9 Best Cat Shampoos for Dander (2023): Reviews & Top Picks

Cat dander can be frustrating to deal with, especially when it becomes quite noticeable on furniture and clothing. It can make it hard for friends and family to visit you if your house is full of cat dander.

Dander clings to everything your cat touches, including their fur and saliva. So, it can seem like an impossible task to get your cat’s space (and your space) free of dander. But the good news is that you can reduce the amount of dander your cat produces and spreads with the right shampoo.

Here are the best cat shampoos for dander to help your feline stop spreading fur all over your house.

A Look at Our Favorites in 2023

The 9 Best Cat Shampoos for Dander

1. Hepper Colloidal Oatmeal Pet Shampoo – Best Overall

Hepper’s Colloidal Oatmeal Pet Shampoo is our choice for the best cat shampoo for dander. This shampoo’s all-natural, pet-safe formula is pH balanced for your cat’s skin and free of irritants like dyes, soaps, sulfates, and phthalates. With soothing ingredients like aloe vera and oatmeal, it can help tame your cat’s dander and reduce overall irritation. Say goodbye to your cat’s smells and itchy skin! Plus, this shampoo is made in the USA and very affordable.

We love this shampoo’s gentle, moisturizing formula and fresh, clean scent. However, some cats may prefer unscented shampoo. Overall, we think this is the best cat shampoo for dander that you can buy this year.

At Excited Cats, we’ve admired Hepper for many years and decided to take a controlling ownership interest so that we could benefit from the outstanding designs of this cool cat company!

2. TropiClean Waterless Cat Shampoo – Best Value

TropiClean’s Waterless Dander Reducing Cat Shampoo is our choice for the best cat shampoo for dander for the money. It’s an affordable introduction to waterless shampoos that can help reduce your cat’s dander output while keeping your cat comfortably away from the bathtub at all costs.

The shampoo is made with a mild and gentle coconut cleanser that helps your cat smell tropical fresh without the need for a rinse down after. In addition, this shampoo is shown to reduce dander not just after being used but for some time in between baths. So, it’s an excellent value for pet parents looking to cut down on the dander in their homes!

Unfortunately, this shampoo isn’t all-natural. So, any pet parents looking for a natural solution to their cat’s dander problem will have to look elsewhere. Still, it’s hard to turn down a deal like this one.

3. Special FX Tropical Passion Cat Shampoo – Best Premium

Special FX’s Tropical Passion Facial & Body Dog & Cat Shampoo is an excellent option for any pet parents who have a bigger budget for their cat shampoo. It’s hypoallergenic, pH balanced, and biodegradable, and that’s why it’s our choice for the best premium cat shampoo for dander.

This shampoo does it all. As we’ve mentioned, it’s hypoallergenic, pH balanced, and biodegradable, but that’s not all! It’s also wheat and gluten-free, made right here in the USA, and safe for dogs, cats, and horses!

This is an effective dander-controlling shampoo, so any pet parents who can splurge on it will find themselves impressed! However, not all cat-owners can afford this shampoo, as it comes with a premium price.

4. Earthbath Shed Control Cat Shampoo

Earthbath’s Shed Control Green Tea & Awapuhi Dog & Cat Shampoo is another great option. It’s a pH-balanced soap-free shampoo that contains aloe vera, shea butter, and green tea extract to nourish your cat’s skin.

The formula helps control the production of allergens like dander and helps prevent the cat’s shedding, meaning less cleaning up for you! The shampoo also helps rejuvenate the cat’s coat and makes it soft and silky to the touch. It’s an absolute powerhouse in the cleaning sector!

Finally, this formula is 100% biodegradable. So, any eco-conscious pet parents who want to make sure the shampoo is healthy for the planet need not worry; this shampoo will break down just fine when it’s done with your cat.

5. Petkin Germ Removal Cat Shampoo

Petkin’s Germ Removal Vanilla-Scented Antibacterial Dog & Cat Shampoo is another great option for pet parents who want to reduce dander in their homes. This is an antibacterial shampoo that is primarily focused on cleaning your cat’s fur, but in doing so, it also helps reduce dander and shedding.

If you’re looking to have your home free of dander and loose fur, this is the shampoo for you! Not only that, but your cat will also smell like fresh vanilla when you’re done with them!

This shampoo brings it home by being fortified with vitamin E and aloe to soothe the skin and make the coat silky and soft to the touch. It does all this while remaining free of sulfates and parabens, a true powerhouse!

6. Healers Tea Tree Oil Conditioning Cat Shampoo

Healer’s Tea Tree Oil Conditions Dog & Cat Shampoo is another excellent option for pet parents who need to reduce dander in their homes. This all-natural shampoo contains tea tree oil, aloe vera, and peppermint extract to help condition your cat’s coat and keep it smooth and silky.

These ingredients also soothe the skin and help keep it healthy while reducing the amount of dander your cat produces. This shampoo does it all when it comes to reducing your cat’s dander and shedding problems.

However, it’s worth noting that some cats may be averse to the peppermint extract in the shampoo. Many cats find the smell of peppermint to be offensive, and while you may not be able to smell it strongly, your cat’s nose is much stronger than yours!

