Furminatin’ Boodie Friday

Boodie has been long overdue for a deshedding session. But my human had to wait because the enclosed patio, where the process happens (to keep the house from being buried in fur), has been occupied by the elderly dog who lives here. My human’s boyfriend went out of town for some shows, and he boarded the dog because at this point she needs more care than my human can handle. This left the enclosed patio free to pull out the Furminator and get Boodie done.

My human also brought me out to keep Boodie company — I get a serious show groom twice a month (three times this month!), so I don’t need deshedding. The reason why my human needs the whole enclosed patio to Furminate Boodie is because she won’t stay still. My human has to follow her around and get in a few swipes. When she stops to clean the fur out, Boodie is already somewhere else.

I didn’t think it would be that interesting to watch my human follow Boodie around, so instead I jumped on the dog house and looked at the neighbors’ yards through the big picture windows. As you can see, we’re in a drought here in California and some people have stopped watering their yards.

Eventually my human finished up, and look at all the fur she got off of Boodie! Those were a few hairballs just waiting to happen — that won’t now.

I was pretty amazed by all that fur. Maybe I should have watched it all go down after all.

I mean, seriously, that pile of fur is bigger than I am!

And that wasn’t even all of it — there were tufts all over the enclosed patio, wafting around like white tumbleweeds. I hope none of them stuck to me or Boodie when my human let us back inside!

A few tips on using the Furminator, or other deshedding tool:

Use it sparingly. You do want to remove loose undercoat, but you don’t want to get rid of all of the undercoat — it’s there for a reason. Plus, if you use it too much, you can break or damage the overcoat and even give your cat’s skin a rash. Boodie only gets Furminated a couple of times a year. You can use it more frequently than that, but it’s not an every day grooming tool.
Between deshedding sessions, use a coat-appropriate comb or brush. For a longhaired cat like Boodie, a wide toothed and finer-toothed comb work great at getting rid of loose fur and making her look nice. A shorter-haired cat like Binga does better with a brush. Some cats like slicker brushes — they do feel nice, but be careful — those sharp tines can hurt if you prick the skin with them.
Never, ever Furminate a fluffy tail. You can permanently ruin the fullness of that beautiful tail. Use a wide-toothed comb instead, if you want to groom it — and be gentle.
If you want a serious deshedding, take your cat to a groomer who is experienced with felines. A professional deshedding experience involves shampoo, conditioner, and up to two hours of careful deshedding work. If you really want something thorough, leave it to an expert.

Got it? Good! Happy deshedding!
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Having problems with your human or the other cats in your house? As the internet’s “Dear Abby With Claws,” Sparkle had answers to many annoying problems in her two award-winning books! Visit her author’s page on Amazon to buy one or both of her awesome Dear Sparkle books!