Help! 13 year old lab AND Maine coon blowing out coats ALREADY!
I know this isn't a cat forum, but he's not helping the matter at all. I *just* vacuumed. There is hair everywhere AGAIN. Since the lab is so old, I was cautioned against things like the furminator, but he is actually in really good health (poor night vision, a little arthritis, a sudden wheat allergy, but nothing else wrong. People still think he's a puppy as long as he's on his rimadyl). He has no coat troubles (clearly)... he was on my bed for less than 5 minutes and shed an entire dog. I often just vacuum him with the upholstery attachments, which he loves, but I work full time and have a kid in online school (that's my other full time job). I can't vacuum anything every day. He loves being brushed, but every brush fills with hair too fast to get anything done... I've tried several and they just. Don't. Work. There is TOO MUCH HAIR.
The cat literally tries to kill anyone who tries to brush him AND the brush. He is only half, so he's short-haired, but definitely double coated with tufts and all. He is currently shedding at the same rate as the dog, and he's shedding the soft under layer and the outer coat, too.
My daughter and I are both asthmatic (though we've lived with them for years, and she's the only one allergic - mainly to the dog). Is there a special brush that could work better? Should I try the furminator? I'd ask his vet first, if course... maybe a brush that attaches to the vacuum? Like what we do with the attachments but less time consuming (as it is, it takes about 30 minutes to vacuum him this way...), and obviously, I can't do that every day. I barely have time to walk the poor guy. Last year, we had a housekeeper quit on us because of the hair (and I was vacuuming twice a week when she wasn't here). Others have just looked at the animals and size of the house and said no thank you, not that I can actually afford to keep one on anyway...
Any ideas?