7. Special FX Platinum Plum Cat Shampoo

This Platinum Plum Facial & Body Dog & Cat from Special FX is another option for pet parents who want to get the Tropical Passion Facial & Body Dog & Cat Shampoo but don’t like tropical smells. This has a light fruity aroma you and your cat will love!

This also has all the features of Special FX’s Tropical Shampoo; it’s biodegradable, wheat and gluten-free, pH balanced, made in the USA, and contains vitamin E to improve the quality of your cat’s coat.

This is a fantastic option for any cat parents who don’t like tropical smells or even those who want to shake up their home’s scent profile.

8. Special FX Simply Fresh Cat Shampoo

Special FX’s Simply Fresh Facial & Body Dog & Cat Shampoo is just like the other Special FX shampoos, but with a fresh and clean smell. In addition, it has the same features as the other Special FX shampoos like biodegradability and vitamin E for coat quality.

This one can be bought in sets of one or two bottles. So, any bulk happy pet parents will be able to purchase extra bottles at the right price!

9. Purina Pro Plan LiveClear Cat Shampoo Spray

Pet parents are usually recommended not to buy Purina products when they can. This pet supply conglomerate has had a vast sea of scandals revolving around inappropriate ingredients and substances found in their formulas, leaving pet parents feeling wary about purchasing their products.

However, any pet parents who still purchase Purina products can try out their Pro Plan LiveClear Rinse-Free Allergen-Reducing Cat Shampoo Spray. It’s a cheap option for pet parents looking for a waterless cat shampoo.

Purina Pro Plan also offers a LiveClear food line to go with their shampoo that “helps target allergens at the source!” They even have a bundle for any pet parents already sold on it!

Buyer’s Guide – Find the Best Cat Shampoo for Dander

What Is Dander?

Understanding why we want to reduce the amount of dander found in our homes and how it starts with understanding what dander is. After all, we can’t understand why it’s essential to reduce the presence of a mystery substance.

Dander is a collection of lightweight proteins found in cat fur, skin, and saliva. When your cat or dog lick their fur to groom it, they spread dander-containing saliva all through their coat. Further, when the dead skin cells fall off their body, they too get trapped in their coat and find themselves distributed throughout your home.

Dander is the real culprit behind cat and dog allergies. There’s a common misconception that the allergen people react to is cat or dog fur, but it’s not the fur itself; it’s what’s on the fur.

The proteins that make up dander are so lightweight that they can stay aloft in the air for hours after a pet has been in a room. People who have cats can even carry dander with them on their clothes and skin, introducing dander to places where the cat has never set foot.

Symptoms of a Dander Allergy

Do you think you have an allergy to pet dander? Take a look at the most common symptoms of a pet dander allergy and see if you match up!

Pet dander allergy symptoms usually show up pretty soon after contact with the allergen. Most people will start to experience symptoms within hours of encountering a cat at a maximum. Usually, symptoms appear soon after a person encounters a cat.

How to Reduce Dander in Your Home

Reducing dander in your home is no small task. Cats produce dander naturally; it’s part of their biological make up. Therefore, the only way to eliminate dander from your home is to get rid of your cat, and even then, it will take time for the dander left behind to be dealt with.

However, even reducing the amount of dander in your home can bring relief to friends and family who visit. So here are some tips for reducing the dander present in your home.

Clean Your House Regularly

It may go without saying that the amount of dander in your home will reflect your cleaning habits. If your home is constantly dirty, it won’t just be your cat’s dander that’s everywhere. So, clean up and regularly clean to reduce the amount of dander your cat has left behind.

Get Rid of Clutter

Clutter traps everything from dirt and dust to dander. So, getting rid of clutter means there will be fewer places for dander to hide out in your home.

This can be rolled into “cleaning regularly,” but some have relatively clean but very cluttered homes. This clutter can trap all sorts of allergens. So, getting rid of it is an excellent first step!

Bathe and Brush Your Pet Regularly

Bathing and brushing your pet help remove the dander that’s trapped in their coat and prevent it from ending up on your furniture and in your air. In addition, brushing your cat can help reduce how much they shed, which indirectly reduces the amount of dander in your home by reducing how much dander is spread from shed fur.

Use a HEPA Filter

HEPA filters are an excellent way to reduce the amount of dander in your home. These air filters remove allergens and other lung irritants from the air while they run. A HEPA filter won’t just reduce dander; it will reduce all allergens in your home!

Restrict Your Cat from Certain Areas

If you have guests visiting overnight, it might be best to remove your cat from certain areas of the home. Keeping your cat out of places where your guests will be sleeping can help reduce the presence of dander and make your guests more comfortable while they sleep.

Final Thoughts

Dander can be a severe problem for pet parents to deal with. Luckily, the pet industry has given us tools to help deal with it! Our choice for the best overall cat shampoo was Hepper’s Colloidal Oatmeal Pet Shampoo, which gently moisturizes as it cleans. Next, the best cat shampoo for dander for the money is TropiClean’s Waterless Dander Reducing Cat Shampoo, in our opinion! Lastly, Special FX’s Tropical Passion Facial & Body Dog & Cat Shampoo was our choice for the best premium cat shampoo for dander!

Featured Image Credit: COULANGES, Shutterstock