11 Best Cat Shampoos for Shedding – 2023 Reviews & Top Picks

Shedding can be a big pain to deal with, especially if your cat spends most or all its time indoors. Cats just love to leave a little sprinkling of their hair everywhere they go, and it can be normal. However, some cats shed due to an unhealthy coat or skin issues. Baths with shed-reducing shampoo can not only reduce your cat’s shedding but also improve the health of their skin and coat. We’ve put together reviews of the best cat shampoos for shedding to help you find the perfect shampoo for your cat.

A Quick Look at Our 2023 Favorites

The 11 Best Cat Shampoos for Shedding

1. Hepper Colloidal Oatmeal Pet Shampoo – Best Overall

Hepper’s Colloidal Oatmeal Pet Shampoo is the overall best cat shampoo for shedding. This pH-balanced shampoo is specially formulated to be gentle on your cat’s skin and coat, hydrating as it cleans to avoid irritating your cat’s skin.

With soothing ingredients like aloe vera and oatmeal, this shampoo is perfect for sensitive skin and can help with your cat’s shedding as well. It’s free of irritants like dyes, soaps, sulfates, phthalates, and gluten and is made with natural, moisturizing ingredients.

With this great shampoo, you can reduce your cat’s shedding and treat it to a day at the spa at the same time!

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 Luxury 2 in 1 Papaya & Coconut Shampoo and Conditioner – Budget Buy

The best budget-friendly cat shampoo for shedding is the TropiClean Luxury 2 in 1 Papaya & Coconut Shampoo and Conditioner, which is available in three bottle sizes up to 2.5 gallons. This product is a 2-in-1 that cleans and conditions the skin, enhancing the skin and coat health.

It relaxes fur, making for easy brushing post bathing, but it should not be used on matted fur. It will help reduce the chance of matting in the future, though. It’s a soap-free formula that is compatible with topical flea and tick treatments. It’s an earth-friendly product that comes in a bottle made from 50% recycled materials. It also comes in a recently revamped leak-free bottle. Some users of this shampoo have reported it not lathering as much as they’d like.

3. Pawstruck Essential Fatty Acid Creme Rinse Shampoo

The Pawstruck Essential Fatty Acid Crème Rinse Shampoo is another good choice for cat shampoo for shedding. This shampoo features a pleasant sweet pea and vanilla scent. It’s hypoallergenic and contains essential fatty acids that gently but efficiently clean and moisturize the skin and coat, reducing shedding and flakiness of the skin.

It also reduces static electricity, decreasing the chance of the fur your cat does shed sticking to your clothes and furniture. It’s a soap-free formula that won’t strip flea and tick medications from your cat. It is one of the more expensive shed-reducing shampoo options, so it does retail for a more premium price compared to other shampoos.

4. Earthbath Shed Control Green Tea & Awapuhi Shampoo

Earthbath’s Shed Control Green Tea & Awapuhi Shampoo is another great cat shampoo. It features a pleasant, natural scent of green tea and awapuhi (a plant from the ginger family) but doesn’t contain added scents and is considered hypoallergenic. It’s soap-free and uses natural humectants and emollients to nourish and clean the coat. It contains multiple nourishing ingredients, like shea butter, omega-6 fatty acids, aloe vera, and green tea extract to soothe the skin and reduce excess shedding.

It’s 100% biodegradable, made with fair trade shea butter, and is ultra-concentrated. It’s also pH balanced, ensuring your cat’s skin and coat are cared for gently and properly. This shampoo works best when allowed to sit on the skin and coat, or it may not effectively reduce shedding.

5. NaturVet Aller-911 Allergy Aid Skin Care Plus Aloe Vera

The NaturVet Aller-911 Allergy Aid Skin Care Plus Aloe Vera shampoo is a great option for cats with excess shedding related to seasonal skin allergies. It’s mild enough for daily use and won’t strip the natural oils from the skin and coat. It uses aloe vera to add moisture to itchy and dry skin and can also be used as a deodorizing shampoo to reduce odors on the skin and coat.

The consistency is thick, making it easy to use and reducing waste during baths. It retails for a premium price relative to the cost of other skin support and shed-reducing shampoos.

6. Envirogroom Natural De-Shed Shampoo

 

The Envirogroom Natural De-Shed Shampoo is formulated to gently clean your cat’s skin and coat while simultaneously detangling and loosening and removing dead fur. It’s a pH-balanced, hypoallergenic formula that uses shea butter and jojoba oil to moisturize the coat, leaving it glossy and smooth, and aloe vera to soothe the skin.

It’s biodegradable and made in the USA. It’s a certified wheat-free and gluten-free product, making it suitable for people with allergies to wheat and gluten to handle. It’s highly concentrated, so a single bottle should last a long time. It is one of the more expensive shampoos on the list.

