Please recommend a gentle grooming mitt for me and my elderly boy

[SqueezyCheeseWeasel]

Hi all. I don't frequent these parts often but I could do with a bit of help. My older boy is 19 now and is good shape apart from his personal grooming is tailing off a bit. He ends up with fur balls which prevent him eating for a few days before he brings them up and so we have to help him out by brushing his coat out a couple of times a week to reduce the amount of loose fur he swallows.
He's short haired and up to now we've been using one of those brushes with fine metal teeth like a wool carding tool but it lately it seems to be making his skin a bit sore and brings dandruff to the surface. It makes his coat look worse! Is there a mitt with gentle but effective teeth that we can wear whilst stroking him (he is a very snuggly, touchy feels, needy cat) that will do the job we need it to do but will also make him feel nice?

Is the furminator as good as the hype would like us to believe?

I haven't used it yet as we don't have our kitten yet (2 weeks to go!) but read good reviews about this:

Zoom Groom

I bought one but haven't used it yet obviously. But it had really good reviews on Amazon.

I have also bought zooplus' own version of the furminator which had good reviews.

Furmaster

We have a Furminator for our rescue boy. He does a lot of grooming and has a hairball problem. He loves the Furminator but we use it gently over his back, shoulders, neck and trousers. No go areas are tummy and undercarriage. He loves the fuss and when he's had enough he lets us know. I should imagine one of those mitts would be very good too.

The Zoom Groom looks very good.

Thanks both. Are the teeth on the zoom groom flexible and sort of silicone-y, ophio?

Doesn't the furminator pull out the undercoat? Is it that that he has issues with? Ave 2 cats, and only furminate one as it wouldn't be right for the other's coat.

I've also something like this www.amazon.co.uk/Mikki-Grooming-Smooth-Stroke-Glove/dp/B001BFDU32/ref=pd_bxgy_petsupplies_text_y that I use on an arthritic cat. It's more strokey than comby.

I think he is sensitive to the pulling so perhaps the furminator isn't such a great idea. Strokey is good, so long as it does remove loose hair and gets through the coat.

Zoom groom is the best cat grooming product out there, lovely soft silicone that massages the skin.

Having had elderly cats until recently (one long- and one shorthaired) and also owning both a Furminator and a Zoom Groom, I would say zoom groom every time. It is very gentle, just like striking the cat, but extremely effective. Furminator had rave reviews online but I thought it was very harsh on the coat and not a nice thing to use on an elderly thin cat. My current cat is young and has always hated the furminator so it was an expensive waste of money really.

Oops that should read stroking not striking!

Ooh, maybe I need a zoom groom now...!

The teeth on the zoom groom are very soft and flexible. As I said I've not used it yet but thought it would be a good way to get kitten used to grooming (Maine Coon so very hairy!).

Ophio you will be amazed the hair it removes, it could be the only brush you ever need.

I've just ordered a Zoom Groom on the basis of this. I wonder if it will work on my persian. He hates being groomed and I keep having to cut matted bits out of his fur. Today he got shit stuck in this fur and I had to bath him. An unpleasant time was had by all concerned.

I have also found that very slightly damp rubber gloves are pretty good for grooming the topcoat and cheaper than a zoom groom!

Zoom groom isn't much good for getting rid of mats once they've formed but it gets loads of loose hair out

Sounds like I need me a ZoomGroom

Well I've got a Zoom Groom, and it's never really been used. MCat, a domestic short-hair, gets hissy and angry when I attempt to use it on him. And it seems to pull MKitten's (Devon Rex) hair out.

I've had something like the glove type groomer that Zebra mentioned before and that seems to be the most gentle and effective.

I'd go for a zoom groom, they look like curry combs of old

The furminator is a bit harsh.

Do you give him an anti-hair-ball food Squeezy? It can really help. Or if not food, I think they do pastes.

Haha Fluffy, with Ye Olde Tayles of Currye Combes of Yonder.

Hi rubbish. I've on,y seen dry forms of anti hairball food and so no, 've never given him that. He can't eat dry food as he has stomatitis which leaves his gums really sore during flare ups so he is much better with wet food. I'll look up the pastes though, thanks for the tip.