The dead undercoat is what ends up on the sofa, and a slicker is the tool that gets it out. Fine wire pins, bent and rounded at the tips, comb down through the top coat and bring the loose fluff underneath away with them. A button on the back then retracts the pins, so the whole pad of collected hair lifts off in one piece and goes straight into the bin.

That retract mechanism is the difference between a brush you use and one that lives in a drawer, because picking fur out of wire pins by hand is the reason most people quietly stop grooming. Rounded tips are the other detail worth noticing: bare wire ends scratch, and these are finished so they slide over skin instead. It handles short and long coats on both cats and dogs.

• Fine wire pins with rounded tips
• One-click retract releases the trapped fur
• Lifts loose hair and dead undercoat
• Suits short-haired and long-haired cats and dogs
• Available in pink, grey or blue

Use it lightly. A slicker works on the weight of the brush alone, and pressing down drags the pins across the skin, leaving the sore red patches groomers call brush burn. It is also not a de-matting tool; a solid mat needs cutting out or a trip to the groomer, not repeated brushing, and a cat will remember which one you chose.

Who it's for: Households with a moulting cat or dog who would rather have the hair in the bin than on the furniture.