This Lily Brush Removed Years of Cat Hair in Minutes

Last Updated: June 23rd, 2025

Written by: 2 Goofy Hoomans (Ashley & Alex) and 4 Rescue Cat Reporters (Callie, Mama, Yebba, & Seymour)

P.S. This post contains affiliate links, but we’ve been testing and using Lily Brushes in our fur-filled home for over 5 years—and we only recommend what passes the STRAYZ Approved testing.


It’s summer. Which means us cats are shedding like fluffy little loofahs with legs.
There’s fur in your car. Fur on your couch. Fur on your black leggings.

You're vacuuming daily. Sticky-rolling like it’s a cardio class. And still… furpocalypse.

But then… a box showed up.
From a brand called Lily Brush.

And the red rubber miracles inside?
It changed. everything.

Elsie Hamilton | Founder of Lilly Brush

Elsie Hamilton | Founder of Lilly Brush

💡 MEET THE WOMAN WHO STARTED IT ALL: ELSIE HAMILTON

Lily Brush wasn’t built in a boardroom—it was born in a storm.

In 2009, Elsie was a single mom and full-time artist.Then out of nowhere, she had a massive heart attack— her survival odds? Basically zero. But she made it.

The bad news? Her hands shook so much, she couldn’t paint anymore.

Weeks later, she adopted a floofy Australian Shepherd named Lilly, who coated everything in black fuzz. No brush worked. Sticky rollers were trashy. And vacuums? Doctor said nope.

Then one day, while scrubbing the sink with a toothbrush, she saw something wild: Lilly’s fur clung to the bristles.
Boom. Lightbulb.

She glued toothbrush heads to wood and invented the first Lilly Brush—named after the pup that shed her way into family history.

Elsie built a business from scratch. With grit, grief, and furballs.


And now? Her eco-friendly brushes are used worldwide—and in our very own
STRAYZ home.

The Lilly Brush Pet Hair Detailer in our home scooped up ALL. THIS. HAIR.

❤️ #1: Lilly Brush Mini Pet Hair Detailer – Red Rubber Royalty 👑

🛠️ What It Is:
The Lilly Brush Pet Hair Detailer is a palm-sized, grippy red rubber brush designed to remove deeply embedded pet hair from carpets, furniture, cat towers, and car upholstery.

🧼 Our Review:
This one we purchased 5 years ago, and you can see above its still in great shape! It grips hair from couch creases, rugs, car mats—even the cat tree’s carpeted base where our fluff goes to die. It’s small but mighty, satisfying to use, and doesn’t scratch or leave residue.

YEBBA says: “I laid on the couch. My hooman brushed. I laid again. It was clean. Witchcraft.”
SEYMOUR says: “It pulled three years of fluff out of the rug. I got nervous it would find my secrets too.”

Pros:

  • Works on multiple surfaces (furniture, rugs, car seats)

  • Super effective on both long and short fur

  • Reusable, washable, and travel-sized

  • Gentle on fabric—no damage or pilling

  • Oddly therapeutic to use 😻

Cons:

  • You may become obsessed and clean for fun

  • Can’t cover large areas as quickly as a vacuum (but they did just come out with a larger version, find here!)

🧥 #2: Lilly Brush for Sweaters & Clothing – Good for On-the-Go

🛠️ What It Is:
The Lilly Brush Forever Furless Mini Pet Hair Remover Brush is a fabric-safe lint and pet hair remover for sweaters, blazers, pants, and clothing. Great for last-minute touch-ups before leaving the house or heading to a cat-inclusive event.

🧼 Our Review:
Cute and compact. Lives in our hooman’s purse now. It does a solid job at de-furring leggings and soft clothes, especially delicate materials like knits. But don’t expect it to handle couches or carpeted chaos.

CALLIE says: “My hooman used it on her black hoodie and left the house feeling powerful. She was still late, but fur-free.”

Pros:

  • Perfect for clothes, especially soft or delicate fabrics

  • Pocket-sized and purse-ready

  • Doesn’t leave residue like sticky rollers

  • Reusable & gentle

Cons:

  • Not strong enough for rugs, couches, or embedded hair

  • Needs a flat surface—doesn’t work well on cushions or soft chairs

The Lilly Brush for Long-Haired Pets is best for Fabrics and Rugs

🧽 #3: Lilly Brush for Long-Haired Pets

🛠️ What It Is:
The Lilly Brush for Long-Haired Pets is a soft-bladed tool meant to tackle long, fine undercoat fur—like what you’d find from Maine Coons, Huskies, or dramatic floofballs like… us.

🧼 Our Review:
It’s not bad, especially on couches and chairs with clingy long fur. But it took more time and effort than the red rubber brush, and didn’t grab our shorter sibling’s fur (Seymour, we’re looking at you). Mama almost fell asleep waiting for the results.

MAMA says: “I respect the effort. But I was already napping again before the job was halfway done.”

Pros:

  • Soft blade, so it’s fabric-friendly

  • Designed for long-haired pets

  • Nice to have as a secondary tool

Cons:

  • Not as effective on short hair or tightly woven fabric

  • Requires more pressure and multiple passes

  • Doesn’t grab as thoroughly as the Mini Detailer

seymour showing off our lilly brush cat cleaning tool .png

Seymour showing off our STRAYZ approved Cat Lilly Brushes

💖 Why We Support Lily Brush (and Think You Should Too)

Callie here, and I don’t just roll around on the furniture—I roll deep in loyalty.

Here’s the thing: Lily Brush isn’t some big, faceless brand with fancy ad budgets and fluff-filled promises. It’s a woman-owned, rescue-pet-inspired company started by a single mom who turned a life-altering heart attack into a mission to make the world better for pet people.

Elsie Hamilton created these tools not because she wanted to sell something—but because nothing else worked. She needed a way to love her fluffy dog and keep her home from disappearing under a layer of fur. And when she couldn’t find a solution… she built it. From scratch. In her kitchen. With toothbrushes.

Every time you buy a Lily Brush, you’re supporting:

  • A small, eco-conscious business

  • A product that actually works (and works for years)

  • A founder who deeply gets what it’s like to love a messy, magical, totally-worth-it pet

And when you shop through us, you’re also supporting our rescue cat mission here at STRAYZ. We only recommend products we’ve used, shed on, knocked off counters, and nap-tested—extensively.

🛍️ Shop the STRAYZ-Approved Lily Brushes

You can browse the whole lineup, but here’s a quick recap of our top pick


❤️ Mini Pet Hair Detailer – Red Rubber Miracle
🧥 Clothing & Sweater Brush (great for outfits)
🧽 Long-Hair Furniture Brush (good backup)

👇
🛒 Click here to shop all the STRAYZ-approved Lily Brushes on Amazon

(Yes, it's an affiliate link—but it helps us buy more tuna, support rescue work, and chase our dreams. Win-win.)

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