Fur is in the Air

Silly title I know but Spring began on March 20^th this year and it is time for the ferrets to blow their coats for the first time this year. For those that don’t know ferrets shed their coats twice a year. This is known as blowing the coat.

The boys have blown their coats enough times to know that it will be daily grooming until they aren’t leaving a lot of hair on me and in the air, more likely up my nose.

Marylin on the other hand isn’t too sure of what is going on but she loves the daily grooming like the true princess she believes herself to be.

Disclaimer in accordance with FCC rules: This is my opinion about a product I received in 2010 and the replacement in 2012. There is no other compensation for this post.

The one tool I absolutely love is the FURminator®. I was lucky enough to score one at the first Blog Paws and have never looked back.

Although I had to get a replacement one since Trixie the Blood Hound decided, it would make a great chew toy and broke several of the teeth.

FURminator® was at the Salt Lake City Blog Paws and when I told them about needing to get a replacement they laughed at the fact Trixie broke the teeth on the tool and not her own. My only complaint it’s pink not one of my favorite colors but hey it is a great tool for the amount of grooming I am doing now days.

I wanted to see just how much fur came off each fur kid in one sitting. So I put a plastic baggie next to the grooming area and as the FURminator® got full, I would put the fur into the plastic bag. 

Imagine my surprise when my chubby Marylin nearly filled the bag from her 30 minutes of grooming. Most of that chub was from the amount of fur she had surrounding her little body.

 

Second place went to Marcuz with him filling his bag almost to half. What surprised me was Manny he had hardly any fur to put in the baggie. But I found out why when I went to change their bedding. He has been using one side of the blanket as his personal scratcher so now it looks like a furry blanket instead of soft baby blanket. Yes, my kids are spoiled.

I went to do groom time only to find that the FURminator® had grown legs and walked off the table. I was pretty sure it was Marcuz who had taken it as he had been trying to take it all day. The handle of the FURminator® is made from a soft rubber and I guess to him it smells good.

Looking into Marcuz’s hidey-hole I was surprised not to find it there but he was curled around his favorite mouse sound asleep. Off to the next hidey-hole that belongs to Marylin who decided it was time to play sneak attack as I looked into the basket.

Good thing I was expecting it…sort of as it is still unsettling to have just less than two pounds of fur leap up at you with paws outstretched from under the pile of toys but no FURminator®. That left Manny’s hidey-hole and looky what I found in there.

Guess I am gonna have to lock that tool up when it isn’t in use.

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo

The FURminator® and the Ferret

     Okay first the disclaimer: I was only compensated with a free item to keep. I have reviewed the item here and the opinions are solely my own and may differ from other opinions presented elsewhere.

     I was given the opportunity to review a grooming tool called the FURminator®. The day it arrived I had followed the FedEx truck into the driveway. I am not sure what the driver thought was happening but he left a lot quicker than he normally does.

     Inside I found the FURminator® as it is presented in the stores. The first thing that I liked before I had ever touched the tool was the package design.

     The triangular design allowed one to see every side of the tool and didn’t have a lot of excess plastic that you would normally see. It was also easy to open no hacksaw was required that many items need to even getting into the contents.

     The FURminator® is a deShedding tool that helps to reduce the amount of loose hair an animal sheds and leaves behind on the furniture, the floor, and your clothes.

     The FURminator® comes in two models and four sizes. The one I received was the deluxe model for small pets.

     I have looked at other types of grooming tools to use on my ferrets but just picking up the package was enough of a deterrent to leave the store empty handed.

     Unlike those tools the FURminator® is a joy to hold and the handle fits well into my small hands. A child can easily use this tool.

     Now it was time for the real test. I got James out of his cage and holding him I managed to get one stroke of the tool down his back before James twisted and in an instant decided he was in love with the tool.

     In love by a ferret is that it belongs in his/her hidey-hole right this second. James has never insisted that something was his by use of vocal communication. He would just wait until I wasn’t looking and take it.

     Not this time. He hissed his demand that I let go of his new love this second and when I didn’t he gave me a couple of nips in an attempt to get me to let go it. After a few minutes of this discussion he allowed me to use the FURminator® on him again.

 

James and the FURMinator(r)

 

     Of course when I shot the video James decided he was more interested in his treat than the tool.

     After using the FURminator® on James’ coat I could feel the difference. It was softer and gave James’ a sleeker look. Although James’ has basically finished his shedding I am going to love having this grooming tool for when he starts shedding again this fall.

     The other feature I love about this tool is how easy it is to clean. A simple push of a button called the FURejector and the hair is ejected out. It makes grooming a squirming ferret easy in that you can hold your ferret with one hand and groom and clean the tool with the other hand.

     While there may cheaper grooming tools on the market the FURminator® is well worth the money. Be sure to check out their site at http://www.FURminator.com

     Also I didn’t realize that today April 30 was National Hairball Awareness Day please take a moment to read my post about ferrets and hairballs http://www.enlightenedferret.com/2009/10/bezoars-and-ferret.html as they aren’t just for cats.

     Now for the paw rating of this grooming tool. In the few products I have reviewed none have ever met the high standards of my ferrets or me that is until now and has received a Paw Rating of Five.

      With that in mind the FURminator® also receives the

  

 

Thank you Beth for allowing me the opportunity to review this pawsome tool.

 

Jo