11 Best Brushes For Maine Coons in 2022 – Reviews & Top Picks

The Maine Coon is one of the largest domesticated cats globally, and its long flowing hair will require quite a bit of maintenance to keep it looking nice and avoid tangles and mats that can cause discomfort for your cat. However, with so many different types of brushes available, it can be challenging to know which one is the best. We’ve chosen ten different easy-to-find brands to review for you so you can see the differences between them.

We’ll tell you about our experience using them on our cat and give you the pros and cons of each one. We’ve also included a short buyer’s guide where we will discuss what makes one brush better than the next and what you should look for if you continue to shop. Keep reading while we discuss type, durability, ergonomics, and much more to help you make an educated purchase.

A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites in 2022

The 11 Best Brushes for Maine Coons

1. Hepper Cat Brush for Maine Coons — Best Overall

The Hepper Cat Brush for Maine Coons is the latest in cat grooming innovation. It has a circular design that is easy to handle, a swivel head for grooming, and a waterproof design for use in and out of the bathtub. The brush is embedded with 60-degree needle bristles that work to gently pull loose hair out of your Maine Coone’s coat and get rid of tangles before matting can occur. The needles slightly bend when the brush is in use to ensure that your kitty never gets hurt while they are being groomed.

This specialty brush was designed to collect hair as you groom your cat. When you are finished, just one click of the brush collects all the hair in one place so you can quickly and easily dispose of it. You can expect to save time on grooming with a Hepper Brush in your arsenal, which will give you more time to cuddle and play with your kitty throughout the day.

You might have guessed, this is our own product – but we love it so much we just have to share it, and hope you get to own one too!

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2. Hartz Groomer’s Best Combo Dog Brush – Best Value

The Hartz Groomer’s Best Combo Dog Brush is our pick as the best brush for a Maine Coon for the money. It has two sides, each with a different type of bristle that you can use for a different task. The nylon bristle side is perfect for removing loose hair and spreading the natural oils evenly over the hair, so it remains stronger. The steel bristle side is ideal for removing tangles and mats.

The Hartz Groomer’s is a fantastic brush that works well and is inexpensive. The only thing we can complain about is that the brush is very large and can be hard to manage at times.

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3. Pet Republique Dematting Rake – Premium Choice

The Pet Republique Dematting Rake is our premium choice brush for a Maine Coon cat. It has two sides like the other brands we’ve looked at so far, but a completely different design. This tool uses steel blades that act like a comb. The blades are rounded at the tip so they will not scratch or cut your pet’s skin, while the inside has a sharp edge that will thin the hair and cut out tangles and knots. The steel blades are extremely durable and won’t rust or dull, and the ergonomic handle is easy to hold and doesn’t make your hand sore, even if you need to do more than one cat.

The downside to the Pet Republique is that it can be messy to use because it doesn’t grab and hold the fur like other brushes and instead lets it fall to the floor so the hair can get everywhere, and it doesn’t do much to spread the natural oils through the fur, so you might need to use a second brush.

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4. Safari Self-Cleaning Slicker Brush for Cats

The Safari Self-Cleaning Slicker Brush for Cats is the first brand with retractable bristles on our list, and this can be a handy tool, especially if you have trouble removing the fur from other brands. When you finish grooming, you only need to press a button, and the pins retract, allowing you to grab the hair in one large clump. The stainless-steel pins will not rust, and it does a great job of removing loose hair and tangles.

The only downside we experienced while we were using the Safari Self-Cleaning Slicker Brush was that the bristles are a little sharp, and some of our cats didn’t like it. The sharp bristles also make it unsuitable for a short-haired cat, so you will need another if you have more than one cat.

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5. FURminator Firm Slicker Brush

The FURminator Firm Slicker Brush For Dogs is another great brush for a Maine Coon. Despite its name, it works very well on cats, and the thin metal bristles are soft and do an excellent job of removing loose hair and detangling fur. The head has two sides with straight bristles on one side and bent on the other, so you can use whichever works better in your situation. The head flexes, so it conforms to the body as you use it, and the ergonomic handle is comfortable to hold as you work your way through the fur.

