Cats | Grooming

Best Cat Brushes for Shedding in Australia, Ranked

If you share your home with a cat, you share it with cat hair — on the couch, on the jumper you're about to wear out the door, and in the odd hairball at 6am. Shedding is normal and you can't switch it off, but a good brush pulls the loose fur out on your terms, so less of it ends up on the furniture or swallowed into a hairball. The right tool depends on the coat: a short-haired moggy, a fluffy long-hair, and a cat that bolts at the sight of a brush all need different things. We've compared four cat brushes and deshedding tools you can buy in Australia right now, and worked out which coat and which cat each one suits.

Best Overall

4.7

FURminator Cat deShedding Tool

Reaches deep undercoat fur
One-push fur release button

Easy to overdo on thin skin

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Best for Daily Grooming

4.4

Aumuca Self-Cleaning Cat Brush

One-click self-cleaning head
Good for quick daily passes

Stays on the surface coat

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Best for Skittish Cats

4.0

K&K Pet Grooming Glove

Feels like petting to the cat
Great for brush-shy cats

Light surface deshedding only

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Best for Matted Coats

4.3

MIU COLOR Dematting Rake

Digs out deep undercoat
Rounded teeth split mats

Overkill on short-haired cats

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By Alex • Updated August 2026 • 🕒 11 min read

We judged these four on what decides whether a brush earns its place in the drawer — how much loose hair and undercoat it lifts, how comfortable it is for the cat, how well it suits the coat it's aimed at, and how easy it is to clear and store. Brushing works best alongside a good diet, so it pairs with our guide to omega-3 for a cat's coat.

What to look for in a cat brush

Five things worth weighing before you buy, so the tool matches your cat's coat and temperament. Swipe through all five.

Match the coat

A short-haired cat and a long-haired one need different tools. Fine slicker bristles and gloves handle short coats, while long coats need a rake or comb that reaches the undercoat without dragging on tangles.

Reach for the undercoat

Most shedding comes from the soft undercoat that sits beneath the guard hairs you can see. A deshedding tool with a stainless edge or long teeth pulls that loose down out before it lands on the lounge.

Gentle on skin

Cat skin is thin and tears more easily than a dog's. Rounded tips, flexible bristles and a light hand matter more than raw power, since pressing a sharp tool hard can scratch or send a groom-averse cat bolting.

Easy to clear

A brush that clogs with fur mid-session is a brush you stop using. Self-cleaning heads with a retract button, or open combs you can wipe clean in one pass, keep short daily sessions short.

One the cat tolerates

The best tool is the one your cat sits still for. A nervous cat often accepts a soft glove long before a metal edge, so comfort and trust can matter more than how much fur a tool removes on paper.

At a glance

The four picks side by side on coat type and price, with the short version of our verdict on each.

Rank	Product	Best for	Key feature	Approx. price	Check price
Best Overall	FURminator Cat deShedding Tool	Heavy shedders and thick undercoats	Stainless steel edge, FURejector release button	~$45–$65 AUD	Check price
Best for Daily Grooming	Aumuca Self-Cleaning Cat Brush	Quick everyday brushing sessions	Retractable bristles, one-click hair release	~$22–$32 AUD	Check price
Best for Skittish Cats	K&K Pet Grooming Glove	Cats that dislike brushes	Silicone tips, feels like petting	~$12–$22 AUD	Check price
Best for Matted Coats	MIU COLOR Dematting Rake	Mats and tangles in long coats	Dual-sided rounded rake teeth	~$10–$18 AUD	Check price

Our picks in detail

What we rate, what to watch for, and the cat each brush suits.

Best Overall: FURminator Cat deShedding Tool

Bottom line — the deshedding tool that clears the most loose undercoat, as long as you buy the version made for your cat's coat.

The FURminator is the tool most other deshedders are measured against, and for good reason. A fine stainless steel edge reaches past the guard hairs to catch the soft undercoat where most shedding starts, and a spring-loaded FURejector button pops the collected fur off in one push instead of leaving you to pick it out by hand. Fewer loose hairs swallowed also means fewer hairballs.

The catch is that it works so well you need a light touch and a bit of restraint. It's a deshedding edge built for occasional deep sessions — a few minutes at a time, following the lie of the coat, is plenty, and leaning on it or going over the same patch again can irritate thin cat skin. It also comes in short-hair and long-hair versions in small and large sizes, so the one improvement most people can make is to buy the size and coat match for their own cat — the one we link is the large, long-hair size, so switch the variant if your cat is short-haired or small. Get that right and nothing here shifts more fur.

What we love	Areas for improvement
Reaches the undercoat most shedding comes from FURejector button clears fur in one push Fewer loose hairs means fewer hairballs	Firm hand can irritate thin skin Too aggressive for daily brushing Sold in coat and size variants

Best for Daily Grooming: Aumuca Self-Cleaning Cat Brush

Bottom line — the one to leave on the shelf for a quick daily once-over, with a button that clears the fur in a second.

A deshedding tool is overkill for everyday upkeep, and that's where a self-cleaning slicker earns its keep. Fine bent-wire bristles lift loose surface hair and light tangles across the coat, and when the head fills up a press of the retract button pulls the bristles back through a plate so the fur lifts off in a mat you can bin. It's built for the two-minute daily pass and leaves deep stripping to a dedicated deshedder.

That daily rhythm is the point — a little and often keeps loose hair off the couch and stops shedding building into a job. The trade-off is that slicker bristles are firm, so a heavy hand can catch sensitive skin, and it stays up on the surface without digging out the deep undercoat a dedicated deshedder reaches. For a short-haired or moderate cat that tolerates brushing, though, it's the tool you'll pick up every day, which matters more than raw pulling power on a brush that lives in the cupboard.

