Grooming a cat is a negotiation, and it usually ends when the cat decides it has. That makes the shape of the brush in your hand more relevant than it sounds: an awkward grip means slow, hesitant strokes, and slow hesitant strokes are exactly what a cat runs out of patience with. This one is moulded into a paw shape that sits in the palm and lets you work quickly with a natural stroking motion.

The two-tier tooth arrangement is where the work actually happens. Longer teeth reach down through the coat and tease apart small knots before they tighten into anything serious, while the shorter teeth immediately behind them lift out the loose shed hair and lay the topcoat back down flat. Doing both in a single pass halves the number of strokes you need, which on a cat with a short fuse is the whole difference between a finished job and an abandoned one.

• Two-tier teeth: long teeth detangle, short teeth lift loose fur
• Designed for short to medium-length cat coats
• Paw-shaped body that sits in the palm
• Suitable for short daily grooming sessions
• Weighs around 70g

Two corrections worth making. Older copy for this brush mentioned a choice of colours; there is only one option available here, so what you see is what ships. And this is a maintenance tool, not a rescue tool. It will keep a coat from matting, but an existing solid matt against the skin needs clipping out by a groomer or vet, never brushing or cutting at home.

Who it's for: British Shorthairs, Domestic Shorthairs, Ragdolls, Bengals and Russian Blues, and any cat who tolerates grooming only in short bursts.