Felix and the FURminator, Part 1... and Part 2

Actually, this post (and video) should be called "Felix vs. the FURminator," or "FURminator FAIL," because, despite what many of you said, about pets just loving the FURminator, Felix did NOT enjoy being FURminated. In fact, he much preferred the lint roller. But as we all know from science class, experiments don't always turn out the way you planned or hoped -- but you still have to turn in a report.

But before you watch (and judge) the video, which was filmed by a giggling just-turned-11-year-old, a bit of background.

As many (if not most) of you know, we have two cats, Flora, a 15-pound torbie (i.e., a cross between a tortoiseshell and a tabby), who is six, and Felix, a three-year-old, three-foot-long mostly black cat who bares a striking resemblance to as well as the leaping abilities of a Sifaka lemur.

And both cats shed. A lot. Typically all over my laptop and my wireless keyboard and my desk and.... You get the drift. So in addition to keeping a dustbuster next to my office chair, I keep a lint roller. And every so often, I gently lint roll whichever cat happens to be in front of me.

I thought it a pretty good method, and blogged about it a while back. (Of course, the day we decided to film me lintrolling Flora, she got all uppity and started attacking the lint roller. But I guess that's what you get for trying to get a cat to act on cue.) Anyway, after seeing my post and the video, people started telling me about the FURminator de-shedding tool. People didn't just tell or write me about it, they RAVED about it. So, we gave in and bought one, finally, a couple weeks ago. And yesterday morning, in honor of J-THREE-O's 11th birthday, we decided to test it out.

So, without further ado, FriskieLand pictures and J-TWO-O Productions present "Felix and the FURminator, Part 1."



UPDATED 5/25/09: Felix and the FURminator, Part 2: This morning, during a quiet moment over breakfast, I decided to try FURminating Felix again -- without the bright lights and camera rolling. And I have to say, it was a success. Felix really seemed to enjoy being FURminated this time, purring loudly and rolling onto his back so I could FURminate his belly. The only problem was the shed fur, which I needed to lint roll up, so it didn't fly all over the kitchen. So as I FURminated, the spouse lint-rolled the excess fur off Felix and the chair, and I have to say, Felix really seemed to enjoy the combination de-shedding treatment. However, I think the FURminator people need to come up with a combination FURminator - Flowbee device, to instantly suck up all the excess fur. (Billy Mays, if you happen to be reading this, have your people call my people.) Next up, Flora (who is, as per usual, lounging across my desk, pawing my right hand as I type this)....

UPDATE #2: Flora and the FURminator: Feeling good about my earlier FURminator experience with Felix, I decided to have a go at Flora, who several times attempted (and succeeded) at whacking me with outstretched claws as I tried to FURminate her.

Still, I would have to call the experience a success as she seemed to (mostly) enjoy it, at least when I stuck to her back. Though objectively I think it's still a tie between the lint roller and the FURminator in terms of de-shedding enjoyment. And I still think there needs to be a vacuum/suction-type device attached to the FURminator to quickly suck up excess/shed fur.