We love using this brush and found it amazing for managing the fur of a Maine Coon. The only problem we had while using the FURminator Firm Slicker was that it could be a pain to get the fur out of the bristles when you are finished.

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6. Andis Steel Pet Comb

The Andis Steel Pet Comb looks like a standard hair comb that humans might use. One end of the come features wide teeth that are great for removing tangles, and the other side has thinner teeth spaced closer together that are perfect for straightening the hair.

The downside to the Andis comb is that the thin teeth are easy to bend, so after a few weeks, we had several bent teeth, and the large size of the comb makes it a little hard to use and while it does a great job on the Maine Coon, it won’t be suitable for any short hair cats.

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7. Frisco Cat & Dog Pin Brush

The Frisco Cat & Dog Pin Brush is a perfect pin brush for grooming long hair cats like the Maine Coon. It has gentler plastic pins with a round tip that won’t scratch or hurt your cat as you use it. It has an ergonomic handle that’s comfortable to use, and the plastic pins will help spread your cat’s natural oils through the fur to make it shinier and softer.

We enjoyed using the Frisco pin brush at first, but after a few uses, the pins started to push into the head, and it became difficult to use to remove tangles.

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8. Hertzko Self-Cleaning Dog & Cat Slicker Brush

The Hertzko Self-Cleaning Dog & Cat Slicker Brush is another convenient model that features retractable bristles that make cleaning the brush a snap. When you finished grooming, you let go of the button, and the pins retract so you can grab the hair in one large clump. The stainless-steel bristles remain inside the head during storage, so is less chance they will get bent, and the soft-grip handle is more comfortable to hold during long sessions.

Unfortunately, there are some downsides to the Hertzko as well. The biggest problem is that you need to hold the button down while using it, which can cause fatigue after a few minutes and may also be difficult if you have long nails. The bristles are a little sharp and could scratch, so some cats might not like them, and the pins bend easily. After a few sessions, ours stopped retracting properly because of it.

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9. Ethical Pet Spot Grooming Glove, 9-in

The Ethical Pet Spot Grooming Glove is one of the easiest tools on this list for getting hair off your pet. It has a rubber surface with small nodules that help massage your pet’s skin while grooming. The loose fur sticks amazingly well to the rubber surface as you move it over your cat, and while it works well on the Maine Coon, you can use it on any cat breed for excellent results.

Our cats seemed to like the Ethical Pet Spot Grooming Glove if we only used it occasionally. It doesn’t hurt the cat, but the rubber pulling on their fur can make them mad if you use it too often and might make their skin sore. Some of our cats didn’t like it at all and would run away if they saw it, and it doesn’t help at all with tangles and knots, so you will likely need a second brush to properly groom your Maine Coon.

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10. Babyliss Pro Pet 6” Basic Pet Comb

The Babyliss Pro Pet 6” Basic Pet Comb is another comb style tool with wider and closer spaced teeth depending on what end of the brush you are using. The stainless-steel comb is extremely durable and won’t rust or bend, and it has round teeth, so they won’t scratch or cut your pet while you work out the tangles and knots, which it does well.

The downside to the Babyliss Pro is that it doesn’t remove the loose hair like a brush will, no matter what side you use. The teeth are also too short to work on some knots comfortably.

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11. FURminator Hair Collection Dog & Cat Brush

The FURminator Hair Collection Dog & Cat Brush is the only four-sided brush on this list. Each side has a different set of bristles that you can use to groom your Maine Coon. The bristles are rubber, so they won’t scratch or cut your pet, but they will create static electricity that will crab and hold fur along with dirt particles to help your pet’s coat look healthy and shiny. The rubber is also extremely durable, so you will get plenty o use from your brush.