7. Best Shot Lemon-Aid Oatmeal & Jojoba Oil Shampoo

The Best Shot Lemon-Aid Oatmeal & Jojoba Oil Shampoo is an oatmeal-based shampoo made with sensitive skin in mind, although it is not hypoallergenic and does contain added fragrance. It features a bright lemon and vanilla scent, and it is fortified with natural proteins, emollients, and humectants to get a gentle, thorough clean.

It moisturizes fur and seals the cuticle of the hair, locking in moisture and creating a healthier, shiny coat. Because it is a hydrating cleanser, it’s suitable for dry skin. It also helps the coat retain moisture, keeping it healthy longer and preventing tangles and mats. It’s a low suds formula, which some people may not enjoy, but it does rinse clear from the coat easily.

8. Pet Silk Brazilian Keratin Shampoo

The Pet Silk Brazilian Keratin Shampoo is available in two bottle sizes and features a fresh, salon-quality scent. It uses keratin protein to strengthen and protect the coat, creating a fuller appearance to the coat and improving the overall health of the coat and skin. It uses silk amino acids and vitamins to hydrate the skin and coat, leaving your cat with a glossy, healthy appearance and reducing tangles.

It also helps remove dead skin and loose fur, which decreases shedding. It’s concentrated and can be diluted up to 16:1. It is not a hypoallergenic product, and some people find the scent to be overpowering.

9. Purina Pro Plan LiveClear Rinse-Free Allergen Reducing Cat Shampoo

The Purina Pro Plan LiveClear Rinse-Free Allergen Reducing Cat Shampoo is part of the Purina Pro Plan LiveClear line, which is designed to reduce shedding and cat dander, making it easier for people with allergies to their cats to live comfortably together. This shampoo doesn’t require rinsing or the use of water at all, making it ideal for cats that are not keen on being bathed.

It’s hypoallergenic and pH balanced, but it does contain an added fragrance. The pump dispenser is easy to use, and the foam shampoo is easy to brush through your cat’s coat. This shampoo is best used in conjunction with the rest of the LiveClear line and may not work well on its own.

10. Vetoquinol Dermal-Soothe Shampoo

The Vetoquinol Dermal-Soothe Shampoo is the most premium-priced of the shampoos we reviewed. It’s an anti-itch shampoo that features a continuous release moisturizing formula that keeps working after the bath is over. It helps soothe the skin and moisturize the coat, enhancing the overall health of both.

It’s ideal for cats with dry, normal, or sensitive skin. It leaves the coat soft and glossy and helps reduce shedding and tangles between baths. It is not hypoallergenic and does contain an added fragrance. This is a medicated shampoo but is not as drying and irritating to the skin and coat as many medicated shampoos can be.

11. Frisco Shed Control Shampoo with Aloe

The Frisco Shed Control Shampoo with Aloe features a scent of sweet nectar. It’s one of the more budget-friendly shampoos for cat shedding. It uses oat protein, jojoba oil, aloe vera, and vitamins to moisturize the skin and coat. It’s a soap-free formula that uses plant-based cleansers and is free of dyes.

When used regularly, it helps loosen the undercoat and reduce shedding. However, it must be used regularly to see this benefit. Many people report finding the scent of this shampoo to be overwhelming, and it is not a hypoallergenic product.

Buyer’s Guide: Choosing the Right Cat Shampoo to Reduce Your Cat’s Shedding

Choosing a shed-reducing shampoo can be difficult because many people don’t know why their cat is shedding excessively. If you feel that your cat’s shedding is excessive and you perform routine brushing at home, talk to your vet to rule out medical causes of the shedding.

Once you’ve ruled out medical causes, start looking at shampoos to reduce shedding. Your vet may recommend a shampoo to you directly, but if they don’t, you may end up searching for the best product. Start by identifying your and your cat’s needs. If you have allergies to certain scents, for example, then you’ll know to look for and avoid products containing these scents.

Look for products that are formulated for the type of skin your cat seems to have. Oily skin types typically require different shampoos than dry skin types, and sensitive and allergy-prone skin may require hypoallergenic products.

Final Verdict

These reviews are intended to be a starting point to help you find the perfect product for your cat’s shedding. The best cat shampoo for shedding is the Hepper Colloidal Oatmeal Pet Shampoo, which features a pleasant scent and lots of soothing and moisturizing ingredients. For a budget-friendly product, check out the TropiClean Luxury 2 in 1 Papaya & Coconut Shampoo and Conditioner, which gently cleans the skin and coat while leaving behind moisture. Our third pick is the Pawstruck Essential Fatty Acid Crème Rinse Shampoo, which uses nourishing ingredients to maximize the health of your cat’s skin and coat and reduce shedding.

Featured Image Credit: Pixel-Shot, Shutterstock