Dan-dan-dander

L to R: cat, dog, puppy (in comb) .

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The petstore where I work sells various combs and brushes for dogs and cats, including three brands of fine-toothed rake. The removable blades remind me of the home haircutting kit my mum used to wield to keep Dad’s brushcut looking its golf-green best. Another way of looking at it might be as a flea comb with very short tines on an ergonomically comfortable handle.

These rakes are used on pets that shed, not for poodles, ‘doodles, or turtles. One of the rakes has been well advertised. Its name begins with an f, as did my exclamation when I first saw its price of $70. The knockoff rake sells for $55, and the knockoff knockoff is $27. I bought the cheapest one yesterday, with the smallest blade, and tried it out on all three of our pets this morning.

Our cat Cuca was first. He was already out on the balcony. I drew the rake down his back in long, gentle sweeps as per the instructions. You can see in the photo what came out in one pass: fur, underfur, and dander. If I save these bits, I should be able to create some stunning macramé hangings. More importantly, though, regular brushing of Cuca should help prevent Jack, the guy we babysit, from sneezing his head off when he goes to bed at night; Cuca’s favourite daytime nap area is Jack’s bed.

Next was Cai, our adult Cardigan. He has medium-length, fairly fine hair, with very little undercoat. Although Cardis usually “blow” their coat once or even twice a year, 21-month-old Cai never has. The instructions for this rake advise checking carefully for cuts or other owies and for any tangles. The short hair on Cai’s chest has micro-matts from the discoloration made by his tags; I didn’t realize this until I tried combing it. A shampoo would eliminate the tag goop, but the rake removed a little with its fine tines.

Our Cardi puppy Fergus was the last to try out the new toy. Not quite four months old, he doesn’t have much loose hair yet, although I daresay he’ll end up being one of those Cardis that annually resembles an old cattail. Anyway, Fergus was fine with the new-fangled comb.

Conclusion: it’s a success. The animals were happy with it, I’m happy with it, and the balcony has been renamed “Tumbleweed Terrace”. The concept seems to work, even without paying the extra $50 for the fancy-brand one.

And, a bonus: the rake comes with a plastic guard (part of it shows in the photo, upper left) which doubles as a cat toy. Cuca distracted himself quite nicely while I plied the rake.