While we liked the FURminator Hair Collection Brush design, we couldn’t get it to work as well as we had hoped. The rubber bristles were not good for removing tangles, and the rubber bristles didn’t pick up that much fur. What fur it did collect was difficult to remove, even when we ran it under hot water as the instructions suggested.

Buyer’s Guide: Picking the Best Brushes For Maine Coons

Let’s look at a few things you should consider before choosing your next brush for a Maine Coon.

Brush Type

Comb

The comb is a simple, inexpensive, and effective tool for grooming your cat, and most people will probably want to purchase at least one. No other tool is as effective at removing tangles and knots. You can use the stiff teeth to untangle and break apart knots without resorting to cutting them out. Combs usually have teeth spaced wider apart at one end than the other and can be plastic or metal. Metal combs are typically better at removing knots, but they are not too effective at removing loose fur. Plastic combs can be slightly better for removing hair because they create static that can grab the hair and make it stick to the comb.

Pin Brush

The pin brush looks like an ordinary hairbrush, and it can have metal or plastic pins that work very well to remove loose hair, especially during the shedding seasons of spring and fall. The downside of pin brushes is that many of them are sharp, and they can scratch your cat, sending it running and avoiding the brush in the future. The pins are also quite fragile and will bend easily. We recommend purchasing a brush with balls on the tip to help prevent scratches and cuts.

Bristle Brush

The bristle brush is another brush that many people recognize, with several hundred plastic bristles covering the head. This brush is a great finishing brush that you can use to smooth the coat and bring out the shine by spreading the oils evenly throughout the fur. Some brushes are better than others at removing fur, but none are great for removing tangles or knots.

Glove

The rubber glove style is easy to use and extremely effective at collecting loose hair. The rubber surface creates static that causes the fur to stick to the glove, so it’s easy to remove. The hair then peels off easily so you can use it again. However, the rubber pulls at the fur, which can upset your cat, especially if you do it frequently, and this tool is not effective against tangles or knots.

De-shedding Tool

The de-shedding tool is the last type of brush on our list. This type is similar to a comb, and it has metal blades that are round at the tip, so it won’t scratch your pet as you are using it.  However, a sharp edge inside of the blade can cut the hair as you pull it through. These tools are great for removing mats and knots and will thin the hair making it less likely to tangle.

Retractable Pins

If you are using a pin-style brush, you will find that it works great to remove loose hair but is not easy to clean. A retracting mechanism built-in to some models makes cleaning much easier. This feature pulls the pins into the head with the press of a button or squeeze of a trigger so you can grab the fur in one large ball.

However, when choosing a retracting brush, we recommend inspecting the mechanism to make sure it retracts when you press the button and doesn’t retract when you let it go, or your hand can become fatigued, and you might release the hair when you don’t intend to.

Size

Some brushes can get quite large and can be difficult to manage, especially if you have small hands. We recommend trying out a few models before purchasing one to see what size is comfortable to use while remaining effective.

Durability

One of the biggest durability problems with these tools is with the pin brush. The thin stainless steel or plastic pins bend easily and can even break. We tried to choose brands with slightly thicker pins to provide more durability, and we tried to point out any that seemed flimsy.

Conclusion

When choosing your next brush for a Maine Coon, we highly recommend our pick for the best overall. The Hepper Cat Brush is perfect for the long fur of these giant cats. The pins will grab the loose fur and can pull it out in large piles, especially during the shedding seasons of spring and fall. It’s well balanced and comfortable to hold.

Another great brush is our choice for best value – Hartz Groomer’s Best Combo Dog Brush. This inexpensive brush has two sides with different bristles. This pin brush side will grab the fur and remove it quickly, while the bristle side will keep the fur soft and spread the oils throughout the hair.

We hope you have enjoyed reading over these reviews and found a few you would like to try out. If we have helped you keep your cat’s fur shiny and healthy, please share our guide to the best brushes for the Maine Coon on Facebook and Twitter.

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Featured Image Credit: Olleg, Shutterstock