grooming Kit full of ever so many brush varieties for you to try out on your kitty: “The set contains every tool for daily grooming: pin brush, metal slicker brush, dematting tool, grooming comb with rolling pins and curved nail clipper.”

A great second by the looks of it? The Friends Forever Dual Side 2 in 1 Pet Grooming Combo.

4. Hertzko Self Cleaning Slicker Brush

Speaking of slicker brushes, I honestly feel like if you have a picky kitty, one who’s not the biggest fan of being groomed or realistically has just started having daily groom sessions and essentially needs to develop a liking for being brushed, slicker brushes are right up there for cats like this. Maybe they’re not every cat’s favourite brush to be groomed with, and I definitely think after some time becoming used to grooming, every brush will be game, but for beginners I can’t imagine a better brush type, personally. So easy to use for beginner pet parents who are just starting to groom cats, too, as it’s really hard to overdo it (in my opinion) or press too hard or not get your cat to enjoy being brushed with one of these.

Check out the Safari Cat Self-Cleaning Slicker Brush & The Pet Portal Pro Quality Self Cleaning Slicker Brush for Dogs and Cats as well if you’re looking for a slicker brush in particular to groom your longhair cat with.

5. DELOMO Pet Grooming Glove Gentle Deshedding

Not really a brush, but in my head, deshedding pet grooming gloves would probably be the only thing a cat who dislikes slicker brushes still could yet love or be okay with being groomed by. They’re just so gentle looking, it makes sense why this would be the case. I’ve yet to try them, because my cats are both fine with being groomed, and I do feel like other types of brushes do a much better job of getting off fur in shorter periods of time, but I will definitely get my hands on a pair of these to try out one day. They seem really enjoyable for the kitties.

A couple other all-length-hair pet grooming gloves you may want to check out: the Pat Your Pet Pet Grooming Gloves Left & Right & the Four Paws Magic Coat Love Glove.

6. GoPets Dematting Comb with 2 Sided Professional Grooming Rake

Okay, I’m going to admit to having bought one of these, and still having yet to figure out how it works. I think there’s a knack to it? But based on the ridiculously positive, glowing reviews of this and similar long-hair cat grooming rakes, I think I may have bought a sub-par dematting comb and that’s why it’s not working. There doesn’t seem to be anything mysterious about how to use them based on the reviews sections of these.

Want to look through a number of different options before choosing which grooming rake to get for your long hair cat? Some good alternatives include:

7. KONG HDP Cat Zoom Groom Tongue Grooming Brush

I don’t really understand how a brush this simple, comfortable looking for cats to be brushed with, and to be honest adorable as well, could remove so much hair as is seen in the pictures of its reviews, but apparently it really works well for removing hair and not just for de-stressing a cat with the comfort of being brushed. Wicked cool and I do want to try this one out for myself.

8. Scaredy Cut Silent Pet Grooming Kit for Cats & Dogs

Okay, these are genius. They’re really not long hair cat brushes at all, they’re more like long haired cat mat scissors, and they’re basically the equivalent of an electric clipper/shaver for getting rid of mats. They have can’t-cut-too-close combs, but on scissors instead of clippers, meaning you don’t need electricity and if you have a cat who’s scared of loud noises, no stress! Having seen how many tough tangles and rough mats form in the strangest places on Bjorn, and not wanting to shave off too much of his hair if I can get away with it, I can definitely see a huge use for these. Would love to get a hold of some myself!

9. Catit Senses 2.0 Self Groomer Cat Toy

A brush that’s literally zero work for you to use, that a cat can use as a massage tool on his or her own whenever he or she pleases. These things help relieve feline boredom in a way that’s easy to integrate, and once you’ve done it, completely passive in nature for you. Definitely work well for that, though not really for maintaining grooming.

One alternative in case your cat loves this and you want a second, slightly different self-grooming brush: the VintageBee 2 Pack Pet Brush Massage Perfect Tool.

10. Andis Pet Steel Comb

Apparently, steel combs are one of the top ways to go for when your cat’s long hair has developed a mat that you’re happy to try to de-tangle yourself by pulling apart. I definitely need a high quality one of these from Andis in my arsenal, as regular plastic human hair combs just don’t do the job in the same way at all (yup, I’ve tried).

11. Hartz Groomer’s Detangling Brush Best Grooming Tools

Dual sided pin and bristle brushes? Super easy to get a hold of, and apparently really and truly comfy for cats to enjoy. I’m not sure they’re one of the best options if you’re trying to make sure you get as much hair off as you can in a short time, but in terms of daily grooming for stress relief with the added bonus of getting off quite a bit of hair over time, they definitely do the trick. An excellent looking alternative? The AtEase Accents Natural Bamboo Dual Sided Pin and Bristle Pet Deshedding Hair Brush.

12. Hartz Groomer’s Fur Fetcher Cat De-shedder Brush Tool

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a de-shedder brush tool that looks like this one before I researched the types of brushes out there for long hair cats for this article. Seems it’s very good at removing hair, though it can be a little annoying as you have to clear it fairly frequently of the hair it’s already removed since it’s got a small surface area. Sounds like an okay trade off to me!

13. Wahl Professional Animal Deluxe U-Clip Pet Clipper and Grooming Kit

Just need a quality set of clippers in case you want to give your long haired kitty a lion cut every once in a while when he or she looks like she’s struggling to keep things clean and tidy, or struggling with way too many hairballs at the moment? Try these professional animal clippers, or some of these alternatives:

14. CELEMOON Ultra-Soft Silicone Washable Cat Grooming Shedding Massage/Bath Brush

If your cat has serious issues with being brushed by regular cat brushes, and you just want something really soft and comfortable for him or her to get used to being brushed with, I can’t imagine a better option than the ultra-soft silicone varieties of cat hair brushes out there. No, they’re not the best if you’re trying to get hair out. Yes, they’re probably the best if you’re just trying to acclimate a really sensitive cat to the sensation of brushing.

15. Safari Cat Shedding Comb

I didn’t realize these types of shedding combs were good for regular maintenance of long hair on cats – I thought they were more for picking out mats and clumped up tangles. That being said, it looks like I was wrong, and that they’re actually fantastic for brushing long hair on a regular basis to keep down chances of hairballs and matting. Need to try to get my hands on one of these, methinks!

16. Hertzko Pet Bath & Massage Brush Short or Long Hair Dog & Cat

Again, 100% more of a massage brush for sensitive cats who aren’t yet a fan of regular grooming, though a little bit better than the ultra soft silicone brushes for getting off at least some pet hair off in daily sessions. While I personally would go for a slicker brush over one of these, if your cat can’t stand the stimulation or sensation of a slicker brush yet, I’d imagine this would come in quite handy.

Your Thoughts on Long Hair Cat Brushes?

What do you think are some of the best types of brushes for long hair cats?

Do you think there’s a combination that does the trick perfectly for prevention, for picking out mats, and/or for clipping/cutting out hair mats whereby you won’t need any other cat hair grooming tool?

Is there a particular product you would or would not recommend? Do you think the brand matters when it comes to pet hair brushes in general? When it comes to cat hair brushes for long hair cats in particular?

Love to hear your thoughts down in the comments below!

Best Brushes for Long Haired Cats: From Daily Use to De-Tangling Mats

Best Cat Brushes for Long Hair: Daily to Matted Hair Use

1. Furminator Long Hair Undercoat Pet deShedding Tool