What we love	Areas for improvement
Retract button clears fur in one click Ideal for quick daily brushing Handles surface hair and light tangles	Firm bristles can catch sensitive skin Doesn't reach the deep undercoat Not for heavy seasonal shedding

Best for Skittish Cats: K&K Pet Grooming Glove

Bottom line — the way in for a cat that hates brushes, because to them it feels like being patted, not groomed.

Some cats simply won't sit for a brush, and forcing one turns grooming into a fight nobody wins. A grooming glove sidesteps the problem entirely — soft silicone tips on the palm lift loose hair while your hand does what many cats already enjoy, which is a firm stroke down the back and sides. For a skittish or older cat, getting them to accept grooming at all is usually the hardest part — and this clears it.

It won't strip an undercoat or tackle a mat, so it partners a proper brush and won't take its place, and it picks up more on short coats than long ones. What it does better than anything else is get a groom-averse cat used to the idea, and the collected hair peels off the glove in a single sheet at the end. It comes as a pair for either hand, and doubles as a way to wipe loose fur off the couch.

What we love	Areas for improvement
Wins over cats that fear brushes Silicone tips feel like a stroke Doubles as a couch hair remover	Won't reach the undercoat or mats Picks up less on long coats Won't replace a proper deshedding tool

Best for Matted Coats: MIU COLOR Dematting Rake

Bottom line — the targeted tool for a long-haired cat, splitting mats and clearing deep undercoat a slicker can't reach.

Long coats hide a second problem beneath the shedding — mats, the felted knots that form behind the ears, under the legs and along the belly when loose undercoat isn't cleared. This dual-sided rake is built for exactly that: rows of rounded teeth work down into the coat to lift the deep undercoat and tease knots apart before they tighten into something only scissors can fix.

The rounded tips are the safety feature, designed to slide along the skin rather than dig in, though a bad mat still needs patience and small sections, never one hard pull. It's a specialist tool — overkill on a short-haired cat, and slower going than a glove or slicker for everyday hair. For a Persian, Ragdoll or any fluffy moggy prone to knots, though, it's the tool that keeps a coat from matting up between grooms. Pair it with a slicker for surface hair and the two cover a long coat completely.

What we love	Areas for improvement
Splits mats before they tighten up Reaches deep undercoat on long coats Rounded teeth designed to spare skin	Too much tool for short coats Slower than a slicker for daily hair Needs patience on a bad mat

FAQ

How often should I brush my cat?

It depends on the coat. A short-haired cat is usually fine with a brush once or twice a week, while a long-haired cat needs a quick daily going-over to stop loose undercoat felting into mats. Every cat sheds more heading into the warmer months, so it's normal to step brushing up in spring and early summer and ease off again over winter. The trick is little and often — a couple of minutes most days keeps hair off the furniture and out of your cat, and stops any single session turning into a wrestling match.

Does brushing reduce hairballs?

Yes, and that's one of the best reasons to bother. Cats swallow a lot of loose hair when they groom themselves, and it can gather in the stomach into a hairball that either comes back up or, less often, causes a blockage. Every hair you catch on a brush is one your cat doesn't swallow, so regular deshedding — especially of the soft undercoat, where most loose hair sits — cuts right down on how many hairballs you find on the carpet. Long-haired cats benefit the most, since they have the most coat to shed.

What's the difference between a slicker brush and a deshedding tool?

A slicker brush has fine bent-wire bristles that lift loose hair and light tangles from the surface of the coat — it's the everyday tool for a quick pass. A deshedding tool, like a FURminator or an undercoat rake, has a firmer edge or longer teeth built to reach past the top coat and pull out the soft undercoat underneath, which is where most shedding comes from. Slickers are gentler and better for daily use, while deshedders remove far more fur but are easier to overdo, so they suit a once-or-twice-a-week session instead of a daily one.

My cat hates being brushed — what can I do?

Start with the least confronting tool you have, which is usually a grooming glove, since it feels to the cat like being patted rather than groomed. Keep sessions short, go with the lie of the coat, and stop before your cat has had enough instead of pushing to finish. Pairing brushing with a treat helps it build a good association over time. If your cat is badly matted and won't let you near the knots, it's worth a groomer or vet instead of fighting it — a tight mat pulls on the skin and hurts, which only makes the next session harder.

How much grooming does my cat need?

More than many owners expect, and it changes with the coat and the season. The RSPCA recommends grooming long-haired and medium-haired cats daily and short-haired cats about once a week, stepping it up during shedding seasons, partly to keep the coat healthy and partly to cut down the loose hair your cat swallows. They also stress keeping it a positive experience — treats and calm handling in place of force — so your cat comes to tolerate or even enjoy it. Cats do groom themselves, but owner grooming does the job their tongue can't, especially on a long coat.

Final thoughts

The single thing I'd get right before worrying about which tool to buy is matching the brush to the coat. A short-haired cat and a long-haired one are almost two different grooming jobs, and the fastest way to end up with a drawer full of brushes you don't use is to buy for the cat you wish you had instead of the one on the couch. Work out whether you're managing everyday surface shedding, digging out a thick undercoat, or heading off mats, and buy for that first. And if your cat suddenly starts shedding far more than usual, or you spot bald patches, sore skin or constant over-grooming, that's a vet visit rather than a brushing problem — a brush manages loose hair, it doesn't fix an underlying cause like stress, parasites, diet or illness.

Pixel is short-haired and jet black, which means every loose hair shows up on the one jumper I own that matters, so a quick daily pass does more for my sanity than any occasional deep session. That's the other half of it: the best grooming tool is the one you'll reach for, and a gentle brush used every day beats a powerful one that lives in the cupboard because your cat hates it. Start gentle, keep it short, make it pleasant, and the hair — and the hairballs — mostly take care of themselves.