Grooming tools
Cat brushes and combs: the right tool for each coat
The grooming aisle sells far more tools than a cat needs. Four cover almost every coat, and the way you hold them matters as much as which ones you buy.
Four tools
A steel comb, a slicker, a rubber curry and a flea comb cover almost every cat
International Cat Care's kit for a shorthaired cat is a fine-toothed flea comb, a bristle brush and a rubber grooming pad or mitten; for a longhaired cat, a wide-toothed comb and a rubber mitten, finished with a damp cotton or rubber glove. It notes that rakes, slickers and detangling sprays are also sold for long coats. Our version of that list is four tools, each doing a single job well.
The steel comb is the workhorse: wide teeth to open the coat, fine teeth to lift loose undercoat at the skin, and the only tool that tells you whether you have reached it. The slicker, a pad of fine bent wire pins, pulls loose top hair out of a long coat once the comb has been through. The rubber curry or glove grips dead hair in a short coat. The flea comb, with its teeth almost touching, finds fleas, flea dirt and the fine hair around the face.
- Steel comb, wide and fine teeth: the main tool for long and silky coats
- Slicker: a finishing tool for long coats, with light pressure
- Rubber curry or glove: short, dense coats
- Flea comb: checking any coat, and tidying the face
By coat
Match the tool to the coat, because the wrong one either skims the hair or breaks it
A tool that suits one coat can be useless or harmful on another. A bristle brush slides over a dense undercoat without touching it; a slicker drawn across a curly Rex coat snaps the hair. The breed profiles are specific about this. CFA suggests stroking a Siamese with wet hands until the coat is dry, VCA suggests a chamois or bare hands for a Devon Rex, and VCA suggests a fine-toothed comb or a slicker for a Turkish Angora.
Use the table as a starting point, then let the cat and the comb correct you. If a full pass brings up nothing while the cat is shedding on every chair, the tool is not reaching the right layer. If the cat flinches or the skin ripples, the pressure or the tool is wrong for that coat.
| Coat | Main tool | Second tool | Leave out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short and fine, such as a Siamese | Damp hands | A rubber brush | A slicker |
| Short and dense, such as a domestic shorthair | A rubber curry or glove | The fine end of a steel comb behind the ears | A bristle brush on its own |
| Curly, such as a Devon or Cornish Rex | Hands or a chamois | A soft cloth | Slickers and wire brushes |
| Silky and single, such as a Turkish Angora | A fine-toothed steel comb | A slicker, lightly | Heavy pressure of any kind |
| Long and double, such as a Maine Coon | A wide-and-fine steel comb | A slicker to finish | A brush with no comb |
Gentle hands
How to use each tool without scratching the skin
Cat skin is thin and moves with the hair, and International Cat Care singles out the armpits and the skin between the hind legs as very thin and extremely sensitive. Most scratches come from pressing a slicker into the coat or dragging a comb through a tangle instead of opening it. The method below keeps the teeth working in the hair and off the skin.
If you see pink lines or a red patch after a session, the pressure was too much. Leave that area alone for a week. If it looks raw or weepy, or the cat keeps licking it, ask your vet before you brush there again.
- 01
Test the slicker on the inside of your forearm first; if it stings there, use less pressure on the cat
- 02
Hold the slicker loosely between thumb and fingers, not in a fist, and lift it away at the end of each stroke
- 03
Slide the steel comb in near the skin and draw it outward along the hair, wide teeth first, then fine
- 04
At a tangle, hold the hair between the knot and the skin so the comb pulls against your fingers, not the cat
- 05
Move the rubber curry in small circles with only the weight of your hand
- 06
Go lightest in the armpits and between the hind legs, where the skin is thinnest
- 07
Stop at skin rippling or twitching, which International Cat Care lists as signs of discomfort
Buying
Buy fewer, better tools, and check the teeth before you check the price
A good steel comb has smooth, rounded teeth with no burrs and two spacings on the same spine; drawn across the back of your hand, it should glide rather than scrape. A slicker should have pins that flex and a head small enough to fit behind an ear. A rubber curry should be soft enough to bend in your hand. A flea comb needs metal teeth and a handle you can grip.
Clean the tools after every session: lift the hair off the slicker with the comb, wash the rubber curry in warm soapy water, and dry everything before it goes back in the drawer. A comb with a bent tooth catches and pulls, so replace it. Keep the tools where you sit with the cat in the evening; through a Cape Ann heating season, from November to March, a long coat needs them more often.
- Comb: smooth, rounded teeth, wide and fine on one spine
- Slicker: flexible pins and a small head
- Rubber curry: soft enough to flex
- Flea comb: metal teeth and a handle
When tools fail
When a mat is tight to the skin or the cat will not allow the brush, the tools have done all they can
International Cat Care warns against using scissors on a mat, says severe mats need to be shaved off, and says a cat should never be groomed by force or without a way to escape. Those are the two limits of home tools: a mat the comb cannot open in a few minutes, and a cat that has decided it is finished. Pushing past either teaches the cat to dread the comb.
At the studio, Minimal Trims at $45 clips mats out with no water, the Full Bath at $95 washes and brushes out a heavy shed with nails included, and the Full Service at $120 adds shaving and trims to a bath for a coat matted across the body. Which tools the groomer uses is decided at check-in, once coat and temperament have been assessed. Grooming happens in the quiet cat room on Eastern Ave in Gloucester, no evaluation visit is needed, and a cat that cannot be groomed safely is referred to your vet.
- A mat the comb cannot open in two or three minutes
- A cat that ripples, growls or leaves every time the brush appears
- Skin that looks red or sore under the coat
- A shed that fills the comb faster than you can keep up
At Dogtown
When the tools are not enough
Minimal Trims for mats, a Full Bath for a heavy shed and the rest of the cat menu, in a quiet room in Gloucester.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
What is the best brush for a long-haired cat?
What should I use on a short-haired cat?
Can a slicker brush hurt my cat?
How often should I brush my cat?
When should I stop brushing and book a groomer?
More questions? Read the full FAQ
Sources
- International Cat Care: grooming your cat
- CFA: Siamese
- VCA: Devon Rex breed profile
- VCA: Turkish Angora breed profile
- CFA: Turkish Angora
Rules and dates change. We re-check every beach, licensing and ordinance page each spring and fall; the source above is the current word.
Keep reading
Next step
The right tool, a lighter hand.
When the comb stops at a mat or the cat says no, book Minimal Trims at $45 or a Full Bath at $95 online or in the Dogtown app. No evaluation visit needed.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
